One of Jesus’ most perplexing comments was “…make friends for yourselves by means of worldly wealth…”1

It sounds… off, doesn't it? Christians are ambivalent about wealth. There are so many places in the New Testament where we’re warned about its siren call and temptations that this instruction seems to advocate the pursuit of wealth in order to influence others.

It doesn’t sound ethical.

However, we know that Jesus was totally righteous, sinless, perfect, and always revealed His Father clearly to us. So what did He mean? When you approach a passage with convictions and truth, you are able to understand what Jesus didn’t mean as well as what He did.