An examination into the concept of money and how we should approach the fiscal realm from a Christian worldview.
Western Christianity is under a serious attack regarding our attitudes towards money. Infamous pastors like Kenneth Copeland and Joel Osteen color our perception of money and the gospel, preaching a “prosperity gospel”. They misconstrue the Bible and its narrative to force the idea upon it that God blesses people financially through various good works, to then enjoy money in its fullness as a reward for their toil. This is just one example of the many dangerous teachings that have infiltrated the American Church regarding money. All these false teachings can ultimately be described in one word: materialism. Christians across the nation are both victims and proponents of these dangerous false teachings.
Many are victims in a sense because their attitude towards money is inherited. Disciple makers within the church have been negatively influenced by these false teachings and then teach them to their own disciples. Pastors across the nation have accidentally allowed pieces of this false gospel to slip into their preaching and teaching. Christians new to the faith, who trust their spiritual leaders, buy in on the teachings as they don’t yet have a biblical worldview to examine them through.
Eventually, these new Christians become disciple makers themselves. They then continue to teach what they themselves have been taught as a new believer. Neglecting to examine the Bible and compare what they’ve been taught to what the Bible teaches. Ignorance of what the Bible says regarding money does not absolve us of responsibility. Unfortunately, due to their ignorance there exists a continuing cycle of fiscal negligence within the American Church.
The common misconception within the American church can really be surmised into the idea “the money I earn, is the money I deserve, and it’s the money I get to use for my leisure.” We have this mistaken idea that the money God has given us is ours. An idea that couldn’t be farther than the truth.
The reality is, the money we have isn’t ours to use. In fact, it’s not even ours at all. The money we have in life is simply ours to steward, to be used to the glory of God. Scripture states in 1 Cor 10:31, “So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.” The Westminster Catechisms, a very theologically rich document of core beliefs of the Christian faith, states that “The chief end of man is to glorify God, and to enjoy Him forever.” A common theme within Scripture that theologians have recognized for centuries is that we must glorify God in all aspects of our life.
This idea of glorifying God throughout every part of our life is a terrifying idea for many of us. Especially when it impacts the money that we think we work so hard for and deserve to get to use towards our leisure. Scripture though is very explicit regarding where money comes from and how it ought to be spent. 1 Chronicles 29:14 states, “But who am I, and who are my people, that we could give anything to you? Everything we have has come from you, and we give you only what you first gave us!” Our money and all our possessions come from the Lord exclusively.
This leads into our unique economic setting. Are you aware that almost 10% of the world make what is to less than 3$ a day? How about the fact that almost 40% of the world only makes 7$ a day? Or that 84% of the world makes less than 32$ a day?[1] Meanwhile the average American makes almost 300$ a day. We are a very rich country compared to most of the world.
When I think about all these facts laid bare, the story of the talents in Matthew 25:14-30 comes to mind. Within the story we see 3 servants given talents (A form of currency) according to their abilities. The two servants who faithfully stewarded the talents and brought increase were applauded and given more to steward, the one servant who hid the talents and didn’t bring an increase with it was punished and cast out the household. A story detailing the importance of properly stewarding what God has blessed us. Within this story all I can imagine is the American Church and our obscene wealth compared to the rest of the world and our poor stewardship of that gift.
God does not do things on accident; there is no accident that you and I exist in a nation that is filled with wealth and luxury. We, much like the servants in the parable, have been given something to steward. In our case we have been given our money to steward. There is no doubt that the enemy would like to see nothing more than for us to use our money on lavish and luxury. There is no doubt within my mind that we will answer to God for how we use the money God has given us to steward.
Many of us will have a terrifying experience at the Bema Seat Judgment because of our lack of giving. Scriptures tell us to give generously. All throughout the book of Acts and mentioned throughout the epistles we see the concept of giving generously. The early church in Acts had members selling their houses and everything they owned to give to the other members of the church who were in need. Paul collected an offering from the gentile churches to take back to the believers in Jerusalem during a time of turmoil.
In 1 John 3:17 the Apostle John states, “If someone has enough money to live well and sees a brother or sister in need but shows no compassion – how can God’s love be in that person?” The Apostle John poses a challenging question to us. How can believers who God has blessed financially ignore the struggles of their brothers and sisters in Christ? In fact, it’s a rhetorical question, the Apostle John is illustrating how incompatible the claims are to loving God and to ignore brothers and sisters in Christ.
The issue John is pointing to is like what Paul is getting at in 1 Timothy. In 1 Timothy 6:10 it states, “For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. And some people, craving money, have wandered from the true faith and pierced themselves with many sorrows.” The Apostle Paul is attacking the love of money. Saying that loving it, desiring to keep it for their own pleasure and the pursuit of it, is the root of all kinds of evil.
The Gospel of Luke attacks this same idea of the foolishness of loving money in Luke 12:13-21. Where within we see the story of a man who spent his life saving his wealth for the day he could retire and live lavishly. On the eve of the start of the retirement though, the Lord took his life. Jesus lamented at the end of the story the foolishness of storing up earthly wealth and not a rich relationship with God.
