He condemns the man who
having received one pound made no effort to increase it. He says, "If
ye have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit
to your trust the true riches" (Luke 16:11). He made no demand of His
disciples, so far as the record shows, to give up their property. The
case of the young man of great wealth (Mark 10:17-27), who would
follow Christ, and of whom Jesus required that he should divest
himself of his property, is fully in accord with Jesus' teaching
concerning wealth and the holding of property. The key to the whole
matter, on this point, is found in what Jesus says of this very case,
"How hard it is for them that trust in riches to enter into the
kingdom of God" (Mark 10:24). This young man did not possess his
wealth but his wealth possessed him, he was the servant of his money.
Jesus' teaching is that a man should hold money in trust. Jesus warned
men of the risk of possessing property, lest it become their
master. Money, considered simply as money, is a hardening influence
and in the restive desire to get more the best things in men are quite
sure to be eliminated (Matthew 13:22). "The danger lies in the power
of money to gather affection and to absorb trust, thus displacing God"
(Matthew 6:19,20,24; Luke 18:24; 12:15).
The Reckoning.--There comes a time when every trustee is called upon
to render an account of how he has administered the business entrusted
to his care (Matthew 25:19; Luke 19:15).
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