Positive Mammon

And the lord commended the unjust steward, because he had done wisely: for the children of this world are in their generation wiser than the children of light. And I say unto you, Make to yourselves friends of the mammon of unrighteousness; that, when ye fail, they may receive you into everlasting habitations. 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. If therefore ye have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches? And if ye have not been faithful in that which is another man's, who shall give you that which is your own? No servant can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon. (Luke 16: 8 – 13)

It dawned on me that mammon can never be righteous. It also can never be neutral

Mammon is an enemy to righteousness, according to Christ’s own teaching.

No wonder it is easier for a camel to pass through a needle’s hole than for the rich to inherit eternal life.

Why then am I putting positivity on an unrighteous thing?

It is because of what Christ is teaching in this passage.

How can He associate something unrighteous to a safe eternity? How does a wrong thing open the door to heaven as He appears to be saying?

It is instructive to note the parable from where this is coming from.

A steward is accused of impropriety. But stealing may be a more fitting term.

He therefore orders him to clear his desk because he was being dismissed from his position.

What he does is the backdrop of this message. And you will realise that it started with the lord who was in the process of dismissing him commending him.

Reminds me of a story of an ancient king whose direst punishment was an offender being torn to pieces by his dogs as was done for Daniel with lions.

One of his closest servants was condemned to that for breaking one law or the other. Or probably doing something that made the king lose trust in him.

Before he could be taken to the dogs, he requested that he be given ten days with the dogs.

The king thought that it would not do much harm to humour this condemned confidante.

The man then fed the dogs and took care of them.

When the ten days expired, he was thrown to the dogs.

But instead of them tearing him to pieces as per their custom, they started playing with him.

The king sought to understand what had happened and the condemned said thus,

Ten days with the dogs and we have become fast friends. I have served you for years yet you can condemn me to death for a single mistake.

Mammon

I want us to look at situations in the Bible where this truth plays out

We will start with the harlot Rahab.

Like I always say, she was the scum of scums as a harlot in condemned Jericho.

Then some spies come into Jericho looking for somewhere to hide as they do their survey and the script completely changes.

It is possible everybody else they approached for refuge turned them away and reported to the authorities.

But she saw a chance that she could not allow to pass and lodged them, even lying to ensure their safety.

Is it any wonder that she is mentioned all through the Bible?

The next is the Shulamite woman

She saw a tired old man and ministered to him before she knew that he was a prophet.

Not only did she receive a son beyond her wildest dreams and prayers, but she also received him from death.

Not only that. She was able to benefit from that ministry even after Elisha had exited the scene.

Think about the shortie, Zacchaeus.

We are not told that salvation came to his house after his repentance but after offering half of his wealth to the poor as he was entertaining Christ’s huge crowd.

Remember the Roman soldier whose faith touched Jesus in Luke 7?

He had built the Jews a synagogue, a synagogue he was forbidden from entering. And he was seeking for healing for his servant.

Do you realise it was the Jews who were pleading with Jesus to attend to this gentile and oppressing coloniser?

Why was Peter sent to Cornelius?

And why did the disciples refuse to allow Tabitha to rest in peace after her death?

Unrighteous mammon.

They all used unrighteous mammon to make spiritual inroads.

Note that they did not consecrate mammon or even anoint it as some idiotic ministers are doing to continue enjoying the giving of other idiots like them. They simply gave unrighteous mammon as it was and it was able to change the direction of their lives and destiny.

A missionary friend was sent to a foreign nation and the man of peace was nowhere close to what he was preaching in his life or business. But he served my friend appropriately.

He had a health condition that was beyond doctors and hospitals.

Before he left, he prayed for his host and there was perfect healing.

Allow me to give a situation that I know happens many times.

A rich wicked man hears the struggles a minister is undergoing and calls him to his office, asking him to give him a breakdown of everything he needed.

He then decides to humour himself or make fun of the minister by writing him a cheque to cover all his needs, and more.

Who do you think will get heavenly credit for the success of this minister?

Do you think it is the church that sent him?

Think also of this funny story I heard.

A man was praying for a major breakthrough in his business.

Incidentally, every time he would get to the altar, he would find another guy praying very simply, shoes

He looked at him and got annoyed.

Why is this man flooding heaven with such a cheap request? Isn’t he stifling my prayer line by that prayer?

