MONEY MATTERS
(5-minute read)
MONEY MATTERS are neither secular nor spiritual but our financial decisions reveal how alive and active the Word of God is in us. Therefore, it is important to talk about the role of money, wealth and possessions in our lives because it helps us to become better and more effective followers of Jesus Christ. Not surprisingly, there are in fact over 2000 Bible verses that mention money, wealth and possessions. This goes to show that they are indeed matters of the heart and the heart of all matters relating to the quality of our lives.
Whether we are rich, poor or in-between, whenever we let money, wealth and possessions become our identity, our self-worth becomes distorted when we have much, and when we lose it, we find ourselves facing an existential crisis.
To put it in perspective, the Bible also talks about successful people with great assets: from Abraham, Jacob, Joseph, David, Abigail (Nabal’s widow), Solomon to Matthew the tax collector and Lydia the textile merchant. They, too, enjoyed purposeful lives and relationships with God and people.
How then can we ensure that we remain good stewards of the money, wealth and possessions (as well as the opportunities to grow them) that God has given us?
Here are two key priorities for enjoying both wealth and well-being:
1. HONOUR GOD WITH YOUR WEALTH
The economic measurement of wealth is cash and the monetary value of our assets. Our well-being, on the other hand, shows through non-monetary things like the health of our family and social ties, our physical, emotional and mental health, and the strength of our faith in God.
Both our material wellbeing and our spiritual wellbeing must correlate positively and move in the same direction. This means that we can upgrade our standard of living and at the same time, upgrade ourselves - from being ministry consumers and participants - to being contributors and partners in whatever way we can. In other words, we cannot expect to be secure in God by upgrading only our material comfort and possessions, while downgrading our commitment to God’s call on our individual lives.
To achieve balance between wealth and well-being, we must make ourselves familiar with some basic spiritual principles about honouring God with our wealth.
Proverbs 3:9-10 tells believers the rewards of giving God the first fruits of our earnings, and not the leftovers after mortgage, insurance, petrol, education and family expenses. We cannot approach God for blessings with a ‘lose change mentality’ of giving Him the leftovers.
Deuteronomy 8:18a reminds us that it is the Lord who gives all humans the ability to produce wealth. What God gives, He can take it away anytime.
Proverbs 11:28 warns us that ‘Those who trust in their riches will fall but the righteous will thrive like a green leaf.’ Simply said, there is no guarantee of success in any business models. Even blockchains, smart contracts and Web 3 visions can collapse due to their inherent vulnerabilities.
We cannot impress God with our wealth-building strategies because He is the one who gives mankind the ability to create wealth. Yet, our future is only going to get more and more unpredictable and uncertain, and also, more complex and ambiguous in a VUCA world. But we are not left stranded in the world’s volatility. Honouring God with our wealth – even if it is small – gives us stability and protection in God. And we please God when we honour Him with our wealth.
Therefore, it is imperative that we continue to tithe to whichever church we are affiliated with, and continue to provide financial support to any legitimate church planting mission we are committed to. Let’s clear it up that tithing is not a donation to the church; it’s not a charitable act but a spiritual one that honours God. Tithing is an act of godly stewardship.
2. LIVE A SIMPLE LIFE
A wise preacher once said, “If you have beer income, don’t acquire caviar taste buds.” Let’s also consider other decadent indulgences. Does tracking time on a Garmin watch enrich our lives and health? Does wearing a Rolex watch help us relax better? Can the uber-lux Bugatti take us across life’s hurdles? Is the latest iPhone able to improve our ability to have better conversations? Or are we really hypnotized by the gimmicks and trappings of status symbols?
Matthew 6:19-21 gives us a timeless warning: “Don’t store up treasures here on earth, where moths eat them and rust destroys them, and where thieves break in and steal. Store your treasures in heaven, where moths and rust cannot destroy, and thieves do not break in and steal. Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be.”
1 Tim 6:6,10: “But godliness with contentment is great gain. 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.” Paraphrased, verse 10 tells us that ungodliness with greed and covetousness is great pain!
Lastly, two things can happen when we live SIMPLE LIVES:
We become generous towards others. What are the benefits of generosity? ‘A generous person will prosper; whoever refreshes others will be refreshed.’ (Proverbs 11:24-25).
We live debt-free lives and free ourselves from slaving to service debts with merciless institutional lenders (Proverbs 22:7).
Ecclesiastes 5:10 provides the final analysis, “Whoever loves money never has enough; whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with their income, this too is meaningless.”
This is a summary and reflection based on a virtual BIR Session held on 27 August 2022.
