And if ye have not been faithful in that which is another man's, who shall give you that which is your own?

and if in the other's ye became not faithful, your own, who shall give to you?

And if you have not been faithful in dealing with that which is not your own, who will give you that which is your own?

And if you have not been true in your care of the property of other people, who will give you that which is yours?

And if you have not been faithful with what belongs to another, who will give you what is yours?

And, if you have proved untrustworthy with what does not belong to us, who will give you what is really our own?

And if you have not been faithful in what belongs to another. By the expression, what belongs to another, he means what is not within man; for God does not bestow riches upon us on condition that we shall be attached to them, but makes us stewards of them in such a manner, that they may not bind us with their chains. And, indeed, it is impossible that our minds should be free and disengaged for dwelling in heaven, if we did not look upon every thing that is in the world as belonging to another Who shall entrust to you what is your own? Spiritual riches, on the other hand, which relate to a future life, are pronounced by him to be our own, because the enjoyment of them is everlasting. But now he employs a different comparison. There is no reason, he tells us, to expect that we shall make a proper and moderate use of our own property, if we have acted improperly or unfaithfully in what belonged to another. Men usually care less about abusing, and allow themselves greater liberty in squandering, their own property, because they are not afraid that any person will find fault with them; but when a thing has been entrusted to them either in charge or in loan, and of which they must afterwards render an account, they are more cautious and more timid. We thus ascertain Christ's meaning to be, that they who are bad stewards of earthly blessings would not be faithful guardians of spiritual gifts. He next introduces a sentence: You cannot serve God and mammon; which I have explained at Matthew 6:24. There the reader will find an explanation of the word Mammon [1]

Footnotes

1 - "Et la aussi on trouvera la signification de ce mot Mammona, lequel est ici mis, et que nous avons traduit Richesses " -- "And there will also be found the meaning of the word Mammon, which is used here, and which we have translated Riches."--In an earlier portion of this Commentary, to which our author refers, (Harmony, vol. 1 [13]p. 337,) no direct or formal explanation of the word Mammon is to be found; but a careful reader of the expository remarks on Matthew 6:24 will easily perceive that Calvin understands riches to be one of the two masters spoken of in that passage. An indirect definition of the term is afforded by his French version of the text, both in Matth. 6:24, and in Luke 16:13, "Vous ne pouvez servir a Dieu et aux richesses;" -- "you cannot serve God and riches."

Another man's - The word "man's" is not in the original. It is, "If ye have been unfaithful managers for another." It refers, doubtless, to "God." The wealth of the world is "his." It is committed to us as his stewards. It is uncertain and deceitful, and at any moment he can take it away from us. It is still "his;" and if, while intrusted with "this," we are unfaithful, we cannot expect that he will confer on us the rewards of heaven.
That which is your own - The riches of heaven, which, if once given to us, may be considered as "ours" - that is, it will be permanent and fixed, and will not be taken away "as if" at the pleasure of another. We may "calculate" on it, and look forward with the assurance that it will "continue" to be "ours" forever, and will not be taken away like the riches of this world, "as if" they were not ours. The meaning of the whole parable is, therefore, thus expressed: If we do not use the things of this world as we ought - with honesty, truth, wisdom, and integrity, we cannot have evidence of piety, and shall not be received into heaven. If we are true to that which is least, it is an evidence that we are the children of God, and he will commit to our trust that which is of infinite importance, even the eternal riches and glory of heaven.

That which is another man's - Or rather another's, τῳ αλλοτριω. That is, worldly riches, called another's:
1. Because they belong to God, and he has not designed that they should be any man's portion.
2. Because they are continually changing their possessors, being in the way of commerce, and in providence going from one to another.
This property of worldly goods is often referred to by both sacred and profane writers. See a fine passage in Horace, Sat. l. ii. s. 2. v. 129.
Nam propriae telluris herum natura neque illum,
Nec me, nec quemquam statuit
Nature will no perpetual heir assign,
Nor make the farm his property, or mine.
Francis
And the following in one of our own poets: -
"Who steals my purse steals trash; 'tis something, nothing;
'Twas mine, 'tis his, and has been slave to thousands."
That which is your own? - Grace and glory, which God has particularly designed for you; which are the only proper satisfying portion for the soul, and which no man can enjoy in their plenitude, unless he be faithful to the first small motions and influences of the Divine Spirit.

And if ye have not been faithful in that which is (f) another man's, who shall give you that which is your own?
(f) In worldly goods, which are called other men's because they are not ours, but rather entrusted to our care.

And if ye have not been faithful in that which is another man's,.... Which is not a man's own, but what is committed to him by another; , "with the mammon of others (a)", to speak in the language of the Jews; and of mammon, our Lord is speaking, and here of another man's, of which they were only stewards, as he in the preceding parable was: hence we read (b) of , "keepers of mammon", who were intrusted with another's substance; and such are here supposed, which, if unfaithful in,
who shall give you that which is your own? that is, should you unjustly detain, or make an ill use of another man's substance lodged in your hands, how can you expect but that you will be dealt with in like manner by others, who will not pay you yours, they have in their possession, but convert it to their own use? A like distinction of another's and a man's own, may be observed among the Jews:
"there are (say they (c),) four sorts of men in respect of giving alms; he that would give, but would not have others give, his eye is evil, , "in that which is other men's" (i.e. as the commentator observes (d), lest the goods of others should be increased, and they get a good name); he that would that others should give, but he will not give himself, his eye is evil, "in that which is his own"; he that gives, and would have others give, he is a "good man"; he that neither gives, nor would have others give, he is an "ungodly man";''
see Romans 5:7. Interpreters generally understand by "that which is another man's", in the first clause, the things of this world, which men are possessed of, because these are not of themselves, but from another, from God; and they are but stewards, rather than proprietors of them; and they are for the good of others, and not for themselves; and are not lasting, but in a little while will pass from them to others: and by "that which is your own", they understand the good things of grace and glory, which, when once bestowed on man, are his own property, and for his own use, and will never be alienated from him, but will always abide with him: but if he is unfaithful in the former, how should he expect the latter to be given to him?
(a) Jarchi in Pirke Abot, c. 5, sect. 13. (b) T. Hieros. Succa, fol. 53. 1. (c) Pirke Abot, c. 5. sect. 13. (d) Jarchi in ib.

another man's . . . your own--an important turn to the subject. Here all we have is on trust as stewards, who have an account to render. Hereafter, what the faithful have will be their own property, being no longer on probation, but in secure, undisturbed, rightful, everlasting possession and enjoyment of all that is graciously bestowed on us. Thus money is neither to be idolized nor despised: we must sit loose to it and use it for God's glory.

If ye have not been faithful in that which was another's - None of these temporal things are yours: you are only stewards of them, not proprietors: God is the proprietor of all; he lodges them in your hands for a season: but still they are his property. Rich men, understand and consider this. If your steward uses any part of your estate (so called in the language of men) any farther or any otherwise than you direct, he is a knave: he has neither conscience nor honour. Neither have you either one or the other, if you use any part of that estate, which is in truth God's, not yours, any otherwise than he directs. That which is your own - Heaven, which when you have it, will be your own for ever.