He therefore took enough money from his pocket and not very politely told him to go buy himself shoes to stop interfering with his prayers.

Do you think God was angry with his deed? Do you think the guy praying for shoes cared about the attitude of the giver of those shoes?

That is the message Jesus is passing to us today.

There are people who will get to heaven because they invested their unrighteous mammon into relationships and ministry.

Matthew 25 is testimony to that.

The sheep are wondering why they are in heaven because they were no giving with heaven in mind.

They were not giving to compete with (outgiving) God as preachers nowadays teach. Nor were they giving for accolades.

They were simply meeting the needs around them.

That then opened an account in heaven in their names.

Then Jesus beholding him loved him, and said unto him, One thing thou lackest: go thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, take up the cross, and follow me. (Mark 10:21)

And you remember that this young man was righteous.

I will also quote Cornelius’s interaction, noting that he also was a gentile

... And he said unto him, Thy prayers and thine alms are come up for a memorial before God. (Acts 10:4b)

What am I saying?

We could be breaking our backs touching lives by sprinkling the Gospel in bits and pieces when the wicked are securing real estate for themselves in heaven by changing societies, some even funding those same missions we find it difficult to fund through our stinginess.

I know this appears very rude, even wrong.

However, look at this

... That the publicans and the harlots go into the kingdom of God before you. (Matthew 21:31c)

What you do with unrighteous mammon has a direct bearing with how you will be received in heaven, at least according to our passage.

As believers, we are answerable to God for how we use our money.

It is actually sin if we do not wait for God’s orders before we spend it.

But the standard for the heathen is different since they do not have the revelation we possess. They also are not led of the Holy Spirit as we are.

This means that their judgment will be more lenient than ours.

The yardstick for our giving is different because we are supposed to know better with the Holy Spirit leading us.

But I think the greater challenge is not just being led but a proper relationship with mammon, unrighteous mammon.

We can’t spread God’s love through unrighteous mammon unless we detach ourselves from its hold on us.

We will not be able to open a heavenly account if God must have our permission before using our money.

Christ must be the Lord even of our pockets and purses and bank accounts if we must have accounts in His heaven.

For believers, it is not about generosity or philanthropy. It is about obedience.

We must be guided to give. We must be ordered to give because it is not ours.

And I think it is called unrighteous mammon because God releases His authority over our money so that we can then willingly surrender it back to Him.

It thus becomes unrighteous all the time it is under our control because He has no authority over it.

Take this as an off the cuff comment.

Calling wealth unrighteous mammon has a very clear implication on how we acquire it.

Any honest pursuit of wealth is legitimate. Please underline the word, honest.

This means that there is no dichotomy to God between secular and spiritual occupations. And I am writing this as a minister God called out of secular employment.

I am not any more spiritual that I am in ‘full time’ ministry than I was when I worked for a media house.

God is the one who called the Levitical class. And He did not do it because they were more righteous than the other tribes.

He is the one who called Aaron to the priesthood. And we can be sure he was not closer to God than his brother Moses.

Remember his sons died because they played with their calling just after their calling was confirmed?

It is God who determines who He will call and why.

An honest publican is more spiritual than a manipulating archbishop.

Compare Zaccheus with Judas. Or the publican and pharisee at the prayer centre.

But this post is about our use of unrighteous mammon.

For whosoever shall give you a cup of water to drink in my name, because ye belong to Christ, verily I say unto you, he shall not lose his reward. (Mark 9:41)

There is a reward for the person who quenches the thirst of a minister.

And that does not demarcate between godly and ungodly quenchers of that thirst.

It does not talk about the motive of that quenching. Just like we do not have different levels of thirst.

Just like water quenches thirst, quenching the thirst of a minister invites a reward from heaven.

We might hide behind long words and titles. But the reality is that money can open doors, not only of corrupt offices as we are used to see, but also the doors of God’s rewards.

Look at the money and wealth you have

Do you manage it as your own or are you a steward of another?

Is the money you have yours or are you holding it in trust for another?

If you are holding it for another, how much say does he have on that money?

Can you expect a reward from the actual owner of that wealth in your name?

Can you confidently say that you are going to heaven because you have used that unrighteous mammon to secure eternal rewards?

And do not for a moment think I am nullifying grace.

This is simply the fruit our interaction with grace will produce.