Jesus proceeded to draw two more lessons from the parable He had just told. One was the importance of faithfulness for Jesus' agents. The other was the importance of undivided loyalty to Jesus.
16:10-12 Trustworthiness does not depend on the amount for which one is responsible but on character (cf. 1 Tim. 3:5). Faithfulness in the use of money now demonstrates a trustworthy character that God will reward with responsibility for greater riches in the kingdom. Unfaithfulness does not just demonstrate untrustworthiness but unrighteousness. By using the word "mammon"Jesus probably intended the disciples to include all the worldly things in which people trust, not just money. These would include one's time and talents as well as his or her treasure. If disciples squander what God has entrusted to their care on the earth, who will give them their own things to manage in heaven such as authority over others in the kingdom (cf. 1 Cor. 9:17)? The rhetorical question answers itself. God will not.
16:13 Even though one may have both God and mammon, namely be a believer and have earthly resources, it is impossible to serve them both. They both demand total allegiance (cf. Matt. 6:24). Love for God will result in mammon taking second place in life. Conversely if one puts mammon first, God can have only second place (cf. 1 Tim. 6:10). This fact should serve as a warning against unfaithfulness to God and as a warning against enslavement by mammon. Jesus' personified mammon to picture it as God's rival. Disciples obviously can serve God and mammon, but they cannot be the servant, in the true sense of that word, of both God and mammon. They can only be the servant of one.373
