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God,
Money and You
Does the Bible help us see the proper relationship
between God
and wealth for those who sincerely desire to serve and please Him?
By Tom Kirkpatrick
God,money
and you: What is the proper relationship of these three? Have you ever thought
about it? Has God promised you lots of money if you please Him? On the other
hand, will you please God if you give Him all your money? Is it even possible
to please God if you have lots of money? If you are wealthy, is money your god?
As with all of the great questions, opinions vary. But what does God say?
In short, does the Bible say anything about your relationship to God in the
context of money matters?
Indeed it does. However, we must examine all the scriptures that relate to money,
wealth and possessions before we can come to a balanced and informed understanding
of God’s will. To focus on only one or two scriptures can lead to an unbalanced
and erroneous conclusion.
Seek a right perspective
For example, if you limit your scriptural search for insight to verses such
as Luke 6:20 ("Blessed are you poor, for yours is the kingdom of heaven")
and Mark 10:25 ("It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle
than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God"), you can easily conclude
that God wants you to have virtually no money at all, nor the things you can
buy with it. You may think you should avoid money like the plague or that it
is inherently bad for you.
Some read these verses and conclude that money and physical wealth are curses,
a spiritual drag on one’s life. They further conclude that God is displeased
with any but the poor. Some even take pride in being one of "God’s
poor."
On the other hand, if your scriptural focus is limited to certain other passages,
you might come to an altogether different conclusion. You might conclude that
God promises to bless all those serve Him with an abundance of money and material
wealth. For example:
Some people use scriptures such as these to support what some have called a "health
and wealth" gospel. In this view God promises physical and financial abundance
to any who please Him.
Yet we can gain a balanced understanding only by considering the entirety
of God’s instructions in the Bible.
Properly framing the issue
The issue of the proper relationship between God on the one hand and you and money
on the other is best framed by the scriptures already quoted and others including
the following:
Psalm 24:1: "The earth is the LORD’s, and all its fullness . . ."
God is the creator and owner of everything. All our wealth ultimately comes from
the ground (the earth), and the earth belongs to God.
Mankind in general, and you as an individual, can enjoy the things that sustain
and give enjoyment to physical life only by using some of what is ultimately God’s
possession.
It’s important to keep this in mind. As the apostle James wrote: "Every
good gift and every perfect gift (including material possessions and the money
that makes possible their acquisition) is from above, and comes down from the
Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning" (James 1:17).
God spoke to the ancient Israelites words that are still relevant and instructive.
He warned them about developing a wrongheaded, self-reliant, disobedient attitude
about wealth and its acquisition:
"For the LORD your God is bringing you into a good land, a land of brooks
of water, of fountains and springs, that flow out of valleys and hills; . . .
a land in which you will . . . lack nothing . . . Beware that you do not forget
the LORD your God by not keeping His commandments, His judgments, and His statutes
which I command you today, lest . . . when your heart is lifted up . . . then
you say in your heart, ‘My power and the might of my hand have gained me
this wealth.’ . . . For it is He who gives you power to get wealth
. . ." (Deuteronomy 8:7-18, emphasis added throughout).
Not only do the earth and its wealth belong to God, but we should ponder that
even the "power to get wealth," mentioned in the above passage, is a
gift from Him.
That includes our abilities and aptitudes, minds and creativity and the health
and strength it takes to work and make a living.
All of these are a gift from our Creator.
If a person recognizes and believes this, His approach toward money and wealth
will be quite different from his attitude if he is not conscious of or thankful
for God’s blessings.
Jesus warned all who would be His disciples to "take heed and beware of covetousness"
(Luke 12:15). Why? Because "one’s life does not consist in the abundance
of the things he possesses" (same verse). God knows that we as physical beings
need physical things to sustain us. He provides for our real needs. We are not
to worry about or be obsessed by the pursuit of more things, even life’s
necessities. Jesus’words should settle our minds:
"Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat
or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on . . . For your
heavenly Father knows that you need all these things" (Matthew 6:25-32).
To yield to covetousness is to put our desire for physical things on a plane that
should be reserved for God alone. Money and things can become idols in the human
heart. Colossians 3:5 tells us to "put to death" such selfish desires
as "fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desires, and covetousness,
which is idolatry."
Put God first
God, not the pursuit of money and wealth, should be first in the lives
of those who seek to please Him. It comes down to a matter of whether we humbly
and faithfully acknowledge God as sovereign in our lives.
Is His will more important than anything else, including money? Is honoring Him
our chief desire?
