May 15, 2019
The Christian and Money
Money is vitally important to life, and the Bible has no shortage of teaching on the subject. Christians should have a robust and complex view of finances. From OT to NT, God has said lots about money, and the Lord Jesus talked about it on numerous occasions. From saving money to spending money, investing and giving generously, from earning a living wage to being content, the evils and dangers of the love of money and wealth, and how to treat the poor; Christians have no excuse for not being responsible with their money.
To show you how important this issue is, let me remind you of a passage from our Lord. Matt 19:23-24 says, "Jesus said to His disciples, “Assuredly, I say to you that it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. And again I say to you, 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.”
Why is it hard for the rich to enter into the kingdom? Because it is easy to trust in riches rather than God.
And, let's just go ahead and admit what I have said in the past: We are not only talking about the upper 1% of American society—the governing officials or CEOs of Fortune 500 companies. We need to admit that we are filthy rich in comparison to most around the globe today and throughout world history. We are talking about the classic clash between storing up treasures on earth versus storing up treasures in heaven. Of course, we can see our treasures on earth. They are right in front of us, and we like them. They comfort us. They empower us. They entertain us and distract us. We trust in them. And, when we do, we fail to genuinely worship and obey God.
If entering heaven is difficult for the wealthy, then I would think that we would take these issues seriously. How we view money and possessions, how we talk about money, how we use it; all these things matter to God and have a major impact on our souls!