Scripture Reading: Matthew 6:24-34
Last week I mentioned that there are over 500 verses about work in the Bible. Today we’re talking about money and finances. Guess how many verses in Scripture mention that? Over 3000! Would it comfort you to know that I’m not going to be bringing them all into this sermon? I used google search to verify that there are 31,102 verses in the Bible. So, I find it interesting that the verses about money take up about 10% of the Bible, same as a tithe!
A few weeks ago, I had the message about living sacrifices and said, did you notice I haven’t said much about money? That’s because I believe you will do the right thing with money when your heart is in the right place with God. You won’t have to be convinced to “be generous because you can’t out give God.” You will just want to be as generous as you can. You will not want to be limited to merely tithing ten percent, because you will want to be as generous as you can with everything you care for as the steward of God’s resources. There is real, good teaching and wisdom about handling money in God honoring ways and we can get to that later.
It’s later now. There are several stories in the Bible that focus on the powerful and dangerously negative role that money can play in our lives. Joseph was spared from death because his brothers realized they could make some money by selling him in to slavery. Jesus was betrayed to death because Judas realized that he could make some money.
Back in the early days, Achan was drawn to hoard some gold and as a result, the new Nation of Israel suffered a great defeat at the little town of Ai, after their tremendous victory at Jericho, all because one greedy man hid some forbidden gold in his tent. Balaam was lured by the promise of wealth to go to try to curse the people of Israel. That didn’t turn out so good.
One of Elisha’s servants got greedy for some money and used deception to get a gift from Naaman, who wanted to pay because he had been cured of leprosy. As a consequence, the greedy servant contracted leprosy, and all the money he had couldn’t take it away. And as a leper he became an outcast, so, he had no enjoyment of his money either.
Even though money is a useful tool. We must keep in mind how powerful it can be as a dangerous temptation. People often shorten Paul’s words and say that money is the root of all evil. But the exact quote is, 1 Timothy 6:10, “For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.”
The most famous New Testament story about the danger of greed is seen in Ananias and Sapphira, in Acts 5. Another one is the story of Simon, the former sorcerer, who maybe ought to be excused for thinking Christianity would work just the same way as his old sorcery business did. The account is in Acts 8. Verses 18-20 read, “When Simon saw that the Spirit was given at the laying on of the apostles’ hands, he offered them money and said, “Give me also this ability so that everyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit.”
Peter answered: “May your money perish with you, because you thought you could buy the gift of God with money!” Scholars know that the Hebrew language for “may your money perish with you” was really meant to sound more like what we mean when we say, “Go to hell!” But we don’t expect Christians to actually talk like that, except that they used to, when they meant it. And that was the leader of the Church, the apostle Peter talking! He was letting Simon the sorcerer know just how serious was his error.
This is a little aside but I can’t resist pointing out that here we have two people named Simon! There was Simon Peter and Simon the sorcerer. One was the head of the Church who used to be just a fisherman until he met Jesus. The other was an unwise simpleton who used to be a big wig sorcerer in town until he met Peter!
While all these biblical stories are vivid and dramatic, surely nothing like that is ever going to happen to any of us! And yet, if I were to look at your check book or your debit card expenses, or your credit card transactions, I would get a pretty clear picture of where all your life’s priorities line up. Our attitude toward finances and money, how we budget and what we spend it on, is one of the big rocks in our lives. Get it wrong and even your faith will suffer for it, pierced with many griefs, as Paul said.
So, let’s get to our text and see what we learn there about how to put money in its proper place. First Matthew 6:24 says, “No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.” There can only be one master, either God or money.
But this is a difficult reality to manage. Money is physical. It goes in our pockets and our bank accounts. If it’s in your hand you can see it. When you look at your bank account, you’re only looking at a number. But that numbers means something. You want it to be a big number! In the account balance, you can at least see how much you have, or how much you’re supposed to have. In an investment fund, you can watch it grow, or shrink. And money is what we use to buy food and clothes. If it’s not there you don’t get the nice things. We control our money.
