9 I tell you, use worldly wealth to gain friends for yourselves, so that when it is gone, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings.This verse tells us that we need to use our wealth to develop friendships. People respond well to gifts and kindness, so it is possible to open locked relational doors with our resources. The verse points out that this money will disappear anyway, so we might as well have something eternal in our possession once that money is gone. This is a great avenue for ministry that can be approached in several ways. For instance, one can host an international student, throw social parties, or take people out for a meal. These specific gifts not only give money to someone who needs it, but each of these contexts involves face to face time that could lead to spiritual conversations. Here is the parable in its entirety:
1 Jesus told his disciples: “There was a rich man whose manager was accused of wasting his possessions. 2 So he called him in and asked him, ‘What is this I hear about you? Give an account of your management, because you cannot be manager any longer.’ 3 “The manager said to himself, ‘What shall I do now? My master is taking away my job. I’m not strong enough to dig, and I’m ashamed to beg— 4 I know what I’ll do so that, when I lose my job here, people will welcome me into their houses.’You may have heard of "lobbying", otherwise known as "wining and dining", before. This happens when a company or other organization sends a representative to a political leader to treat them to dinner and give various gifts in order to win them over to the side of the company. Millions of dollars are spent every year in this pursuit, which goes to show that lobbying actually works. What the world understands about making friends is often overlooked by Christians who want to build relationships solely off of their charm and personality. Interestingly enough, however, Jesus tells us in this parable to use material means, in addition to our love and gentleness, to win people over. Some verses with a similar theme are 1 Peter 4:10:
5 “So he called in each one of his master’s debtors. He asked the first, ‘How much do you owe my master?’
6 “‘Eight hundred gallons[a] of olive oil,’ he replied.
“The manager told him, ‘Take your bill, sit down quickly, and make it four hundred.’
7 “Then he asked the second, ‘And how much do you owe?’
“‘A thousand bushels[b] of wheat,’ he replied.
“He told him, ‘Take your bill and make it eight hundred.’
8 “The master commended the dishonest manager because he had acted shrewdly. For the people of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their own kind than are the people of the light. 9 I tell you, use worldly wealth to gain friends for yourselves, so that when it is gone, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings.
10 Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God’s grace in its various forms.and Proverbs 19:6:
6 Many curry favor with a ruler,Some other practical ideas for making friends with money include: buying attractive clothing (or otherwise improving one's appearance), decorating one's house so guests will come back again, starting up a common interest club, surprising someone with a special gift, or sponsoring a group trip or other vacation.
and everyone is the friend of a man who gives gifts.
A warning to this advice is to do all of these actions in the right heart. If we are building this influence for a reason other than loving God or loving people, we will become easily ensnared by the traps of the enemy, become manipulative, or start to build one's self esteem off of other's opinions. Also, it is important that your friendships don't become dependent on this wealth and end up becoming completely shallow and material. In spite of all this, there have been times where I had enough money to apply these concepts and found great success in starting and building friendships with these techniques. See what creative ideas you can come up with to garner friendships!
In Christ,
Simeon Snow
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