Jesus did this because money is temporary, it is a means to an end. Meanwhile a relationship with God is the end. Ecclesiastes 12:8 states, “’Everything is meaningless,’ says the Teacher, ‘completely meaningless.’” A few verses later in verse 13 it then states, “That’s the whole story. Here now is my final conclusion: Fear God and obey his commands, for this is everyone’s duty.” Ecclesiastes is a book written by King Solomon towards the end of his life. The wisest man in the Bible illustrates that life is completely meaningless apart from God.
Taking into mind the teaching of Solomon and considering what Jesus, John, and Paul all commend, it becomes apparent that money is worthless. It is limited to this world. It can’t be used to buy anything truly important. You can have all the money in the world and still not be able to buy your salvation. For, what is money to God whom created every ounce of gold and silver that exists upon the face of the earth? Money is a supremely meaningless asset that the world has tricked us into idolizing, desiring to lead us away from the will of God.
The will of God is quite plainly written to us throughout the biblical narrative, to give generously. To not hoard the wealth we’ve been blessed with, but instead to give compassionately to our brothers and sisters in Christ who are in need. To give both in our local congregation like we see exemplified in the book of Acts, and to give to the global church like we see mentioned within the epistles. There are multitudes of siblings in Christ who live paycheck to paycheck, even more who live each day not knowing where their next meal comes from.
In Ezekiel 16:49-51, we see Israel being critiqued and called worse than Sodom. The city of Sodom in the passage is described as arrogant, full of gluttons, lazy, and having a failure to help the poor and needy. Attributes that are extremely evident within the American Church because of our society’s glorification of money and the hoarding of it for pleasure. There are gatherings of local believers across the world who can’t afford a building to meet and are forced to gather in extreme conditions and while being persecuted. Think of how terrifying it would be to stand before the living God, to explain how you chose to use the money He entrusted to you for luxury. Meanwhile the siblings in Christ around you explain how they were limited in the work they could do because they didn’t have the resources.
There are multitudes of missionaries and Christian organizations that seek to reach the world with the gospel, to bring Bibles to unreached areas, and to help uplift foreign siblings in Christ. Yet, they all stand limited by the resources that they have been given by the churches supporting them. Think of how amazing it would be if the American Church embodied the heart of generous giving, sacrificial even, that we see modeled within the Bible. Think of how missionary and outreach efforts around the globe could explode through it. The difference we could make in the lives of members of the global church if we stewarded our money and give it generously to these causes would be truly astounding.
I urge you today to examine your finances and take upon a heart of generous giving. Forsake extra luxuries in the den and instead give that money to those in need whom we will spend eternity next to praising God. I urge you to not forget the story of the widow in Luke 21:1-4. Where within the widow gave all that she had, two copper coins, and Jesus declared that she had given more than everyone else there. She had given everything she owned out of her poverty, while everyone else gave a piece of their wealth. Know that the Lord will examine your giving in proportion to what He has given you.
Furthermore, it is not to be neglected that giving is a way to glorify God and know him far more intimately. To be in obedience with the Lord draws you nearer to Him and Scripture promises to increase the depths of your worship and joy in Him. 2 Corinthians 9:7, Acts 20:35, and Proverbs 11:25 all portray the message that God loves someone who gives joyfully and that it is a blessing to give rather than receive. Sacrificial giving is a spiritual discipline that will allow you to honor God more deeply and put important spiritual truths central in your life. Primarily, that you are not the main character, that there are other people in this world besides you and an overarching creator behind it all.
Prepare yourself earnestly for the day you appear before God and give an account of your life. Steward your finances properly for the glory of God. Understand that your money isn’t truly yours, instead it is God’s to use. Ruthlessly eliminate unneeded expenses and see where you can afford to give more. To some this might mean cutting out daily Starbucks runs or being more conservative on eating out. To another this might look like selling their house that is far beyond what they need to give more to our brothers and sister in need. These are just a few examples of what generous giving might look like in your life, they aren’t limited to these examples though. Examine your finances prayerfully and ask the Lord where you can afford to cut back on spending and where to send that money instead.
My prayer for you today dear reader is that you would come to know Christ in a more intimate way. That your life and your finances would become more in accordance with His will. That the false teachings, the comfortable lives we’ve bought in on, and the love of money that exists within your life would fall away. That you would be willing to give liberty and luxury alike for the sake of the Gospel of Jesus Christ who died and rose again on the third day to take away the sins of the world. I pray that you would remember our brothers and sisters who are enduring poverty, hunger, sickness, and persecution. I pray that you realize how you steward your money can make an eternal impact and directly affect our siblings in Christ. I pray that you realize that the stewardship of our finances is something that we will have to answer to God about, I sincerely hope that you would examine your life and see where you can give more generously, radically, and sacrificially and pursue that path with fervor. I pray all these things in Jesus’s name, Amen!
- “Economic Inequality” By Joe Hasell, Bertha Rohenkohl, Pablo Arriagada, Esteban Ortiz-Ospina, and Max Roser. https://ourworldindata.org/economic-inequality
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