But God is different. He is everywhere. But he is invisible. He works behind the scenes. We don’t control God and he doesn’t always give us, or enable us to get, the nice things we want. We know that everything comes from him, but he seems to use money. How the Lord provides for us all seems to depend on how much money he has made sure is in the bank account or the pocket. And so, it’s is hard for us to look at the money we have and tell ourselves, “That money is not governing my life, GOD is.” Money looks like it’s the master. But God is the master and money is just his tool. The best way to know that money doesn’t have a hold on you is to loosen your grip on it, and give it away.
With that perspective, Jesus goes on to say, “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?”
Look to God! He feeds the birds. He will feed you too. I can tell you from personal experience that Kathy and I started out our marriage putting God first in our lives, and we have maintained that discipline pretty consistently, specifically by making sure we at least tithe and enjoy being generous. This has never put us in a position where we had no money for groceries, could not eat, did not have clothes, or didn’t have a roof over our heads. God uses money, and by trusting him we found that even during times that I could not work and had no income, God sent money or some kind of provision to serve his purpose!
But I want to be sure to say that I am not preaching a prosperity gospel. Not only am I not getting rich, but I also know that most of our very faithful brothers and sisters in the rest the world, live on much smaller incomes, far less food, and usually only one set of clothes that they take off to wash and put right back on again. They live in poverty, not usually by choice, but because the whole country in which they live is poor. But God still wants them to obey the command, “Do not worry about tomorrow.” God is still taking care of them too.
Sometimes too, they are deliberately persecuted so they can’t get jobs, their houses are ransacked and their possessions confiscated. They are even put in jail just for being Christian and talking about Jesus. They are sometimes physically beaten and wounded so they can’t work, and sometimes even killed as martyrs for the faith. Think of brother Andrew Brunson, in prison in Turkey. Is God failing to take care of him? Not at all! God is using him to grow the church.
His predicament is like that of Paul who said, “Now I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that what has happened to me has actually served to advance the gospel. As a result, it has become clear throughout the whole palace guard and to everyone else that I am in chains for Christ. And because of my chains, most of the brothers and sisters have become confident in the Lord and dare all the more to proclaim the gospel without fear.” That’s in Phil 1:12-14. Brother Andrew Brunson is in the same situation. We praise God for Andrew’s faith and pray for God to continue to uphold him and provide for him, even as we also pray that he should be released. But worry about him? Andrew Brunson wouldn’t want that! God is taking care of him!
This is very practical teaching. But we should also see the spiritual side of it. In John chapter 4 Jesus said, “I have food to eat that you know nothing about. My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work.” People like brother Andrew are being fed plenty of that food! God will sustain them in the faith, even if they die in the body!
Jesus goes on to apply the same principle to clothes. I think Jesus started with food because it is necessary for survival. Clothes, not so much. But people still worry about how good they look, or at least if they can get warm enough. So, Jesus talks about that too.
“And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith?”
As far as practical material blessings go, it is the exact same principle we have already been talking about. So, I want to make sure I point out the splendor and beauty of the robes of righteousness that are ours when we put on Christ! The book of Revelations speaks of those who wear splendid white robes washed bright white and spotless in the blood of the lamb. God has provided for such garments as the free gift of his marvelous grace!
On the other hand, the other three places in the New Testament that mentions “robes” are all about proud self-righteous people like Pharisees and King Herod, who all came to a bad end because they cared so much about looking good in their expensive, fine clothing and didn’t care at all about the filth in their sinful hearts.
That’s why Jesus tells those who listen to him, “Do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.”
We don’t really need anything at all for this life. All that is needed will be provided for those, and to those, who are seeking God’s kingdom first and doing his will. God will keep us alive enough to serve him well in the environment where we find ourselves. We really do have all we need here on earth. And even if we are in a situation where we starve to death or freeze to death, we should have at least left a legacy of faith, and then in glory we get to wear royal robes and feast at God’s royal tables in heaven forever!
Even if we are materially very poor, our contentment in Christ will speak volumes to those who will wonder how we manage to still be content and happy under circumstances that would drive them to depression because they can’t have all they want out of life, the way they look at it.
On the other hand, if we are fabulously wealthy, well then, we are blessed to be a blessing. By the way, compared to the rest of the world, even the poorest American is actually fabulously wealthy! The best thing the wealthy can do with most of their money, beyond living expenses, is to give it all away as fast as they can, using it to serve the Lord and supply the needs of ministries that depend upon gifts for income because they do not charge for the services they provide to the needy and lost. Did I say this already? The most effective way to prove that Jesus is your master and money is your servant is to let it go. Give it away to do some work for the kingdom and your money will be serving God. Then you will know that you are not serving money.
