We don’t talk much about money. Couples avoid it for fear of fighting. Few of us are taught how to manage it, yet most aren’t willing to ask questions before using it. Money has a huge impact on our lives as followers of Jesus, yet we don’t discuss it, including in church.
Sure, we talk about giving. We know that Paul directed, “On the first day of every week, each one of you is to put something aside and store it up, as he may prosper” (I Corinthians 16:2). We’ve heard classes on how “tithing” – giving 10% of the increase – was an Old Testament provision for Israel, and the New Testament describes cheerfully giving as each “decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion” (II Corinthians 9:7). Yet, there is much more going on spiritually with our giving and in our overall relationship with money than we may realize.
Whether a single student working part-time or a young husband starting my career, I “purposed” to give $20 each week for years. Now, did I have any idea how much of my changing income it represented, or did I purposefully express my faith in God and His priority in my life by how I gave? No: I just wanted to put in something, and I didn’t really reflect on what God wants and whether I was using the money He gave me to accomplish it. (Too often, money is about getting what we want – including when we give, if we try to use our giving to make demands.)
What we do with our money and why we do it directly reflects our relationship with God. Jesus preached, “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth…but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Matthew 6:19-21). Jesus’ disciples need to know where our money is going and what it says about our hearts. Am I living with contentment if I’m going into debt to have things I can’t afford? Am I becoming like God if I don’t grow in giving? We’ve seriously misunderstood God’s kingdom if we conclude that, because Jesus came, we can now “cheerfully give” less while spending the difference on what we want.
So many of our problems in life are related to money, but they aren’t just “money problems”. They are faith issues, and there is so much God can do to help us if we let Him. It all starts with recognizing that money matters: I can’t be a disciple of Jesus and hold back this part of my life. Where my treasure is, there my heart will be also.