As we have stated, material wealth is not unrighteous of itself. Abraham was righteous and also a wealthy man.

Therefore the term "the unrighteous mammon" is not referring to material wealth but to the world system that lives by material wealth instead of by faith in the Lord God. The righteous live by faith in the Lord. The unrighteous live by faith in money. The issue is, God or money!

In this instance the money was unrighteous because the manager invited the debtors to falsify their bill and they agreed to this.

As we have pointed out, the Lord Jesus made five applications of His parable. We might sum up these five applications as follows:

If we are lazy and incompetent in our responsibilities we are wise if we make friends of the people of the world so when we lose our position of power they will receive us as one of themselves.

The faithful are faithful in small and great matters while the unrighteous are unrighteous in small and great matters.

If we are not faithful in the business of the world system we will not be faithful in the business of the Kingdom of God.

God watches our behavior in the world to see if we are faithful in worldly responsibilities. If we are, He will consider entrusting us with the eternal riches of the Kingdom.

We will not be given our own inheritance if we have not been faithful in that which belongs to someone else.

It is impossible to serve both God and material wealth. We shall live by and depend on one or the other.

These five principles operate in the world. We do well to take heed to them because they are laws of profit and loss God has established.

Of course, Jesus is not advocating that if we are lazy and incompetent we should add the falsifying of accounts to our sins. He is pointing out that if we are not willing to apply the faithfulness and diligence necessary to maintain a position of responsibility, we are wise to think ahead to the consequences of our negligence; for we surely will not be able to keep our position in the world if we are slothful.

But there is another application of the parable of the unrighteous steward. It has to do with the Christian ministry.

God gives to each Christian, especially to those whom He calls to labor in the Word, the responsibility of holding forth the testimony of God's Person, will, way, and eternal purpose. Each Christian supports some aspect of the Word of Life.

The Word of Life places a debt, an obligation on everyone in the world. All men owe God their love, their worship, their loyal service. All men have the obligation to seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness.

The wise, industrious steward of the Kingdom of God keeps all the accounts in order. He administers his responsibilities faithfully and God stands with him and provides for all his needs.

To be continued.