Jesus ends up saying, “Therefore, do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” When money is your master, worry is your worship! You never know what the market is going to do. You never know what emergency might drain your precious savings or investment account. You never know who might break in and steal it. No matter how good your security measures are, even in the OT wise people knew. Proverbs 23:5 says, “Cast but a glance at riches, and they are gone, for they will surely sprout wings and fly off to the sky like an eagle.” Proverbs 15:16 says, “Better a little with the fear of the Lord than great wealth with turmoil.” Proverbs 16:16 says, “How much better to get wisdom than gold, to get insight rather than silver!” Proverbs 14:26 says, “Whoever fears the Lord has a secure fortress, and for their children it will be a refuge.”
Now, there are some very practical matters. Scripture has some very specific advice about how to handle money with wisdom. A big one is to avoid debt as much as possible. Definitely avoid credit card debt like the plague! That’s way too easy of a trap to fall into. The salesman says it’s easy to have what you want. But now pay later. But if you’re using the credit card to spend more than you can really afford, you’ll still be paying, way later, and it won’t be easy either.
Many Christians today live with no debt at all, not even a mortgage. They might have had to mortgage to get a house. But they determine to pay it off as soon as possible. The payments might be big to do that, but in the long run it costs a whole lot less because of what you save in interest payments. Same for a car. Most Americans trade in a perfectly good car for a newer one way before the old one is used up. A good car ought to last ten years. A good plan is to pay off a car loan as soon as possible, but then keep making the payments to your savings account so that you get two benefits, you’re earning interest instead of paying it, and you’re saving to buy your next car with cash. Being free from debt is one of the greatest freedoms you can have. It allows you to be more generous!
Generosity needs to be planned and in the budget. It’s too easy to feel generous when you empty your pocket as the plate goes by, but that usually ends up being way less than you could actually afford, especially if you’re really trusting God. A tithe is just the beginning though. I have heard lots of people complain that they cannot afford to tithe and so they don’t. But I have never heard a tither complain that they couldn’t afford to pay the rest of their bills after they gave their gift to God and trusted him to meet their needs.
Of course, work hard to earn enough. And always be honest with people and pay your bills promptly. The budget itself is also recommended by God. Count the cost he says. Keep track of how much it actually costs you to live. Keep track of and control of, expenses that are based on desires rather than needs. Live within your means. Actually, try to live on less than your take home pay so that you can set some aside for emergencies, savings and generosity.
Trusting God does pay off as much as it needs to. You can even make giving fun by believing Luke 6:38. “Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.” Just remember, that’s not a prosperity gospel. Our focus is not on watching the money pour in. Our joy is in seeing how much we get to give away, not how much we get to keep.
From what I just said there you might think that having a savings account goes against trusting God. But nothing could be further from the truth. God encourages us to put some of our income into a savings account so that we have a margin of extra ready cash to cover for emergencies. Proverbs 21:20 says, “The wise store up choice food and olive oil, but fools gulp theirs down.” Also, Proverbs 13:22 has this interesting twist in the savings principle, “A good person leaves an inheritance for their children’s children, but a sinner’s wealth is stored up for the righteous.” In Proverbs 6:8 we see that even the lowly ant “stores its provisions in summer and gathers its food at harvest.” It is also appropriate to earn more money by investing wisely. That’s like savings with a growth plan.
All these principles are given by God so that we have a good idea what will bless us most. Obeying God’s principles also helps us to remember that he has the right to tell us what we can and can’t do with our money because it’s really all his money. God is the Source of everything. Philippians 4:19 says, "God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus." Whenever we need money or possessions, prayer is the answer. Look to the Lord, because He will provide it-according to His will.
This is how we seek first the Kingdom of God. Money is a big rock in our lives. We can handle it safely if we pray and ask him for wisdom and provision to obey his commands. Enjoy generosity! Build the Kingdom! Lay up treasures in Heaven! And whatever God gives, receive it with gratitude from his gracious hand. To live any other way is like being taken in by the shiny yellow glow of fool’s gold.
