Behold, To Obey Is Better Than Sacrifice

This is a parable Jesus spoke to his disciples , the rich man is a man who trust in the arm of his own strength . He is not righteous , he is a man of the earth a man that loves this world and its money. We all have to have money to exist and live . But this is a parable of Loving money and what happens to people that live unto unrighteous mammon.  Mammon in the   Greek: mamonas
Mammon:

a common Aramaic word for "riches," akin to a Hebrew word signifying "to be firm, steadfast" (whence "Amen"), hence, "that which is to be trusted;" Gesenius regards it as derived from a Heb. word signifying "treasure" (Gen 43:23); it is personified in Mat 6:24; Luk 16:9, 11, 13.

Luk 12:34 ASV - For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.   His master was even impressed at the servants method of protecting himself, with his masters own money. Today is no different than that day, men steal enormous amounts of money and the the others in  his circle admire his crafty devious ways.  And are motivated to do the same  because they love money ,  it is a lusting an evil insatiable appetite .

Luk 16:1-15 NASB - Now He was also saying to the disciples, "There was a rich man who had a manager, and this manager was reported to him as squandering his possessions.
 "And he called him and said to him, 'What is this I hear about you? Give an accounting of your management, for you can no longer be manager.'
 The manager said to himself, 'What shall I do, since my master is taking the management away from me? I am not strong enough to dig; I am ashamed to beg.
   'I know what I shall do, so that when I am removed from the management people will welcome me into their homes.'
  "And he summoned each one of his master's debtors, and he began saying to the first, 'How much do you owe my master?'
 "And he said, 'A hundred measures of oil.' And he said to him, 'Take your bill, and sit down quickly and write fifty.'
  "Then he said to another, 'And how much do you owe?' And he said, 'A hundred measures of wheat.' He said to him, 'Take your bill, and write eighty.'
 "And his master praised the unrighteous manager because he had acted shrewdly; for the sons of this age are more shrewd in relation to Their Own Kind than the Sons of Light.
  "And I say to you, make friends for yourselves by means of the wealth of unrighteousness, so that when it fails, they will receive you into the eternal dwellings.
  "He who is faithful in a very little thing is faithful also in much; and he who is unrighteous in a very little thing is unrighteous also in much.
 "Therefore if you have not been faithful in the use of unrighteous wealth, who will entrust the true riches to you?
 "And if you have not been faithful in the use of that which is another's, who will give you that which is your own?
  "No servant can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth."
 :Now the Pharisees, who were lovers of money, were listening to all these things and were scoffing at Him.
 And He said to them, "You are those who justify yourselfs in the sight of men, but God knows your hearts; for that which is highly esteemed among men is detestable in the sight of God.

Luk 6:47 ASV - Every one that cometh unto me, and heareth my words, and doeth them, I will show you to whom he is like:
Luk 6:48 ASV - he is like a man building a house, who digged and went deep, and laid a foundation upon the rock: and when a flood arose, the stream brake against that house, and could not shake it: because it had been well builded.
Luk 6:49 ASV - But he that heareth, and doeth not, is like a man that built a house upon the earth without a foundation; against which the stream brake, and straightway it fell in; and the ruin of that house was great.   This word house     Greek: oikia   metaphorically, the heavenly abode, spoken of by the Lord as "My Father's house," Jhn 14:2, the eternal dwelling place of believers; the body as the dwelling place of the soul, 2Cr 5:1; similarly the resurrection body of believers (id.); property, e.g., Mar 12:40; by metonymy, the inhabitants of a house, a household, e.g., Mat 12:25; Jhn 4:53; 1Cr 16:15.
Luk 6:36 ASV - Be ye merciful, even as your Father is merciful.
Luk 6:37 ASV - And judge not, and ye shall not be judged: and condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned: release, and ye shall be released:
Luk 6:38 ASV - give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, shall they give into your bosom. For with what measure ye mete it shall be measured to you again.        Give, and you will receive. Your gift will return to you in full—pressed down, shaken together to make room for more, running over, and poured into your lap. The amount you give will determine the amount you get back .  Wisdom here is you do not give to get back , you give out of obedience to this word , and the love of God in you.   Give mercy and you shall receive mercy. 

"Therefore if you have not been faithful in the use of unrighteous wealth, who will entrust the true riches to you?  It is not how much money you have its what you do with what you have.
Looking beyond the natural and into the spirit we see it is a matter of a mans heart this whole thing is about our salvation,    God does not need my money. He wants my love and obedience to sever him because I love him.    Its your heart God is after your heart !     1Cr 13:13 ASV - But now abideth faith, hope, love, these three; and the greatest of these is love.

1Cr 13:1 ASV - If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am become sounding brass, or a clanging cymbal.
1Cr 13:2 ASV - And if I have [the gift of] prophecy, and know all mysteries and all knowledge; and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.
1Cr 13:3 ASV - And if I bestow all my goods to feed [the poor], and if I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profiteth me nothing.
I will relate a story to you about a circumstance that happen to me in my early years. I was with my family and we were in church one day , my family consisted of nine people.  And I was not a man of wealth it was always a struggle to make ends meet. But we survived with Gods help.
When a time came to give of my increase that day I open my wallet and there was one five dollar bill. And I was miles from home out of gas in my vehicle , and we need food also. I was going to buy gasoline to get back home.  So as I could here the music playing and people coming to give I looked  down again at my five dollars and began to think, when this voice spoke to me. It said do you trust me son. I knew who that was speaking, I quickly said yes Lord I do trust you.    I looked down at the money and said but Lord it is all I have .  Than I sat and thought and he said than give the money .   It was not the money he wanted ,  it was my faith my heart to trust him completely . So I just sat there thinking more and more seeing the situation of my need and not my faith.    Looking at my flesh my own ability more than his promises. So he came again and said test me son and see if my word is true,   give the money . So I jumped up from my seat and went and gave the money. And turned to go back to my seat when I heard a woman speak and say come here , so I went over to her and she introduced me to a gentleman  I did not know.  She had told him of some help I had given her with her home some work I had done for her. He looked up at me and smiled and put out his hand to shake my hand. And when I shook his hand he looked into my eyes and smiled again and put something in my hand. And I turned and went to my seat with my family. As I sat knowing that he put something in my hand I open my hand and it was a fifty dollar bill . I wept and could hear that voice in my mind saying trust me just trust me.       Give, and you will receive. Your gift will return to you in full—pressed down, shaken together to make room for more, running over, and poured into your lap. The amount you give will determine the amount you get back .   We do not give to receive ! we give to be obedient to his word.   The lord knows our hearts and he is after our hearts.
Psa 50:10 ASV - For every beast of the forest is mine, And the cattle upon a thousand hills.
Psa 50:11 ASV - I know all the birds of the mountains; And the wild beasts of the field are mine.
1Sa 15:22 ASV - And Samuel said, Hath Jehovah as great delight in burnt-offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of Jehovah? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams.
Rom 14:17 ASV - for the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.