Application of the parable of the dishonest steward
JESUS said to his disciples: “I tell you, make friends for yourselves with dishonest wealth, so that when it fails, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings. The person who is trustworthy in very small matters is also trustworthy in great ones; and the person who is dishonest in very small matters is also dishonest in great ones. If, therefore, you are not trustworthy with dishonest wealth, who will trust you with true wealth? If you are not trustworthy with what belongs to another, who will give you what is yours? No servant can serve two masters. He will either hate one and love the other, or be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.”
The Pharisees, who loved money, heard all these things and sneered at him. And he said to them, “You justify yourselves in the sight of others, but God knows your hearts; for what is of human esteem is an abomination in the sight of God.”
REFLECTION YOU CANNOT SERVE GOD AND MAMMON. Jesus teaches his disciples to shun materialism. If they have been blessed with material things, they should use these to befriend everyone by sharing these blessings.
Mammon is an Aramaic word for money or wealth in which one trusts and which one treats as god. The creature cannot be on par with the Creator. “Dishonest wealth” is mammon in the original Greek version.
Jesus’ disciples should not mistake mammon for God. These are clearly two different things. The disciples may be tempted to prioritize wealth over God.
The Pharisees do not agree with Jesus, for they love money. They believe they can love both God and money. They teach people how to love God by keeping the commandments to the minutest details. Yet they also want hefty stipends.
Jesus knows their hearts. They are using God to enrich themselves. God disapproves of their system. They are false spiritual leaders, using religion for racketeering.
The Church has its own share of materialistic priests. We know them by their lifestyle. While they amass wealth, they impoverish their parishioners’ spiritual life. They cannot protest against the rich who trample the poor. Justice, peace, and solidarity mean nothing to them.