Wisdom with Money

We aren't able to know the future, and therefore it's wise to save and spend wisely. Giving to God and those in need is some of what should be done with money, but beyond that it's important to prepare for the future.

Many people might say that it's fine to not care how money is spent because God will provide for our needs. But God does care how we spend our money. God asks us to be good stewards. That means if we have money that can be saved, and its wise to save at that time in life, to do that.

Part of being humble is knowing our limitations. We are limited in knowing the future, and in response we should prepare for our future by working and saving. Not in a stressed out way, but in a way that is consistently making wise choices. God is sovereign and knows our future and directs our lives, but that doesn't mean that we don't have responsibility and aren't graciously allowed to play a part in God's story.

God cares about things that we consider to be small things. Some people may think that money seems to be such a small, unimportant thing in matters of spirituality. But God made money, and it's one way that allows people to interact and to show their heart.

God wants us to enjoy things too that we can have by spending money. And some money can be spent on enjoying things of life if there is money to do that and we're carefully considering the best way to spend money. That's why wisdom is important. Wisdom helps us to know how much to save, to give, and to spend on needs and wants.

Often, though, enjoying things doesn't require much or any money. Spending more times with those we love often costs nothing. And we may find ways that are much cheaper, compared to what we currently spend on having fun, to have fun.

How to Gain Wisdom
You might be wondering how one becomes wise or gains wisdom with money. I'd say if you know you need wisdom in that area, one thing that helps is praying for it.

The second thing to do would be to take a careful look at how you spend money and how much you have in savings and ask questions like how prepared are you for things like less work or an emergency.

When you're carefully looking at how money is spent and planning how you will spend and save money, don't compare yourself to others, like feeling like you need something that you don't because almost everyone you know has something or does something. It could be that people do these things but never need them. The only reasons some of them do them is because everyone else is doing them. And if they didn't, they might save a whole lot of money that they need. One example is buying coffee from a coffee shop very frequently. Often making coffee at home saves money. Or feeling the need to go with a group that goes out to eat every week at lunch. That might be very important in a way, depending on how it relates to your work and life, but it might be something that's not needed. And not doing it could save so much money.

I wrote a post on how to know things with your heart. I'd suggest everything in that post. One thing I included there is that it takes time. Patience is important in the process. Because you will be learning and growing as you go along. It takes time to get better at these things. So try your best now and grow when you see chances to grow.

The Christian View of Money and Vacations

Post by
Michelle Dowell, Co-Contributor

Spending hundreds and even thousands of dollars on vacations is viewed as normal and even in some places expected in our culture. It's as if when we take time out of work, even on weekends, it might seem odd to others if we don't spend some money doing something "significant" like going to a fancy restaurant or traveling to some popular place.

Is this the way Christians should spend a large portion of their money or a large amount of money? It's good to rest and to desire to see God's beautiful creation outside of places we normally see it. But it's also good to be sure we give some money to God and to the poor, as the Bible tells us to do this--and God also desires for us to be healthy financially, to be good stewards of what he has given to us.

Here are three questions to ask when planning a vacation to help determine if we're following God's instructions to us in his Word:

1. Is the money that will be spent on this trip going to make it hard to be financially healthy?

2. How much money has been given to God and to the poor? If the answer is nothing or not much, it'd be much better to do that and rest at home than to spend the money on the vacation. Also, is what you're going to do something that can be done closer and be mostly the same?

3. Will this vacation help you feel more rested? Rest is a part of life that is needed. Vacations often can be crammed full of activity.

The Goodness of The World

The material world is inherently good. The fall of man and man's sinful nature do not change the fact that the material world is good.

Of course the material world was subjected to futility in the fall. It is a world under a curse, but it is still fundamentally good and declares the power and glory of God.

Many people wish to suggest that things are inherently bad. Material abundance is inherently good. Of course it is our choices which are good or bad.

With great blessing comes a great responsibility to seek to bless with what we are blessed. Maybe the issue of doubting the goodness of the material world comes from the bible's harsh words against many rich people in the biblical narrative.

Of course you see that it is not their wealth for which they are condemned. Job before and after his suffering had great wealth and he was the most righteous man alive.

Many theologians wish to read the story of Job differently and are foolish to do so. God clearly states there was no one as righteous as Job in his day.

To critique the errors of Job is to critique the errors of the most righteous man in his day and we should do so lightly, you see that is the point of the story how the men who critiqued Job greatly sinned.

The errors of the rich which are condemned are oppression of the poor, refusal to help those in need, reliance on wealth, and turning away from God. There are many people with wealth that are not condemned.

You see it is not wealth that is an issue. "Money is the root of all kinds of evil" is not a biblical principle. Rather it's a very poor paraphrase. Rather it is "The love of money is the root of all kinds of evil." Many people scoff the difference is small.

It is not small at all. You see money is a tool. If we wish to use it to serve God then it is a tool for good. It is rather our attitude toward money which makes it good or bad.

