Luke 16:1-9. Jesus’ illustration of the unrighteous steward is thought-provoking. After being accused of wastefulness, the steward acted with “practical wisdom” to “make friends” to help him when he lost his stewardship.a Jesus, of course, was not encouraging his disciples to act in an unrighteous way in order to survive in this world. He labeled such behavior as that of “the sons of this system of things,” but he used the illustration to drive home a point.

⁵ Jesus knew that like the steward who found himself in a difficult situation, most of Jesus’ followers would need to make a living in this unjust commercial world. So he urges them: “Make friends for yourselves by means of the unrighteous riches, so that when such fail, they [Jehovah and Jesus] may receive you into the everlasting dwelling places.” What can we learn from Jesus’ counsel?

6. How do we know that today’s commercial system was not part of God’s purpose?

⁶ Although Jesus does not explain why he calls riches “unrighteous,” the Bible makes clear that commercialism was not part of God’s purpose. Jehovah provided abundantly for Adam and Eve’s needs in Eden. (Gen. 2:15, 16) Later, when holy spirit operated on the first-century congregation of anointed ones, “not even one of them would say that any of the things he possessed was his own, but they had all things in common.” (Acts 4:32) The prophet Isaiah pointed to the time when all humans would freely enjoy earth’s material resources. (Isa. 25:6-9; 65:21, 22) But in the meantime, Jesus’ followers would need “practical wisdom” to make a living, using the “unrighteous riches” of today’s world while seeking to please God.

The steward in Jesus’ illustration made friends for personal benefit. However, Jesus urged his followers to make friends in heaven for unselfish purposes. The verses that follow the illustration connect the use of “unrighteous riches” with faithfulness to God. Jesus’ point was that we can ‘prove ourselves faithful’ with, or control, those riches once we obtain them.