Luke 16:13, 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. (KJV) This Scripture is placed by Jesus at the end of His Parable of the unjust steward, which concerns man’s stewardship. Jesus saw the need for this parable because he knew two dangers that face Christians. First, man’s heart, Jeremiah 17:9, The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it? (KJV).

Second, the love of money, the sin that exemplifies man’s weakness, which is the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the pride of life. The bible does not say that money is evil, but the “love of money” is the root of all evil. St. Luke 16:1-12 must be understood before Jesus statement in verse 13 can be understood. Verses 1-12 concerns stewardship, which necessitates a rearranging of one’s priorities after salvation. A steward is one who manages a house or dispenses what belongs to a house. In this case, a house can represent property, such as land or anything that requires constant attention. Christians are called stewards because they have been entrusted with the gospel message, and the souls that are saved through the gospel message. It is a responsibility for which believers will be held accountable. A steward is related to an occupation or profession. Jesus is coming back. For some this means changing spiritual and natural priorities. For others, it means using time, talents and treasures more wisely in order to serve God with a total commitment in this present world.

Jesus made a profound statement that mystifies many who read Luke 16:8, 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. (KJV). This verse is one of the keys to understanding His concern about the Christian and his relationship to prosperity and riches*. The statement that Jesus made reveals to the reader that the unsaved man is more diligent about his pursuit of worldliness than the saved man is about his pursuit of godliness. Collectively, the unsaved man’s pursuit of prosperity is greater than the saved man’s pursuit of spiritual blessings. When the saved man’s priorities are in accordance with the Word, his efforts can be as effective as the unsaved man’s efforts.. Mark 8:36, for what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? (KJV).

One of the main reasons for this parable is to encourage Christians to reevaluate, and reorganize their priorities concerning the riches of this world. You can not serve two masters and be loyal to both. The problem is not necessarily riches. The real problem is mastership. If the Christian does not rearrange his priorities to put Christ first in his life, then it is possible that the riches of this world will cause him to fall from grace. Notice Matthew 6:21, For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. (KJV). The devil, which is the god of this world, desires to be the Christian’s master. See Matthew 4:8-10. Again, notice that the real problem is not riches, but mastership of the Christian’s life. Riches are only a threat for which one must beware. Jesus said, “the love of money is the root of all evil”. It is the evil produced by the love of money, that enslaves mankind to the mastership of the devil. Everyone has chosen a master. It is either God or the devil. It cannot be both or nothing. The choice is mankind's but God predetermines the consequences. The person who has God as his master or Lord has therefore, eternal life, John 10:10, and peace of heart in spite of tribulations and trials. John 14:27. But, the person whose god is the devil will live in constant anxiety, fear, and is destined to Hell. No one can serve two masters. There cannot be two heads on one body; that would be an abnormality. A man cannot divide his life into spiritual and material components. The soul, the spirit, and the body combine to make one person; therefore we can only serve one master at a time with total commitment. You can not serve God with your spirit, the devil with your body, and your soul is uncommitted to either. You can only serve one master with total commitment at one time. Modern Christianity has elevated concern about the body and material things so high that spiritual concerns have become secondary on many Christians’ priority list. When problems arise, church obligations are often the first to be sacrificed. Remember, there is no godly spirituality in the flesh, the world, or the devil.

Note the problem of priority in Luke 16:13, the two verbs, love and hate, stand in contrast. The one he will love, the other he will hate. The reason these two entirely opposite words are used, love and hate, is to indicate how tremendously greater our love for God should be in our hearts, lives, and exemplified in our service. Love for God should come first. Nothing should take the place of God in any individual's life. Jesus, when He is the sole master of our lives, gives us a balanced view of all else: relatives, material things, work, sufferings, sickness, health, and abundance. Relatives and friends should not have the same priority in our lives as Christ. In Luke 14:26, Jesus told us that unless we hate our relatives we are not worthy of being Christ's followers. What did He mean by this? Jesus is saying that anyone who loves father or mother, son or daughter more than Him is not worthy of Him. This does not mean that love for our relatives should not exist; rather, our love for Christ should greatly exceed that of our families. The Christian’s first priority should be Christ. The Christian’s second priority should be his spouse. The Christian’s third priority should be his children. The Christian’s fourth priority should be his family.

The word translated "other" in Luke 16:24 is the transliterated Greek word heteros, which means strange not allos meaning another, or other. Heteros means another of a different quality whereas allos would have meant another of equal quality. Jesus declares that mammon or riches cannot be given the same importance, or priority as God. The two are different with very different meanings. God deserves first place because He is the reason for our existence. When a Christian doesn't put God first in his life, he becomes so confused in his thinking that he loses perspective and lives in constant worry, discontentment, anxiety, and disarray.