Last week I mentioned that there are over 500 verses about work in the Bible. Today we’re talking about money and finances. Guess how many verses in Scripture mention that? Over 3000! Would it comfort you to know that I’m not going to be bringing them all into this sermon? I used google search to verify that there are 31,102 verses in the Bible. So, I find it interesting that the verses about money take up about 10% of the Bible, same as a tithe!
A few weeks ago, I had the message about living sacrifices and said, did you notice I haven’t said much about money? That’s because I believe you will do the right thing with money when your heart is in the right place with God. You won’t have to be convinced to “be generous because you can’t out give God.” You will just want to be as generous as you can. You will not want to be limited to merely tithing ten percent, because you will want to be as generous as you can with everything you care for as the steward of God’s resources. There is real, good teaching and wisdom about handling money in God honoring ways and we can get to that later.
It’s later now. There are several stories in the Bible that focus on the powerful and dangerously negative role that money can play in our lives. Joseph was spared from death because his brothers realized they could make some money by selling him in to slavery. Jesus was betrayed to death because Judas realized that he could make some money.
Back in the early days, Achan was drawn to hoard some gold and as a result, the new Nation of Israel suffered a great defeat at the little town of Ai, after their tremendous victory at Jericho, all because one greedy man hid some forbidden gold in his tent. Balaam was lured by the promise of wealth to go to try to curse the people of Israel. That didn’t turn out so good.
One of Elisha’s servants got greedy for some money and used deception to get a gift from Naaman, who wanted to pay because he had been cured of leprosy. As a consequence, the greedy servant contracted leprosy, and all the money he had couldn’t take it away. And as a leper he became an outcast, so, he had no enjoyment of his money either.
Even though money is a useful tool. We must keep in mind how powerful it can be as a dangerous temptation. People often shorten Paul’s words and say that money is the root of all evil. But the exact quote is, 1 Timothy 6:10, “For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.”
The most famous New Testament story about the danger of greed is seen in Ananias and Sapphira, in Acts 5. Another one is the story of Simon, the former sorcerer, who maybe ought to be excused for thinking Christianity would work just the same way as his old sorcery business did. The account is in Acts 8. Verses 18-20 read, “When Simon saw that the Spirit was given at the laying on of the apostles’ hands, he offered them money and said, “Give me also this ability so that everyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit.”
Peter answered: “May your money perish with you, because you thought you could buy the gift of God with money!” Scholars know that the Hebrew language for “may your money perish with you” was really meant to sound more like what we mean when we say, “Go to hell!” But we don’t expect Christians to actually talk like that, except that they used to, when they meant it. And that was the leader of the Church, the apostle Peter talking! He was letting Simon the sorcerer know just how serious was his error.
This is a little aside but I can’t resist pointing out that here we have two people named Simon! There was Simon Peter and Simon the sorcerer. One was the head of the Church who used to be just a fisherman until he met Jesus. The other was an unwise simpleton who used to be a big wig sorcerer in town until he met Peter!
While all these biblical stories are vivid and dramatic, surely nothing like that is ever going to happen to any of us! And yet, if I were to look at your check book or your debit card expenses, or your credit card transactions, I would get a pretty clear picture of where all your life’s priorities line up. Our attitude toward finances and money, how we budget and what we spend it on, is one of the big rocks in our lives. Get it wrong and even your faith will suffer for it, pierced with many griefs, as Paul said.
So, let’s get to our text and see what we learn there about how to put money in its proper place. First Matthew 6:24 says, “No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.” There can only be one master, either God or money.
But this is a difficult reality to manage. Money is physical. It goes in our pockets and our bank accounts. If it’s in your hand you can see it. When you look at your bank account, you’re only looking at a number. But that numbers means something. You want it to be a big number! In the account balance, you can at least see how much you have, or how much you’re supposed to have. In an investment fund, you can watch it grow, or shrink. And money is what we use to buy food and clothes. If it’s not there you don’t get the nice things. We control our money.
But God is different. He is everywhere. But he is invisible. He works behind the scenes. We don’t control God and he doesn’t always give us, or enable us to get, the nice things we want. We know that everything comes from him, but he seems to use money. How the Lord provides for us all seems to depend on how much money he has made sure is in the bank account or the pocket. And so, it’s is hard for us to look at the money we have and tell ourselves, “That money is not governing my life, GOD is.” Money looks like it’s the master. But God is the master and money is just his tool. The best way to know that money doesn’t have a hold on you is to loosen your grip on it, and give it away.
