Unrighteous Wealth (2) Definition

The key message of the parable of the shrewd manager is the distinction between “righteous wealth” and “unrighteous wealth.

So if you have not been trustworthy in handling unrighteous wealth, who will trust you with true riches (Luke 16:11)?

This parable is the first of a series told by Jesus that builds on this distinction.

Righteous wealth is gained through hard work, honest trade and diligent investment. We can use righteous wealth to advance the kingdom, but it still has limited value. True riches are found in Jesus.

Unrighteous wealth is “mammona adikia”. It could also be translated as “wealth of injustice”. It refers to wealth obtained through activities that are contrary to God’s will, particularly those that are unjust. Jesus did not define unrighteous wealth, because this had already been done in the Law and the Prophets. We are not familiar with the expression, but when his listeners heard it, they knew what he meant. He was referring to wealth held contrary to the Instructions for Economic Life.

The following are the main categories of unrighteous wealth.

1. Anything that is stolen becomes unrighteous wealth.

2. Lending to people that cannot afford the interest and then seizing the assets that has been pledged as security when they default is unrighteous wealth. This has been an easy way to gain wealth in every age.

3. The accumulation of houses and land is unrighteous wealth. The prophets spoke against those who accumulated land and houses.
   

   Woe to you who add house to house and join field to field till no space is left and you live alone in the land (Is 5:8).

   In the modern world, residential housing is a popular investment, but this can be unrighteous wealth.

4. Property and profit received through collusion with political powers is unrighteous wealth. People with political power often protect their positions by providing land and property to their supporters. The people who had become rich in Jesus times gained their wealth through their place in the Roman political system. It was unrighteous wealth. Once these people had chosen Jesus as their King, they could not retain land and property that represented loyalty to King Herod or Caesar, so they sold it. They would probably have lost their property anyway, once their new loyalty became clear.

5. In the modern world, governments often give a group of people monopoly power over an aspect of the economy, eg import licenses, mining licenses. This enables them to become very wealthy, but this is unrighteous wealth.

6. Limited liability laws allow business to take excessive risks and then leave their creditors (often small contractors) carrying the burden when they default. Wealth gained through limited liability could be unrighteous wealth.

7. Wealth obtained through debasing the currency is unrighteous wealth, whether it is done by a counterfeiter or a government.
   

   See how the faithful city
   has become a prostitute!
   She once was full of justice;
   righteousness used to dwell in her—
   but now... your silver has become dross (Is 1:21-22).

   Those who become wealth through debasing or inflating the currency are creating unrighteous wealth for themselves.

   In the modern world, people have found less direct ways to take advantage of inflation and debt. Many people have become wealthy through investing in real estate to benefit from the capital gains that come through inflation of property prices. These gains are often amplified by using borrowed money to pay for the properties. Large returns are earned through an activity that produces very little for the economy.

   The high returns are dependent on continued price inflation that is caused by the government manipulating the currency. Collecting capital gains caused by inflation is sharing in the deceitful activities of currency manipulators. Wealth obtained from capital gains obtained by highly leveraged investments in real estate is unrighteous wealth.

The shrewd manager understood the nature of unrighteous wealth.