Of course the fallen heart of man is what made money have a dangerous power. But it is not the money or the material things it offers that are the issue, but rather how the sinful heart sees those possibilities.

A Theology of Practical Life

I feel like writing a longer piece today about a theology of practical life. Mainly money. I wish to discuss the subject in a helpful way as I feel few pieces of literature really do a good job on the topic.

Primarily I would like to say that money is not good or bad. Possibly this is an overstatement in an overly gnostic sense since as far as money represents labor it represents the work of man and God made man to work.

Mainly people look at the bible and say that money is evil as money is the "the root of all evil." You see this is a quotation but it has lost context and is now untrue. It is the "love of money is the route of all evil." Even this may be untrue as the word all is not likely to be correct in translation.

You see money is simply a potentiality. Man has potential with money. He can do good or evil.

Money in a sense is a litmus test for man for what he will do. If he has $100 of money to spend and feels no need to save it or pay an obligation with it then what will he do?

You see there is a man who is dying of hunger on the street corner and there is a day on the golf course. We have a choice.

Many go too far at this point and begin to say all should be given away and none retained. You see we are meant to enjoy good things in an ideal world but also to share.

A sort of balance is needed with money. We have an ethical responsibility but we are also to enjoy life. God does not wish us to deprive ourselves as it is not a virtue to deprive oneself in general except for a short time for a reason.

You see money even to a degree has a potential to spread the gospel. Money cannot speak the gospel but many attempts to deliver the gospel message are thwarted for lack of funds.

You will see for example many ministries who do good work will fail or cut services. I suppose in the coming years with the pressures on colleges there will be many Christian Colleges who have benefited the church and society who will shut the doors.

You see everywhere there are people wishing to do something for the lord but running short of funds to do so. The great commission is at many times hindered for a lack of funds.

This is why money can never be seen as evil or possibly never seen as neutral. It is more in the category of a good thing because it can be used for a great many goods.

You see money is more often used for evil that good it seems but this is related to the nature of man more than the nature of money.

Because man has a dark heart he takes the good and uses it for evil. Which is of course why man needs to meet Jesus.

Jesus meets men and tells them they have a dark heart and that the situation is impossibly bad and then gives them a simple solution. Have faith in me.

You see everything is fairly simple we need to help people met Jesus. We do not need laws enacted primarily. We do not need to push large amounts of money to lobby for law change primarily.

We need to have people discover how to meet Jesus. Sometimes we make things very hard. What music is right or wrong? We major in minors.

We simply need to help people met Jesus and meet him at the place of glory which is the cross. You see all things come back into focus through God.

Money really is something good but man must meet himself in despair and then after stepping in faith into the work of Jesus on the cross then he can learn how this good thing is used.

You see the world is good and although corrupted maintains its fundamentally good nature. We simply misuse the good. We cannot legislate ethics in sweeping way to fix society. We cannot educate him society to do so to a huge degree.

He must simply meet Jesus at the cross and see that the valley of death there is really the moment of glory.

Educational Arms Race

The Colleges and Universities in the USA are engaged in an educational arms race. The forgone conclusion is the extinction of poor and middle class upper education and the massive extinction of many institutions.

Money

CIT filed for bankruptcy this weekend. However the bankruptcy goes, this will have a big affect on a large number of small businesses. This reminds me how we cannot trust correctly put our trust in money. We can't take any money with us when we die. We can only send our money ahead to heaven by giving it freely now. Of course Jesus wants us to give cheerfully. But, if we are not cheerful givers we should not give up on giving. We should figure out how to change our sinful hearts so that we become cheerful givers. It is only our sin that prevents us from loving to give. Jesus says that it is better to give than to receive - if we do not see this we need to figure out how we can see this beautiful truth.

Tithing

 “That assumes that ten percent is a sacrosanct* thing.  Tithing is a middle class way of robbing God.  Tithing ten percent is a place to start and then every person who earns money should be dreaming how much more, how much more can I give to Christ, the cause of the outreached peoples, and the advancing of justice and the feeding of the poor and the educating of the uneducated.  My whole life should be dedicated to others.  Live simple and give more away.  If a councilor says tithe and then put millions away into your 401k that is not a Christian way of thinking ... "


* sacrosanct - Regarded as sacred and inviolable. (dictionary.com)

John Piper Answers the Question: "If Satan is real we don't see more demon possession and exorcisms in America?"

A bit from John Piper:

People sometimes ask why if Satan is real we don't see more demon possession and exorcisms in America. I have an idea. Satan holds American Christianity so tightly in the vice-grip of comfort and wealth that he's not about to tip his hand with too much demonic tomfoolery. What Satan fears most in this church is an outpouring of the Holy Spirit that causes us to say with Paul, "I count everything as refuse that I might gain Christ … that I might know the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of his sufferings, becoming like him in his death."