The threat of riches and its effects are very real in the Church. It can affect even the preaching of the gospel. The Church must always remember, 1 Timothy 6:5-6, Perverse disputings of men of corrupt minds, and destitute of the truth, supposing that gain is godliness: from such withdraw thyself. But godliness with contentment is great gain. (KJV). Such teaching as “if you are saved, then you should not be poor” is non-scriptural and erroneous. Remember the words of Jesus, Matthew 26:11, For ye have the poor always with you; but me ye have not always. (KJV). The Church must not reduce this great gospel message to just materialism and physical blessings. Yet this is what has happened in many cases. A closer look at The New Testament blessings will reveal that the focus is really on spiritual blessings and not material blessings. In the first chapter of Ephesians, Paul named seven spiritual blessings. First, the Church has been blessed to be holy and blameless. Eph. 1:4. Second, the Christian has been adopted. Eph.1:5. Third, the Christian has been blessed with redemption and forgiveness of sins. Eph.1:7. Fourth, Paul declares that the Church has been blessed with wisdom and prudence. Eph.1: 8. Fifth, God has made known unto us the mystery of His will. Eph.1: 9. Sixth, the Church has been blessed with a spiritual inheritance. Eph.1: 11. Seventh, we have been sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise. Eph.1: 13. Therefore, it appears biblically that the Christian’s priority should be on spiritual blessings rather than on material blessings.

Jesus, who knows the heart of man, told his followers the parable of the unjust steward. The rich owner decided to fire the unjust steward because of poor stewardship. The Church must understand that God has entrusted His goods to each individual Christian in the Church, and everyone must give account of his stewardship. Goods can entail time, money, and talents. The unjust steward, knowing what would happen once he is no longer a steward, sought favor from the people by reducing or eradicating their debt. Once God has revealed to an individual that he is wrong, he should move quickly to repent before judgment is carried out by God. The unjust steward’s master commended him for making restitution and setting his house in order. True repentance, which should include restitution, will get God’s attention and approval.

Jesus said that the disciples should learn from the unjust steward’s shrewdness in preparing for the future. The Church must understand that this earth is not its home. We must prepare to live for eternity with the same diligence as the unsaved man prepares to live in this world. Jesus said that if the disciples could not be trusted with the things of this world they could not be trusted with true riches. If a Christian can not be entrusted to manage his time, money, and talents on the Earth, then he can not be trusted to do so in Heaven. Then, Jesus makes the profound statement that no man can serve two masters. The Christian must make a choice. The love of prosperity will cause the Christian to serve the god of this world. The Love of God will lead you to eternal life. Riches are temporal; godliness is eternal. Jesus sums this parable by making the absolute statement that no man can serve two masters. There is very little or no room in this statement for misinterpretation. Either you are serving God or you are serving the devil. The indicating factor is one’s priorities. The devil uses riches as bait to sidetrack a Christian’s mind. Riches are not evil. It’s the love, pursuit of riches, and where they appear on one’s priority list that make them counter-productive. If the Christian chooses God as his master, as indicated in the parable of the Unjust steward, He will supply his every need.

Some Christians feel that after giving tithes, the remaining ninety percent is theirs and they are free to do as they will. This is not true. Giving the tenth of one’s income does not free that person to do as he will with the remaining ninety percent. Giving ten percent of one’s income only makes the remaining ninety percent holy. David said in Psalm 24:1, The earth is the LORD'S, and the fullness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein. (KJV). Christians are still responsible to God for how they manage their monies after giving their tithes. Many Christians have mismanaged their monies, and failed to be good stewards. Some Christians are self-indulgent and lack the discipline to stay on track with their priorities. Also, for this reason, some Christians feel that they are not blessed as the scripture has promised. It’s not a matter of not being blessed, but a matter of misplaced priorities, mismanagement of funds, and the problem of trying to serve two masters.

Material prosperity represents a real threat to the Christian’s spiritual and even his physical stability. The effect of the love of money which indicates who one is really serving has worked its way into the minds and hearts of Christians. The Kingdom of God is not about meat and drink. Note what the Apostle Paul said, Romans 14:17, For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost. (KJV). Jesus has taken all the speculation out of who one is serving. When a ministry, or individual Christian’s principle theme entails the principles of gaining wealth, there would be no doubt who that ministry has chosen to be its master. Wealth should only be one of the means of winning souls, not the principle reason to win souls.

In these last days of increased mobility, access to the internet, increased education, and more accessibility to financial gain, the Christian must beware not to augment riches above his love and dedication to the local church. Remember, riches are being used as a tool by the devil to gain mastership of the Church and the individual Christian.