God’s attitude to money
We know exactly what to do when someone threatens our life in return for our wallet, but when God challenges us to loosen our grip on our wallets we find ourselves putting up a fight!
Photo: Richard Hanson/ Tearfund.
We see the same conflict illustrated in the Bible when in Mark 10:21 a Rich Young Man asks Jesus what he must do to get eternal life. The reply – ‘Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.’ - was simple, yet overwhelming. In fact, Jesus’ words get to the heart of the matter. What He offered was the opportunity for the man to be part of the team, to join in on a relationship with Jesus and His mission to transform people’s lives and the world. But the man cared more about his wealth than Jesus or the poor, which meant that he wasn’t able to follow Jesus, which meant that he missed out on the greatest treasure of them all.
How do we compare? Do we allow possessions to get in the way of relationship with Jesus? How would we respond if we were called to sell up all we had? Are we giving ourselves the best possible chance of a life that focuses on God by stripping back the unnecessary rubbish?
Having money does not necessarily mean we turn into some Gollum-like creature. King David got the balance right in the Old Testament, recognising everything comes from God. All we do is give it back. We are merely caretakers, stewards of God’s good stuff. Because of this, we have a responsibility to use it wisely, to make sure that the way we use it reflects the values of God, our wealth’s ultimate owner. In other words, if our spending patterns go against God’s grain, then we contradict all our fine words and passionate worship.
Photo: Tearfund.
Despite the onslaught of hardcore advertising, God’s not changed His position on money throughout the history of mankind. As the story of Jesus and the Rich Young Man illustrates so well, money has a massive pull on us. If we’re not careful we can all find ourselves sucked in, struggling to escape. We become slaves to our desires and instead of using it to do God’s work it becomes our master, defining us and shaping our desires. As Keith Tondeur says in his book ‘Your Money and Your Life’: ‘If we put materialism before Jesus, we are left powerless to confront the powers of materialism in our society. Our voice cannot challenge the injustices of poverty if it is undistinguishable from the voices of our materialistic peers.’
But what if we put Jesus first? Before money, possessions and wealth? What impact could that have on the poor as well as you? Click here to find out!