Win friends with tainted money

Gospel

Luke 16:9-15

Use money, tainted as it is, to win you friends

Jesus said to his disciples: ‘I tell you this: use money, tainted as it is, to win you friends, and thus make sure that when it fails you, they will welcome you into the tents of eternity. The man who can be trusted in little things can be trusted in great; the man who is dishonest in little things will be dishonest in great. If then you cannot be trusted with money, that tainted thing, who will trust you with genuine riches? And if you cannot be trusted with what is not yours, who will give you what is your very own?

‘No servant can be the slave of two masters: he will either hate the first and love the second, or treat the first with respect and the second with scorn. You cannot be the slave both of God and of money.’

The Pharisees, who loved money, heard all this and laughed at him. He said to them, ‘You are the very ones who pass yourselves off as virtuous in people’s sight, but God knows your hearts. For what is thought highly of by men is loathsome in the sight of God.’

Reflection

This passage challenges our conventional view of wealth and its purpose. Jesus's instruction to "use money, tainted as it is, to win you friends" isn't an endorsement of corruption, but a call to use earthly resources—which are temporary and often entangled with injustice (the "tainted thing")—for eternal good. Money, though inherently neutral, can become an idol or a tool for selfish gain. Jesus urges us to treat it as a means to an end, specifically, to build relationships and perform acts of justice and charity , thereby securing a spiritual future. The core message is about stewardship and priority. How we manage the temporary (money) reveals our character and determines our fitness for the eternal (genuine riches). The conflict is stark: you "cannot be the slave both of God and of money," a truth the money-loving Pharisees rejected, demonstrating that human approval often stands in direct opposition to God's values.

Question for Reflection

In what practical ways can I actively shift my focus from accumulating temporary wealth for personal comfort to deploying it for acts of charity, justice, and relationship-building that point toward "the tents of eternity"?

Short Prayer

Heavenly Father, Giver of all good things, grant me the wisdom to be a faithful steward of the resources You entrust to me. Help me to use my money not as a master, but as a servant for Your Kingdom. Guard my heart from the love of wealth, so that I may always choose Your will above the desires and approval of the world. Amen. 🙏

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