In the parable of the dishonest manager found in Luke 16:1-13, Jesus makes the statement, “make friends for yourselves by unrighteous mammon”.  What did Jesus mean by this?

Let’s go through the parable carefully to find the answer.

Luk 16:1  He [Jesus] also said to His disciples: “There was a certain rich man who had a steward, and an accusation was brought to him that this man was wasting his goods.
Luk 16:2  So he called him and said to him, ‘What is this I hear about you? Give an account of your stewardship, for you can no longer be steward.’
Luk 16:3  “Then the steward said within himself, ‘What shall I do? For my master is taking the stewardship away from me. I cannot dig; I am ashamed to beg.
Luk 16:4  I have resolved what to do, that when I am put out of the stewardship, they may receive me into their houses.’
Luk 16:5  “So he called every one of his master’s debtors to him, and said to the first, ‘How much do you owe my master?’
Luk 16:6  And he said, ‘A hundred measures of oil.’ So he said to him, ‘Take your bill, and sit down quickly and write fifty.’
Luk 16:7  Then he said to another, ‘And how much do you owe?’ So he said, ‘A hundred measures of wheat.’ And he said to him, ‘Take your bill, and write eighty.’
Luk 16:8  So the master commended the unjust steward because he had dealt shrewdly. …

The parable ends here.  The unjust steward (or servant) was not a good man, but he was commended by the master for his shrewdness.  The unjust steward could see he would soon be out of a job and a place to live and quickly made friends so that he would have somewhere to live; his new friends would receive him into their homes.

Jesus then proceeds to make some comments on the parable, which explain it.

Luk 16:8  … For the sons of this world are more shrewd in their generation than the sons of light.

The first is a general comment that the unrighteous are more cunning in their business dealings than the righteous.  The next statement is perhaps the most puzzling, and where we find the phrase “make friends for yourselves by unrighteous mammon”.

Luk 16:9  “And I say to you, make friends for yourselves by unrighteous mammon, that when you fail, they may receive you into an everlasting home.

“Unrighteous mammon” is probably better translated as “mammon of unrighteousness” as many translations have.  It is not mammon (material wealth or riches) that is unrighteous, but often its use, and sometimes its means of acquisition, that is unrighteous.  What friends are being referred to?  How do you make these friends by mammon?  And what does “when you fail” mean?  Some translations have, “when it fails”.  What will fail, you or the mammon?  The next few verses explain what Jesus means.

Luk 16:10  He who is faithful in what is least is faithful also in much; and he who is unjust in what is least is unjust also in much.
Luk 16:11  Therefore if you have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches?
Luk 16:12  And if you have not been faithful in what is another man’s, who will give you what is your own?

If we are unfaithful in how we deal with money, then God will not give us true riches (which is principally eternal life).  Or if we are unfaithful in looking after someone else’s possessions, God will not give us our own possessions.

Let’s consider the phrase “make friends for yourselves by unrighteous mammon” again.  The friends are God the Father and Jesus Christ, for it is they who can “receive you into an everlasting home”.  We make friends of God the Father and Jesus Christ by “unrighteous mammon”, by being faithful in little things (such as money), because as Jesus explained, if we are faithful in what is least (such as mammon) we will be faithful in things of greater importance, serving and loving God.  The last part of verse 9, “that when you fail, they may receive you into an everlasting home” now becomes clear.  What fails is us when we die.  By making friends with God, when we die, He will give us eternal life.

Jesus concludes with the sobering truth.

Luk 16:13  “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.”

Serving mammon, the pursuit of wealth above all else, leads to being unfaithful in little things, and eventually stealing, lying, murder, and other evils.  Thus you cannot serve God and mammon.