In Lk 16:1-12 we read about the unjust steward. He had wasted his master’s goods. So, his master told him to give an account of his stewardship because he was going to be put out of his stewardship. He was in a quandary. He couldn’t or wouldn’t do manual labor and he was too proud to beg.
So he devised a plan to gain favor with his master’s debtors. When he called them, apparently he had to ask them what they owed, since it doesn’t appear that he knew. This would not be surprising since he was not a faithful steward. He discounted their bills hoping that they would return the favor by receiving him into their houses.
The Lord commended the wisdom of this steward and encouraged the Jews to follow his example. That way when they failed, their rich friends would receive them into their habitations. Jesus called these “everlasting habitations” because God has a kingdom prepared for the nations who help the Jews whom he called, “the least of my brethren,” Matt 25:34-40.
Now the point of this story is simple. In Lk 16:10-12, “he that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much: and he that is unjust in the least is unjust also in much.”
Because these Jews were not faithful in the unrighteous mammon, God won’t commit to their trust the true riches when he comes to rule in the kingdom of heaven. And because they were not faithful in that which wasn’t theirs, he won’t give them their own in the kingdom of heaven. You see, Israel is to be the ruling nation in the kingdom of heaven, and those who are faithful now are the ones who will be rulers with him over many things then, Matt 25:20-23.
If this story is true for those to whom Jesus was speaking that day, do you suppose it is true for us today? Of course. We have a stewardship. Unfortunately, it seems that a lot of Christians have made themselves friends of the mammon of unrighteousness. That’s what you do when you fail. When you listen to their television, radio, and internet broadcasts, you can tell that many of them are after your money.
You and I have been entrusted with something from the Lord. In Lk 19, it’s called a pound. The purpose is to see whether we’re faithful in that which is least. Those who are will be given authority over cities when Jesus returns to rule. So, don’t neglect to be faithful in the little things in life. How you handle that which is least is the indication of how you would handle the true riches. Only, if you aren’t faithful, you will never be entrusted with the true riches. Therefore, be faithful.