Worldly Wealth For Eternal Profit

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. I tell you, use worldly wealth to gain friends for yourselves, so that when it is gone, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings. "Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much. So if you have not been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will trust you with true riches? And if you have not been trustworthy with someone else's property, who will give you property of your own?
Luke 16:8-12

i've heard several ministers preach on this passage, and they have all had different punch lines. what do you think "use worldly wealth to gain friends for yourselves" means? i realize it's a parable and there may be many meanings, but i want to know the concrete...and right now i don't have a clue.

when i was younger, i thought this verse meant that i should give as many gifts as possible to rich people who could support me as an overseas missionary. let me tell you, my understand has grown some since then. since then, i've had opportunities to be trustworthy in handling worldly wealth and have failed misterably. now i have the debt to prove it, which is not something i am proud of. so, by the grace of God, i am digging out from the burden of owing creditors money. hopefully by the time i'm 32, i will be debt free...but who knows.

anyway, i am still a kid with many questions and a lack of understanding. the Bible is chuck full of great mysteries, for which i attempt to decipher the true meaning. isn't is great being a kid of the omniscience One, the omnipotent One, and the omnipresent One?

holy Jesus,
i am humbled by Your words which speak directly to my heart. i have not been trustworthy in the small things. may You strengthen me by Your grace to make wise financial decisions. this money that i have been entrusted with is a gift of You, and i want to be wise in the way it gets used. Jesus, i need You to be my financial advisor. let my past not dominate my future. i lay this burden on Your altar. may You be my Guide, my Counselor, and my Hope. may the praise of my heart penetrate to Your throne of grace. i love You and treasure Your insight.
in Jesus's Name ~ Amen!

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*Karla *Audrey *Brandon