What does Luke 16:11 mean?

The disciples are being told the spiritual consequences of the parable of the dishonest manager (Luke 16:1–9). Jesus has explained that "one who is dishonest in a very little is also dishonest in much" (Luke 16:10). That is, the fact that the steward mismanaged his master's resources makes it no surprise that, when frightened, he cost his master a great deal of money. If he had been faithful with what his master entrusted him with, he probably would have been given more responsibility.

In Luke 16:9, Jesus urged His disciples to use "unrighteous wealth" to bless others who will perhaps come to know God through their love or who would later act as witnesses to the disciples' love of others, which is a demonstration of their commitment to God. The remark about "unrighteous wealth" seems to note that worldly people earn and spend wealth in ungodly ways. Here, Jesus may be referring to either the interest or fees the steward cut from what his master's debtors owed (Luke 16:5–7). The Mosaic law prohibited charging other Jews interest (Deuteronomy 23:19–20); to get around that, people in Jesus' time tended to charge "fees," instead. Both were against the letter or the spirit of the law and could clearly be called "unrighteous wealth."

The steward was unfaithful with unrighteous wealth in a few different ways. He mismanaged his master's assets, showing unfaithfulness to his master. If he set the high interest or exorbitant fees, he was unfaithful to his master by misrepresenting his master's integrity and he was unfaithful to God's commands. If he erased the interest or fees that his master set, then he was unfaithful to his master. In all ways, the steward was unfaithful with unrighteous wealth. The text suggests his master's debtors will hire him out of gratitude, but who will give him "true riches"? It's unlikely his new employer will trust him with a great amount of autonomy and responsibility—he's proven himself to be dishonest.

More than that, the steward's actions show he is not on the path to the true riches of salvation. Like the rich fool, he has spent his time and effort trying to accumulate wealth for himself and "is not rich toward God" (Luke 12:21). His ungodly attitude toward money is a sign of his overall ungodly character. God will not give him true spiritual riches because he proves he is not a citizen of God's kingdom.