We are all stewards of what the Lord has given us and will one day have to give an account to Him of how we used our time, talents, money, and influence while we lived here. It's greasy grace to believe that simply reciting the sinner's prayer frees us to live however we wish without facing any consequences. Calling Jesus LORD merely gives Him a title; it is doing what He said that actually makes Him our Lord. He was clear about this:

(John 14:15 NKJV) "If you love Me, keep My commandments."

(Luke 6:46 NASB) "Why do you call Me, 'Lord, Lord,' and do not do what I say?"

(Luke 9:23 NKJV) Then He said to them all, "If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me."

In Luke 16, Jesus tells two stories that are connected like the two sides of a coin. The first is the unjust steward who recognized the need to change his path, which is something we all should do. The second is the rich man and Lazarus, which is what will happen if you don't.

(Luke 16:1-4 NKJV) He also said to His disciples: "There was a certain rich man who had a steward, and an accusation was brought to him that this man was wasting his goods. So he called him and said to him, 'What is this I hear about you? Give an account of your stewardship, for you can no longer be steward.' "Then the steward said within himself, 'What shall I do? For my master is taking the stewardship away from me. I cannot dig; I am ashamed to beg. I have resolved what to do, that when I am put out of the stewardship, they may receive me into their houses.'

(Luke 16:5-8 NKJV) "So he called every one of his master's debtors to him, and said to the first, 'How much do you owe my master?' And he said, 'A hundred measures of oil.' So he said to him, 'Take your bill, and sit down quickly and write fifty.' Then he said to another, 'And how much do you owe?' So he said, 'A hundred measures of wheat.' And he said to him, 'Take your bill, and write eighty.' So the master commended the unjust steward because he had dealt shrewdly."

To clarify, it was illegal to charge a fellow Jew interest (Exodus 22:25). So, as usual, they found a workaround by marking up the price so their profit was baked into the loan. The steward could mark 100 measures of oil down to 50 because he was previously charging them 100% interest.

(Luke 16:9-13 NKJV) "And I say to you, make friends for yourselves by unrighteous mammon, that when you fail, they may receive you into an everlasting home. He who is faithful in what is least is faithful also in much; and he who is unjust in what is least is unjust also in much. Therefore if you have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches? And if you have not been faithful in what is another man's, who will give you what is your own? "No servant can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon."

Mammon is money, and Jesus had a lot to say about it, especially in the Gospel of Luke. Notice, Jesus called money one of the "least" things you could be trusted with. God tests people by giving them money. Consider the parable of the talents where the Master gave money to His servants and traveled to a far country (Matthew 25:14-30). Later, he returned to see what they had done with it.

In the story above, Jesus instructs us to use our earthly wealth to obtain eternal rewards, an "everlasting home." This story is about what we should be doing.

Jesus Christ said here plainly that if you are not faithful with your money, you will never be trusted with the true riches. Until God gets a hold of your wallet, it will be a stumbling block for you. He will force you to choose whether to give Him the 10% tithe or resent Him asking and sulk.

To the wealthy who were not rich toward God, Jesus said: (Luke 6:24 AMP) But woe to (alas for) you who are rich (abounding in material resources), for you already are receiving your consolation (the solace and sense of strengthening and cheer that come from prosperity) and have taken and enjoyed your comfort in full [having nothing left to be awarded you].

Ouch... Luke goes on to include the parable of the Rich Fool (Luke 12:13-21). The account of the dishonest manager (Luke 16:1-13). The rich man and Lazarus (Luke 16:19-31). The rich young ruler who went away sad when Jesus told him to give to the poor (Luke 18:18-30). Then there is Zacchaeus, who was so overjoyed upon being saved that he gave away half his possessions (Luke 19:1-9). Yep, Jesus had plenty to say about our handling of money.

Then, Jesus tells a fitting story for today, one that is relevant for those who hope to go to heaven. Something to note here is that Jesus does not present this story as a parable, and he does not name individuals like Lazarus and Abraham in any of His other parables. This is quite possibly a true story that He witnessed, told from His view of eternity:

(Luke 16:19-21 NKJV) "There was a certain rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen and fared sumptuously every day. But there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, full of sores, who was laid at his gate, desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man's table. Moreover the dogs came and licked his sores."

This rich man lived like royalty, indulging in the finest luxuries life had to offer. He adorned himself in outer garments made from imported Phoenician wool, lavishly dyed in the royal purple of the rare murex sea mussel. His inner garment, a sign of his wealth and status, was crafted from the finest linen imported from Egypt. The phrase "fared sumptuously" illustrates that he enjoyed a gourmet feast at his table every single day, reveling in the abundance of his riches.

A poor, sickly beggar named Lazarus lay outside the rich man's gate, twenty yards away. Illness and malnutrition left him covered in weeping ulcers. He was too sick to walk and was carried to the gate by others, literally "thrown" there.

Food was eaten with the hands, and in the houses of the wealthy, they wiped their hands on husks of bread and discarded them. That is the crumbs that Lazarus was waiting for, but the rich man gave him nothing.

(Luke 16:22-24 NKJV) So it was that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels to Abraham's bosom. The rich man also died and was buried. And being in torments in Hades, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.

Lazarus, the broken, eventually died. His body wouldn't have received a burial, but was most likely thrown on the trash heap and burned outside of town. Yet, angels picked up his spirit and escorted him to a heavenly place with a brand new, healthy body.

The rich man died as well, and I am sure he received a lavish send-off with mourners and an above-ground tomb, but his fate was much different... He was taken to be burned like trash.

(Luke 16:24-26 NKJV) "Then he cried and said, 'Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.' But Abraham said, 'Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things; but now he is comforted and you are tormented. And besides all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed, so that those who want to pass from here to you cannot, nor can those from there pass to us.'

Their roles had now been reversed for eternity, and there were no second chances. Lazarus was now living in comfort, and the rich man was on fire, literally. Death is God's way of saying, "Slow down," and it will find each of us. Today is the day of salvation. The time to repent is now. When tomorrow comes, you could be with Lazarus or smoking like a brisket. Don't think hell is a distant place; it's seconds away.

Jesus Christ told this story... Those who live in white palaces should be very wary of the way they treat the homeless outside the gate, for a great payday is coming.

You can pray this with me if you like:

Prayer: Heavenly Father, I pray that You help me see the world through Your eyes, and to treat others as I would like to be treated. Help me remember that our roles can be changed so easily. Please work Your perfect will in my life. In the name of Jesus Christ, I pray. Amen!

Footnote: As I understand, Abraham's bosom was a holding place (hades) where the dead waited until the final judgment. Yet since Jesus' finished work on the cross, there is no waiting for believers who die; they go directly to heaven, to the presence of the Lord (2 Corinthians 5:6-8). Also, Lazarus was not saved merely because he was poor, nor the rich man damned because of his wealth.