Passage Viewer

At another time, Jesus told his disciples: “There was a rich man, whose steward was reported to him because of fraudulent service. 

He summoned the steward and asked him: 

‘What is this I hear about you? I want you to give an account of your service, for it is about to be terminated.’

The steward thought to himself, ‘What am I supposed to do now? My master will definitely fire me. I am not strong enough to do hard labor, and I am ashamed to beg.

I know what I will do: I must ensure that when I am dismissed, there will be people who will welcome me into their homes.’

So he called his master’s debtors, one by one. He asked the first debtor: 

‘How much do you owe my master?’ 

The reply was: 

‘A hundred jars of oil.’ 

The steward said: 

‘Here is your bill. Sit down quickly and write fifty.’ 

To the second debtor, he asked the same question: 

‘How much do you owe?’ 

The answer was: 

‘A hundred measures of wheat.’ 

Then the steward said: 

‘Take your bill and write eighty.’

The master praised the dishonest steward for his sharpness, because the people of this world are often more clever at handling their own generation than are the people of light.

And so I tell you: use filthy money to make friends for yourselves, so that, when it fails, these people may welcome you into the eternal homes.

Whoever can be trusted with small things can also be trusted with big ones; whoever is dishonest about minor matters will also be dishonest about greater ones. 

So, if you have been dishonest in handling dirty money, who would trust you with real wealth? 

And if you have been dishonest with things that are not really yours, who will give you that wealth which is truly yours?

No servant can serve two masters. Either he does not favor one and prefers the other, or he respects one highly and looks down on the other. You cannot devote yourself to both God and Money.”