Our lives consist of time. In most cases (except for inheritances or gifts), the
wealth we acquire represents the wisdom we have used in spending our time in productive
effort. So our income is usually a monetary reflection of the wise use of our
time.
If a person’s life is dedicated to God’s service, so will be a portion
of his wealth or income. God’s Word tells us to "honor the LORD with
your possessions, and with the firstfruits of all your increase" (Proverbs 3:9). If God is a priority in your life, you will desire to honor Him with your
life and your time—as represented by your income, your money.
God reveals in His Word that one way to do this is to tithe to Him. Tithing is
giving the first 10 percent of one’s income ("increase," Deuteronomy 14:22) to God. To tithe is to give God what is His, not ours. However,
even though it is really all His (Psalm 50:12; 89:11), He lays claim to
just the first 10 percent of our increase (Leviticus 27:30).
Obviously we have no way of giving cash or a check directly to God in person.
Our Creator has directed, through the ages, that the tithe that is His be given
to those on earth whom He designates to receive it, those actively doing His work.
Abraham, the "father" of the faithful (Romans 4:16), gave tithes to
Melchizedek, God’s representative (Genesis 14:16-20). Indeed, He was the
preincarnate Jesus Christ (request
our free booklet
to learn more). Later, under the terms of the covenant between God and the nation
of Israel, God assigned the tithe to be given to the tribe of Levi for the work
of the tabernacle and later the temple (Numbers 18:21).
However, since Jesus Christ’s resurrection to be the High Priest of the New
Covenant (Hebrews 6:20), the tithe no longer goes to the Levites but to His Church
and the faithful ministers who serve under Him in proclaiming His true gospel
and caring for His flock (Hebrews 7:12). (You can learn more about the Body of
Christ in our The
Church Jesus Built.)
Does God need our money?
Because God doesn’t need our money, it may seem ironic that God would
tell those who want to serve Him to give a tithe for His work. As God, He could
devise some other way to finance His work on earth.
Indeed, He could simply miraculously create money and give it to those
He designates to oversee His work (compare, for example, the remarkable account
in Matthew 17:24-27).
But those who serve God are the ones in need, and one of their needs is to learn
to properly honor Him. One way we do that is with a portion of our increase. It
keeps us mindful of the fact that God is the source of all our increase when we
give to Him the first 10 percent for the purpose of spreading His message to others.
One of the greatest examples of a man who understood that honoring God, by giving
back to Him physical wealth, is not a burden but a privilege was David. At a time
when this king had led the nation in generously giving offerings for the furtherance
of God’s work, he prayed some instructive words. Rather than reflecting smug
selfcongratulations at his (and the nation’s) large offering, David’s
words capture the essence of spiritually mature giving to God:
"Now therefore, our God, we thank You and praise Your glorious name. But
who am I, and who are my people, that we should be able to offer so willingly
as this? For all things come from You, and of Your own we have given to You"
(1Chronicles 29:13-14). Truly this is the sort of humble and cheerful giving
that God honors and loves (2Corinthians 9:7).
Another need is that we learn spiritual maturity and develop God’s giving
nature (Acts 20:35; 2Corinthians 9:7). God’s nature helps us not to be covetous,
selfish, grasping in physical things. Indeed, it helps us to be ever mindful of
something bigger than ourselves.
In the book of Malachi, God puts into stark language the spiritual issues related
to tithing: "Will a man rob God? Yet you have robbed Me! But you say, ‘In
what way have we robbed You?’ In tithes and offerings. You are cursed with
a curse, for you have robbed Me, even this whole nation. Bring all the tithes
into the storehouse, that there may be food in My house, and prove Me now in this,’
says the LORD of hosts" (Malachi 3:8-10).
The balanced approach
God’s Word reveals a balanced view of the relationship between God,money
and you. At certain times and places, faithful servants of God have been wealthy.
Abraham, the father of the faithful, was a prosperous man. So were Job, David
and Joseph. At other times, equally faithful servants of God have suffered poverty.
For example, the faithful church of God at Smyrna suffered not only poverty but
great trials and tribulation (Revelation 2:8-11).
Paul the apostle experienced both abundance and need at different times. ".
. . For I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content: I know how to be
abased (live humbly), and I know how to abound (live in prosperity). Everywhere
and in all things I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound
and to suffer need" (Philippians 4:11-12).
Notice how Paul could maintain such contentment whether he was rich or poor: "I
can do all things through Christ who strengthens me" (verse 13).
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Keywords: God and money wealth and God money and God
God's blessings: