There is a room at the end of the corridor that nobody uses. It used to belong to the eldest son, before he moved to Atlanta. Now it holds an exercise bicycle nobody rides, three suitcases, a box of old school reports and a bed that is made up, neatly, for guests who come perhaps once a year.
Most of us have some version of that room. A spare bedroom, a piece of land we have not decided what to do with, savings sitting in an account “for later”, a second property that is let out mostly for the income. Resources we hold, but have not really thought about using.
A strange parable
Luke 16 contains one of the most puzzling stories Jesus ever told. A rich man’s manager is accused of wasting his master’s goods and is about to be dismissed. Before he goes, he calls in his master’s debtors one by one and reduces their bills. “How much do you owe? A hundred measures of oil? Sit down quickly and write fifty.” He is making friends who will take him in when he is out of a job.
Astonishingly, the master commends him, not for his dishonesty, but for his shrewdness. And Jesus draws a lesson: “Make friends for yourselves by unrighteous mammon, that when you fail, they may receive you into an everlasting home” (Luke 16:9).
It is easy to misread. Jesus is not endorsing fraud, and a few verses later He is clear that “you cannot serve God and mammon” (Luke 16:13). His point is narrower and sharper. Money is temporary. Its only lasting value lies in what it is used for while it is still in our hands. The manager understood that, for selfish reasons. Jesus asks His followers to understand it at least as well, for good ones.
Notice where the story ends
The parable closes with a picture of a home. The manager wants to be “received into their houses” when he has nowhere else to go. Jesus speaks of being received into “everlasting habitations”. The whole story turns on hospitality: who will take you in, and who you have taken in.
That brings it very close to home, literally. The spaces and property we hold are some of the most concrete forms of “mammon” we have. And they are among the most powerful tools for making the kind of friendships Jesus has in mind: relationships of care and generosity that last beyond the transaction.
Shrewd, not careless
The word Jesus uses is shrewd. Not naive, not reckless. Using property generously does not mean opening the door without thought or giving away what your family needs. It means thinking as carefully about how to use what you have for good as you would about how to profit from it.
For some households, that might mean offering the spare room to a student from the country who has a place at university in town but no safe, affordable place to stay, with clear, kind house rules. For some, it means letting a flat to a young family at a fair rent rather than the highest the market will bear, and being patient in a hard month. It might mean using the land that sits idle to let a neighbour grow food. It might mean hosting a weekly church group, or a Sunday dinner for people who eat alone. Sometimes it means selling a second property and releasing money that could do more good elsewhere.
None of these is a formula. Each needs wisdom, prayer and often a conversation with your spouse and family. Some need professional advice, a written agreement or insurance. But each asks the same question the parable asks: while this is in my hands, what is it for?
Friends who will receive you
The strange promise at the end of the verse is that those we have helped will one day “receive” us. There is a hint of the kingdom here: that generosity creates bonds that last longer than the money that made them possible. The student who slept in your spare room may be the one who visits you in hospital in thirty years. The tenant you treated with patience may be the one who tells their children about the landlord who was kind. And beyond all of that, there is a welcome promised in an everlasting home that no bank balance could buy.
The room at the end of the corridor does not have to stay full of suitcases.
For reflection
- What space, property or savings do I hold that I have not really considered using for others?
- What would it look like to be as shrewd in generosity as I am in saving?
Lord, all I have is held for a little while. Give me wisdom to see what my home, my money and my land are for. Make me shrewd in doing good, generous without being careless, and open to the friendships You want to build through what You have entrusted to me. Amen.
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