I have never heard of such openly displayed covetousness from the pulpit. And the congregation actually encourages this sin?
What ever happened to giving money to support the laborers of the Gospel and to strengthen the hands of the needy and comfort the afflicted?
Check out this 6 minute recording of J. Vernon McGee talking about Luke 16 (dealing with unrighteous mammon).
http://www.blueletterbible.org/audio_video/mcgee_j_vernon/Luk/42080_Luke_16_7-10.ram
He makes some very good points.
I would also add this thought:
Luke 16
11. If therefore ye have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches?
12. And if ye have not been faithful in that which is another man's, who shall give you that which is your own?
Or to rearrange these verses ...
If therefore ye have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon ... And if ye have not been faithful in that which is another man's
who will commit to your trust the true riches ... who shall give you that which is your own?
The kingdoms of this world, and the wealth thereof, are ruled over by the prince of this world, the devil; for they are his and his to give to whomever shall bow down and worship him. Thus, we read of "unrighteous mammon" which is comparable to being "another man's". Even if the other "man" be the devil or God. Being the devil's is straight forward, however to explain being God's (so there is no confusion) it is easy to understand that if "we" belong to God then all "we have" is His. Not to mention that everything in the world actually belongs to God, thus shall every man be held accountable for his deeds.
This is emphasized further in the understanding of entrusting the "true riches" to be "your own". Which can only be the fulfillment of the Spirit of Christ being poured out upon all flesh, as on the day of Pentecost. Not to be confused with an understanding that the Spirit of God should now become my own possession as though He were mine to do with as I pleased. Rather as Jesus prayed, that we shall be one with Christ, even as He is One with the Father. This is the peace (reconciliation and unity) of God by the Blood of Jesus through faith in Him.
To say in another way, being heirs of the promise and thus heirs with Christ, etc.. And to make another marked emphasis I would direct to Isaiah 58 concerning what it means to "delight yourself in the Lord" as we hear so often quoted from Psalms, "that the Lord shall give you the desires of your heart".
Isaiah 58
13. "If because of the sabbath, you turn your foot
From doing your own pleasure on My holy day,
And call the sabbath a delight, the holy day of the LORD honorable,
And honor it, desisting from your own ways,
From seeking your own pleasure
And speaking your own word,
14. [b]Then you will take delight in the LORD[/b],
And I will make you ride on the heights of the earth;
And I will feed you with the heritage of Jacob your father,
For the mouth of the LORD has spoken."
To say the least, when we pray for money, or wealth or such things of unrighteous mammon, in such a way that we are praying and desiring to benefit our ownselves outside of and beyond the need which God says He shall see to Himself on our behalf (for the purpose of carrying out the work of the Gospel of Christ while we spend ourselves in seeking first His kingdom and His righteousness) then we are praying for something that belongs to another. This is called covetousness, aka, being disobedient to the Tenth Commandment.
Such men shall never receive the true riches of glory that are in Christ Jesus alone. Thus, they have no inheritance as sons of faith and neither shall they be "fed with the heritage of Jacob your father, For the mouth of the LORD has spoken."
