Money Is Something That People Acquire And Lose; It Does Not Make Anyone Greater

 "'And so I tell you: use filthy money to make friends for yourselves, so that, when it fails, these people may welcome you into the eternal homes.

Whoever can be trusted in little things can also be trusted in great ones; whoever is dishonest in slight matters will also be dishonest in greater ones.  So if you have been dishonest in handling filthy money, who would entrust you with true wealth?  And if you have been dishonest with things that are not really yours, who will give you that wealth which is truly your own?

No servant can serve two masters.  Either he does not like the one and is fond of the other, or he regards one highly and the other with contempt.  You cannot give yourself both to GOD and to Money.'

The Pharisees, who loved money, heard all this and sneered at JESUS.  HE said to them, 'You do your best to be considered righteous by people.  But GOD knows the heart, and what is highly esteemed by human beings is loathed by GOD.'" - Luke 16:9-15

(We are not owners but administrators of our wealth and we must administer it for the good of all.  Money is not a bad thing as long as we use it as a means to facilitate exchanges.  JESUS, however, call it "unjust" [we use the word filthy] because money is not a true good [it is not money that makes us just before GOD];  and because it is impossible to accumulate money without failing in trust in the FATHER and without hurting our neighbors.

Money is something that people acquire and lose; it does not make anyone greater.  Therefore, money is not part of the goods that are our own.

The Pharisees, heard all this and sneered at JESUS.  More than the other evangelists, Luke notes the incompatibility between true religion and love of money.  The Pharisees could justify their love of money by quoting some saying from the Scripture.  In fact, in the beginning the Jews saw wealth as a blessing from GOD.  It seemed just to them that GOD should reward in this way those who are faithful to HIM when they know how to deal with the riches of this world.  Then, with the passing of time, they came to see that money was more of a danger and that, often, it was the privilege of those without faith [Psalm 49, Job].

Nevertheless, as soon as someone has money he is convinced that he possesses truth, and thus the Pharisees felt authorized to judge and decide on things of GOD.  After them, many Christians belonging to influential circles have wished to use money and power for the service of the kingdom of GOD and quickly established themselves as managers.  Money in turn possesses those who possess it.  Very soon one is ready to approve a moral order that justifies one's own privileges and forgets the Gospel values of justice, humility and poverty.  In the end, it is the Church itself that is despised by those who seek GOD .

Why have so many people of humble origin felt inferior to the rich in the church?  They got used to seeing the rich heading church organizations and accustomed to receiving the word of GOD from them, in spite of JESUS' warnings.)

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