6
He answered, 'Eight hundred gallons of olive oil.' The manager said to him, 'Take your bill, sit down quickly, and write four hundred gallons.'
7
Then the manager asked another one, 'How much do you owe?' He answered, 'One thousand bushels of wheat.' Then the manager said to him, 'Take your bill and write eight hundred bushels.'
8
So, the master praised the dishonest manager for being smart. Yes, worldly people are smarter with their own kind than spiritual people are.
9
"I tell you, make friends for yourselves using worldly riches so that when those riches are gone, you will be welcomed in those homes that continue forever.
10
Whoever can be trusted with a little can also be trusted with a lot, and whoever is dishonest with a little is dishonest with a lot.
11
If you cannot be trusted with worldly riches, then who will trust you with true riches?
12
And if you cannot be trusted with things that belong to someone else, who will give you things of your own?
13
"No servant can serve two masters. The servant will hate one master and love the other, or will follow one master and refuse to follow the other. You cannot serve both God and worldly riches."
14
The Pharisees, who loved money, were listening to all these things and made fun of Jesus.
15
He said to them, "You make yourselves look good in front of people, but God knows what is really in your hearts. What is important to people is hateful in God's sight.
16
"The law of Moses and the writings of the prophets were preached until Johnn came. Since then the Good News about the kingdom of God is being told, and everyone tries to enter it by force.