Page 439 - Bible History

412 CHRIST'S TEACHINGS, MIRA ES AND UR
from the stewardship, they may receive me into their houses.' He sent for each one of his lord's debtors. When the rst came, He said, 'How much dost thou owe my lordY' He answered, 'One hundred barrels of oil.' The steward said to him, 'Take thy bill, and sit down quickly and write fty.' When the second came, he said, 'How much dost thou oweY' He said, 'One hundred quarters of wheat.' The steward said to him, 'Take thy bill and write down eighty.' In like manner he dealt with every one of them.
''When the rich man heard of this, he was, of course, greatly displeased with the steward for having cheated him, but he was forced to admit that it was a very clever scheme and that the steward knew how to make friends for himself.''
Our Savior pointed out the moral of the story. He said, '' Make unto you friends of the Ma on of in­ iquity, that when you shall fail, they may receive you into everlasting dwellings.''
Our Lord did not mean that we should he dishonest andtakemoneythatdoesnotbelongtous. Hesimply teaches us a lesson concerning the proper use of money. He calls it the Mammon of iniquity. Now the word Mammon means riches, the love of which so often hardens the hearts of men toward one another and tempts them to steal and cheat and build up a fortune at the expense of the poor. Thus, iniquity, or sin, is the means that people use to acquire riches, and there­ fore riches can be called the Mammon of iniquity.
However, it is possible to acquire money by lawful means. But then it must be used, not for sel sh pur-