Money From a Christian Perspective
By: Pastor Greg Baker
Does God care about our money? Yes He does. Is money evil? No. It is the love of money that is evil not the possession of it. Should a Christian be concerned about money? Yes. 1 out of every 5 verses in the Bible deals with money or financial issues in some way.
Here are four things that God looks at in regards to money.
HOW YOU SPEND YOUR MONEY IS HOW YOU SPEND YOUR LIFE!
There is no debate over the idea that God is interested in how you spend your life. But what is your life? Your life is made up of seconds, minutes, hours, days, weeks, months, and years. You’ve only got so much of it. What you spend your time on is important to God, because that shows what you spend your life on.
Since most of us spend time to make money what we spend that money on is also how we spend our life.
Mark 12:42-44 And there came a certain poor widow, and she threw in two mites, which make a farthing. And he called unto him his disciples, and saith unto them, Verily I say unto you, That this poor widow hath cast more in, than all they which have cast into the treasury: For all they did cast in of their abundance; but she of her want did cast in all that she had, even all her living.
Notice that she threw in all of her life by throwing all of her money into the treasury. Here is another scriptural reference:
Luke 8:43 And a woman having an issue of blood twelve years, which had spent all her living upon physicians, neither could be healed of any,
In God’s eyes, life and money are seen as equivalents. How you spend your money is how you spend your life.
Think about it. If you work one hour at $10.00 an hour and go to the bar and spend one hour and spend all $10.00 there, now much of your life have you spent at the bar? Two hours. You spent the actual one hour there and the $10.00 that took you one hour to make.
Where and what you spend your money on is of great interest to God. For how you spend your money is how you are spending the short amount of life that God has given you on this planet.
WHERE YOUR TREASURE IS THERE WILL YOUR HEART BE ALSO!
Money certainly is a treasure for all of us. We all work to get it. And the effort that goes into earning it and what it can give us makes it valuable to us.
Matthew 6:21 For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.
Where you put your money that is where your heart is! If you have money in the stock market, you’ll be interested in what happens there. Your heart will be in the stock market. But if you have no money there, then you could care less what happens to the stock market.
If you pour tens of thousands of dollars into your car, your heart will be there more than a person who spent two hundred dollars on a clunker. Your reaction to a scratch on your car is far different from the other guy’s.
So yes, God is interested in where your money is. For that shows where your heart is too. If your heart is in God and the things of God, then there is little doubt that you’ve also given to God more than a token.
What you love you make time for and invest in. God knows this and He is watching to see where you invest your money in.
IT IS THE LOVE OF MONEY RATHER THAN MONEY THAT BOTHERS GOD!
God is not against money. He is against you loving it so much that you put Him and your family aside, and then are willing to sacrifice other principles in order to gain it.
1 Timothy 6:10 For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.
Since we swap time for money or life for money, when you love money you are, in effect, loving yourself more than anything else. It is purely selfishness and greed when money becomes so all consuming.
Matthew 16:25 For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it.
Your love of money will cause you to err from the faith, put your family in jeopardy, and make you willing to violate any number of moral or decent values to gain it.
GOD USES MONEY AS A BENCHMARK TO SEE IF YOU ARE WORTHY OF THE TRUE RICHES!
This is important! God pays attention to how and what you spend your money on. If you spend your money wisely, not irresponsibly, not on evil or wicked things, then God may bless you with the true riches in life.
If God can see that He can trust you in something like money-something that we not only love but also is a representation of our life-then He can trust us with things that are much more valuable than money.
Luke 16:10-12 He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much: and he that is unjust in the least is unjust also in much. If therefore ye have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches? And if ye have not been faithful in that which is another man’s, who shall give you that which is your own?
So just what are these true riches in life? Would you not consider your marriage or your children to be true riches in this life? Maybe a close and intimate walk God could be considered one of the true riches in life. It might even be more than that. Love, Joy, peace, and contentment could be considered true riches as well.
These things are more valuable than any amount of money, and money can’t purchase them. But, it may be that God uses money to see if He can trust you with these true riches.
Author Resource:-> Greg S. Baker is a Pastor, Counselor, and Author specializing in building and strengthening relationships.
Please visit our website at: fitlyspoken.org
For more books and resources on how to communicate better, express yourself, and strengthen social skills. Check out our book, ‘Fitly Spoken’, a Christian based book that explores the intricacies of human communication and expression in relationships.
See my article directory for more articles: articles.christianbaptists.com