Luke 16:9

Luke 16:9 says, 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.  I believe that this means that we are to use the things of this world wisely and to help others so that God may be glorified.  This will be noted in our everlasting habitation. Verse ten adds, 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.  God expects us to be faithful in the smallest things, and if we are, this will lead us to be faithful when we are blessed with much, and the opposite is also true.  Verse eleven continues, If therefore ye have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches?  Jesus asked the people then and we today if we cannot be faithful to God with the unrighteous things of this world, how can we expect God to trust us with His true riches.  We may sometimes believe that once we pay our tithes that everything else is ours to use however we see fit, but we are still to use it all for God's glory and to advance His kingdom.  Verse twelve states, And if ye have not been faithful in that which is another man’s, who shall give you that which is your own?  Jesus said if we cannot be faithful with what belongs to another, then who would give us something of our own to be trusted with.  God expects us to be honest in our dealings with others so that He will know that He can trust us to use the things that He blesses us with wisely.  I believe this applies even to the work that we do for others.  We are to work diligently for them, and not look for reasons why we shouldn't.  Verse thirteen adds, 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.  Jesus tells us that we as followers of Christ cannot serve two masters.  We cannot serve mammon or the things of this world and serve God at the same time.  If the riches of this world are more important to us than God is, then they and not God become our master.  Verse fourteen declares, And the Pharisees also, who were covetous, heard all these things: and they derided him.  When the Pharisees, who coveted the things of the world heard Jesus, they derided Him.  Some people today profess that as Christians we can covet the things of this world and God will bless us with them, but I don't believe that is what the Bible teaches us.  Verse fifteen adds, And he said unto them, Ye are they which justify yourselves before men; but God knoweth your hearts: for that which is highly esteemed among men is abomination in the sight of God.  Jesus told the Pharisee that He knew what was in their hearts, and that they would try to justify themselves before men by seeking things that were highly esteemed among men, even though they were an abomination in God.  We cannot attempt to use earthly riches themself as a sign of God's blessings on us.  Verse sixteen continues, The law and the prophets were until John: since that time the kingdom of God is preached, and every man presseth into it.  Jesus said that the law and prophets had been th guiding forces of the people of Isreal, God's chosen people, until John the Baptist came, and then he pointed them to Jesus, who would be the fulfillment of all that the law and prophets had pointed to.  We live in God's kingdom and should tell the world about it once we accept Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord.  Verse seventeen says, And it is easier for heaven and earth to pass, than one tittle of the law to fail.  Jesus also said that it would be easier for the heavens and the earth to pass away then for the smallest part of God's law to pass away.  Though we are saved by faith in Jesus Christ alone, we still need to obey God's law.  Verse eighteen adds, Whosoever putteth away his wife, and marrieth another, committeth adultery: and whosoever marrieth her that is put away from her husband committeth adultery.  Jesus then gave the example of a man divorcing his wife, I believe without Biblical grounds, and marrying another being guilty of adultery.  Even if by the grace of God and our faith in Jesus Christ we can be forgiven for this, it is still wrong under God's law and we should not do it.