With that perspective, Jesus goes on to say, “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?”
Look to God! He feeds the birds. He will feed you too. I can tell you from personal experience that Kathy and I started out our marriage putting God first in our lives, and we have maintained that discipline pretty consistently, specifically by making sure we at least tithe and enjoy being generous. This has never put us in a position where we had no money for groceries, could not eat, did not have clothes, or didn’t have a roof over our heads. God uses money, and by trusting him we found that even during times that I could not work and had no income, God sent money or some kind of provision to serve his purpose!
But I want to be sure to say that I am not preaching a prosperity gospel. Not only am I not getting rich, but I also know that most of our very faithful brothers and sisters in the rest the world, live on much smaller incomes, far less food, and usually only one set of clothes that they take off to wash and put right back on again. They live in poverty, not usually by choice, but because the whole country in which they live is poor. But God still wants them to obey the command, “Do not worry about tomorrow.” God is still taking care of them too.
Sometimes too, they are deliberately persecuted so they can’t get jobs, their houses are ransacked and their possessions confiscated. They are even put in jail just for being Christian and talking about Jesus. They are sometimes physically beaten and wounded so they can’t work, and sometimes even killed as martyrs for the faith. Think of brother Andrew Brunson, in prison in Turkey. Is God failing to take care of him? Not at all! God is using him to grow the church.
His predicament is like that of Paul who said, “Now I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that what has happened to me has actually served to advance the gospel. As a result, it has become clear throughout the whole palace guard and to everyone else that I am in chains for Christ. And because of my chains, most of the brothers and sisters have become confident in the Lord and dare all the more to proclaim the gospel without fear.” That’s in Phil 1:12-14. Brother Andrew Brunson is in the same situation. We praise God for Andrew’s faith and pray for God to continue to uphold him and provide for him, even as we also pray that he should be released. But worry about him? Andrew Brunson wouldn’t want that! God is taking care of him!
This is very practical teaching. But we should also see the spiritual side of it. In John chapter 4 Jesus said, “I have food to eat that you know nothing about. My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work.” People like brother Andrew are being fed plenty of that food! God will sustain them in the faith, even if they die in the body!
Jesus goes on to apply the same principle to clothes. I think Jesus started with food because it is necessary for survival. Clothes, not so much. But people still worry about how good they look, or at least if they can get warm enough. So, Jesus talks about that too.
“And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith?”
As far as practical material blessings go, it is the exact same principle we have already been talking about. So, I want to make sure I point out the splendor and beauty of the robes of righteousness that are ours when we put on Christ! The book of Revelations speaks of those who wear splendid white robes washed bright white and spotless in the blood of the lamb. God has provided for such garments as the free gift of his marvelous grace!
On the other hand, the other three places in the New Testament that mentions “robes” are all about proud self-righteous people like Pharisees and King Herod, who all came to a bad end because they cared so much about looking good in their expensive, fine clothing and didn’t care at all about the filth in their sinful hearts.
That’s why Jesus tells those who listen to him, “Do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.”
We don’t really need anything at all for this life. All that is needed will be provided for those, and to those, who are seeking God’s kingdom first and doing his will. God will keep us alive enough to serve him well in the environment where we find ourselves. We really do have all we need here on earth. And even if we are in a situation where we starve to death or freeze to death, we should have at least left a legacy of faith, and then in glory we get to wear royal robes and feast at God’s royal tables in heaven forever!
Even if we are materially very poor, our contentment in Christ will speak volumes to those who will wonder how we manage to still be content and happy under circumstances that would drive them to depression because they can’t have all they want out of life, the way they look at it.
On the other hand, if we are fabulously wealthy, well then, we are blessed to be a blessing. By the way, compared to the rest of the world, even the poorest American is actually fabulously wealthy! The best thing the wealthy can do with most of their money, beyond living expenses, is to give it all away as fast as they can, using it to serve the Lord and supply the needs of ministries that depend upon gifts for income because they do not charge for the services they provide to the needy and lost. Did I say this already? The most effective way to prove that Jesus is your master and money is your servant is to let it go. Give it away to do some work for the kingdom and your money will be serving God. Then you will know that you are not serving money.
