The Parable of the Dishonest Manager
Jesus told his followers this story: "A wealthy man had a manager who was responsible for handling his business affairs. The rich man heard reports that this manager was carelessly squandering his money and property. So the wealthy man summoned his manager and confronted him, saying, 'What are these things I'm hearing about you? Give me a complete report of how you've been handling my affairs, because you're fired. You can no longer work as my manager.' The manager thought to himself, 'What am I going to do now? My master is firing me from my job. I'm not strong enough for hard physical labor like digging, and I'm too proud to go around begging for money. Wait—I know exactly what I'll do. I'll make sure that when I'm thrown out of this job, people will be grateful to me and welcome me into their homes.' So the manager quickly called in everyone who owed money to his master. He asked the first person, 'How much do you owe my master?' The man replied, 'One hundred jars of olive oil.' The manager said to him, 'Here, take your bill. Sit down right now and change it to fifty jars.' Then he asked another debtor, 'And how much do you owe?' This person answered, 'One hundred bushels of wheat.' The manager told him, 'Take your bill and change it to eighty bushels.' When the master found out what had happened, he actually praised his dishonest manager for acting so cleverly. The people of this world are much more cunning and resourceful when dealing with others like themselves than God's people are when dealing with their spiritual affairs."
Lessons on Wealth and Faithfulness
I tell you this: use the money and possessions of this world to build friendships that matter, so that when these earthly things are gone, those friends will welcome you into homes that last forever. Anyone who can be trusted with small things will also be trusted with big things, and anyone who cheats with small things will also cheat with big things. So if you cannot be trusted with earthly money and possessions, who will trust you with real treasure? And if you cannot be trusted with things that belong to someone else, who will give you things of your own? No worker can serve two bosses at the same time. Either he will hate one and love the other, or he will be loyal to one and reject the other. You cannot serve both God and money.
Jesus Rebukes the Pharisees
The Pharisees loved money, and when they heard everything Jesus had been saying, they mocked him and sneered at his words. Jesus looked at them and said, "You work hard to make yourselves look good in front of people, but God sees what's really in your hearts. The things that people think are valuable and important are disgusting to God. "Until John the Baptist came, people learned about God through the Law and the writings of the prophets. But now the good news about God's kingdom is being announced everywhere, and people are desperately trying to get into it. Even so, it would be easier for the sky and earth to disappear completely than for even the smallest part of God's Law to be removed or changed. "When a man divorces his wife and marries someone else, he commits adultery. And when a man marries a woman who has been divorced, he also commits adultery."
The Parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus
There was once a wealthy man who wore the finest purple robes and expensive linen clothing. Every single day he lived in luxury, feasting and celebrating without a care in the world. Right outside his gate lay a poor beggar named Lazarus, whose body was covered with painful sores. Lazarus was so hungry that he desperately hoped to eat even the scraps of food that fell from the rich man's table. Wild dogs would come and lick his infected wounds. The day came when the beggar died, and angels carried him to be with Abraham in paradise. The rich man also died and was buried. In the place of the dead, where he was being tortured, the rich man looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus resting peacefully beside him. The rich man called out, "Father Abraham, please have mercy on me! Send Lazarus to dip just the tip of his finger in water and touch it to my tongue to cool it, because I am suffering terribly in these flames." But Abraham answered, "My son, remember that when you were alive, you enjoyed all the good things life had to offer, while Lazarus suffered through terrible hardship. Now he is being comforted here, while you are in agony. Besides all of this, there is a great canyon separating us from you. No one who wants to cross from here to you can do it, and no one can cross from your side to ours." The rich man then pleaded, "Then I beg you, father, please send Lazarus to my family's house. I have five brothers living there. Let him warn them about this place, so they won't end up in this place of torture too." Abraham replied, "Your brothers have the writings of Moses and all the prophets to guide them. They should listen to those teachings." "No, father Abraham," the rich man insisted, "that's not enough. But if someone who has died comes back to visit them, then they will turn away from their sins and change their lives." Abraham told him, "If your brothers won't listen to Moses and the prophets, they won't be convinced even if someone comes back from the dead."