A CHRISTIAN PERSPECTIVE OF MONEY

For a Few Pennies.......

EVER SINCE money came to be used in human history, well-meaning people have been trying to point out that ‘money isn’t everything’. After becoming the most successful American automobile manufacturer, Henry Ford stated, “I was happier when doing a mechanic’s job”.  Similarly, industrialist and philanthropist Andrew Carnegie noted, “Millionaires seldom smile”.

Money can easily take God’s place in your life. It can become your master. How can you tell if you are a slave to money? Ask yourself: Do I think and worry about it often? Do I give up what I should do or like to do in order to make more money? Do I spend a great deal of time caring for my possession? Is it hard for me to give money away? Am I in debt?

Money is a hard and deceptive master. Wealth promises power and control, but often it cannot deliver.  Great fortunes can be made and lost overnight and no amount of money can provide health, happiness or eternal life. How much better to let God be your master! His servants have ease of mind and security, both now and forever.

The apostle Paul gives us God’s answer to the problem of wealth “But people who want to get rich keep toppling into temptation and are trapped by many stupid and harmful desires that plunge them into destruction and ruin.  For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil……..”(1Ti 6:9, 10).

People may possess wealth and yet not love it; but if they do, this will push them on to all evil. Every sort of wickedness and vice, in one way or another, grows from the love of money. Everywhere we look we see proofs of this, especially in these days of outward prosperity, great expenses and loose living. Those who love money give Satan the opportunity of tempting them, leading them to employ dishonest means and unethical practices to add to their gains and leaving them no time or inclination for spiritual pursuits.

The Biblical position on money has been made quite clear in the Book of Proverbs: Don’t exhaust yourself acquiring wealth; be smart enough to stop.  When you fix your gaze on it, it’s gone, for it sprouts wings for itself and flies to the sky like an eagle. (23:4, 5).

Few things promise so much and deliver so little as money.  Even King Solomon, though wise beyond human compare, struggled with the deceitfulness of wealth. Amazingly, the  Bible contains some 2350 verses on money.  Money is mentioned more than heaven and hell, two times more than faith and prayer combined, and five times more than prayer alone. Fifteen percent of Jesus’ spoken words are about money, including 16 out of 31 parables.

Why all this teaching about money? It is because money makes a terrible God. Serving money and God is impossible, Jesus said: (Luke 16:13). While money may seem to be the answer to everything, it never satisfies (Eccl. 10:19; 5:10).  Serving God alone can make the rich and poor alike smile with true satisfaction.

What makes money so magnetic and giving it away so stressful? Money measures our energy; it represents our day-to-day security. Giving money away puts our work and our futures at risk. Once you have determined a project honors the Lord, don’t hold back. Give generously and joyfully. Like the Philippians, you will be establishing an eternal partnership (Phillip. 4:14, 15).

Proverbs 30:8, 9 contains a remarkable prayer made by a man who knew exactly the nature of money. “Make me absolutely honest and don't let me be too poor or too rich. Give me just what I need.  If I have too much to eat, I might forget about you; if I don't have enough, I might steal and disgrace your name”.

Money is first mentioned in the Bible as early as in Genesis 17. There are numerous instances where Money was put to the wrong use:  Joseph was sold for money. Delilah betrayed Sampson for money. Naboth the Jezreelite was betrayed and killed for the property he owned. King Menahem used bribery to keep the Assyrian king at bay, when threatened with invasion. The temple elders bribed the guards to hush up truth about Jesus’ resurrection. The magician Simon tried to receive the Holy Spirit by bribing Peter! On the other hand we read about few people who understood the limitations of money, who put money to right use.

The Bible makes it clear that salvation is free, the gift of God:

·       Job 28:15 you can't buy it with gold and its value cannot be calculated in silver.

·       Isaiah 55:1 “Come, everyone who is thirsty, come to the waters! Also, you that have no     money, come, buy, and eat! Come! Buy wine and milk without money and without price. 

·       Isaiah 52:3 for this is what the LORD says: "You were sold for nothing, and you'll be redeemed without money”.

·       1Peter 1:18 You know that it was not with perishable things like silver or gold that you have been ransomed……..

·       Matthew 22:21 ……give back to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's.

Possession of riches carries great responsibility. If you have been blessed with wealth, then thank the Lord. Don’t be proud and don’t trust in your money. Use your money to do good. Be rich in good works, generous and ready to share. No matter how much money you have, your life should demonstrate that God controls the wealth He has placed under your care.

Money is needed to live and support our families; evangelists need money to spread the Good News. Churches need money to do their work effectively. Money is not the real problem. It is the love of money that leads to evil and cause some to oppress others in order to get more money.

Despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary, most people still believe money can bring happiness. Rich people craving to get richer get caught in an endless cycle that eventually results in ruin and destruction. This is what St. Paul means by 1Timothy 6:9, 10. He gives us further guidelines:

 

·       Realize one day riches will be gone (6:7, 17)

·       Be content with what you have (6:8)

·       Monitor what you are willing to do to get more money (6:9, 10)

·       Love people more than money (6:11)

·       Love God’s work more than money (6:11) 

·       Freely share what you have with others (6:18)

St. Paul just didn’t stop at lecturing about the deceitfulness of wealth, but had the right attitude towards it. The saint who was expert in raising funds for poor Christians also wrote “…..I have learned how to be content with whatever I have. I know how to live on almost nothing or with everything. I have learned the secret of living in every situation, whether it is with a full stomach or empty, with plenty or little. For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength” (Phillip. 4:11-13 NLT).

‘Storing treasure in heaven’ (Matthew 6:19) is not just limited to tithing but includes all acts of obedience to God. It is true that giving for God’s work is like investing in heaven, but we should seek to please God not only in giving, but also in striving to fulfill God’s purposes in everything we do.

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Published originally in ‘Light of Life’ magazine - February 2015, Mumbai