Jesus ends up saying, “Therefore, do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” When money is your master, worry is your worship! You never know what the market is going to do. You never know what emergency might drain your precious savings or investment account. You never know who might break in and steal it. No matter how good your security measures are, even in the OT wise people knew. Proverbs 23:5 says, “Cast but a glance at riches, and they are gone, for they will surely sprout wings and fly off to the sky like an eagle.” Proverbs 15:16 says, “Better a little with the fear of the Lord than great wealth with turmoil.” Proverbs 16:16 says, “How much better to get wisdom than gold, to get insight rather than silver!” Proverbs 14:26 says, “Whoever fears the Lord has a secure fortress, and for their children it will be a refuge.”
Now, there are some very practical matters. Scripture has some very specific advice about how to handle money with wisdom. A big one is to avoid debt as much as possible. Definitely avoid credit card debt like the plague! That’s way too easy of a trap to fall into. The salesman says it’s easy to have what you want. But now pay later. But if you’re using the credit card to spend more than you can really afford, you’ll still be paying, way later, and it won’t be easy either.
Many Christians today live with no debt at all, not even a mortgage. They might have had to mortgage to get a house. But they determine to pay it off as soon as possible. The payments might be big to do that, but in the long run it costs a whole lot less because of what you save in interest payments. Same for a car. Most Americans trade in a perfectly good car for a newer one way before the old one is used up. A good car ought to last ten years. A good plan is to pay off a car loan as soon as possible, but then keep making the payments to your savings account so that you get two benefits, you’re earning interest instead of paying it, and you’re saving to buy your next car with cash. Being free from debt is one of the greatest freedoms you can have. It allows you to be more generous!
Generosity needs to be planned and in the budget. It’s too easy to feel generous when you empty your pocket as the plate goes by, but that usually ends up being way less than you could actually afford, especially if you’re really trusting God. A tithe is just the beginning though. I have heard lots of people complain that they cannot afford to tithe and so they don’t. But I have never heard a tither complain that they couldn’t afford to pay the rest of their bills after they gave their gift to God and trusted him to meet their needs.
Of course, work hard to earn enough. And always be honest with people and pay your bills promptly. The budget itself is also recommended by God. Count the cost he says. Keep track of how much it actually costs you to live. Keep track of and control of, expenses that are based on desires rather than needs. Live within your means. Actually, try to live on less than your take home pay so that you can set some aside for emergencies, savings and generosity.
Trusting God does pay off as much as it needs to. You can even make giving fun by believing Luke 6:38. “Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.” Just remember, that’s not a prosperity gospel. Our focus is not on watching the money pour in. Our joy is in seeing how much we get to give away, not how much we get to keep.
From what I just said there you might think that having a savings account goes against trusting God. But nothing could be further from the truth. God encourages us to put some of our income into a savings account so that we have a margin of extra ready cash to cover for emergencies. Proverbs 21:20 says, “The wise store up choice food and olive oil, but fools gulp theirs down.” Also, Proverbs 13:22 has this interesting twist in the savings principle, “A good person leaves an inheritance for their children’s children, but a sinner’s wealth is stored up for the righteous.” In Proverbs 6:8 we see that even the lowly ant “stores its provisions in summer and gathers its food at harvest.” It is also appropriate to earn more money by investing wisely. That’s like savings with a growth plan.
All these principles are given by God so that we have a good idea what will bless us most. Obeying God’s principles also helps us to remember that he has the right to tell us what we can and can’t do with our money because it’s really all his money. God is the Source of everything. Philippians 4:19 says, "God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus." Whenever we need money or possessions, prayer is the answer. Look to the Lord, because He will provide it-according to His will.
This is how we seek first the Kingdom of God. Money is a big rock in our lives. We can handle it safely if we pray and ask him for wisdom and provision to obey his commands. Enjoy generosity! Build the Kingdom! Lay up treasures in Heaven! And whatever God gives, receive it with gratitude from his gracious hand. To live any other way is like being taken in by the shiny yellow glow of fool’s gold.
Comments
Post a Comment