“No servant can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.” [1]
Jesus was speaking to His disciples. Pharisees were within hearing distance of him. The Pharisees were the managers of religious teaching. Prior to teaching that no man can serve God and mammon (worldly wealth), Jesus told the parable of a steward who misused his position to cheat his master.
The Pharisees did not appreciate what Jesus was teaching His disciples. Consider this! Jesus was in the process of training a new group of leaders to replace the Pharisees. What does the Bible say about the Pharisees? How did they react to what Jesus taught His disciples?
“Now the Pharisees, who were lovers of money, also heard all these things, and they derided Him.” [2]
The Pharisees mismanaged the positions God gave them. They were unjust stewards. The first portion of Luke 16 is about a steward who embezzled his master’s money. The Pharisees were serving money and not God. They derided the Messiah that God sent to the world.
The last portion of Luke 16 is a parable about a rich man and a poor man. They both die. The rich man ends up in Hades and the poor man ends up in next to Abraham. The rich man is in the torment of flames while the poor man is comforted.
“Lord Jesus, please forgive us for all the times worldly concerns have become larger than You, and larger than the mission that You have given us, namely, the ministry of soul-salvation. Please help us Your people to be found faithful to You and to Your mission when You return.”
[1] Luke 16:13
[2] Luke 16:14
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