The Proper Use of Money

Introduction

Money is the most common thing in the World

We handle it every day, spending it, earning it, saving it, giving it, coveting it

As such it is important for Christians to think rightly about money.

What is Money?

Be Shrewd with Money

Matthew 10:16 ““Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves, so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves.”

We must not only be righteous, but also strategic, practical, wise, crafty, creative, astute, and shrewd.

Jesus illustrates this for us in the parable of the dishonest manager.

Luke 16:1–14 (ESV)

He also said to the disciples, “There was a rich man who had a manager, and charges were brought to him that this man was wasting his possessions. And he called him and said to him, ‘What is this that I hear about you? Turn in the account of your management, for you can no longer be manager.’ And the manager said to himself, ‘What shall I do, since my master is taking the management away from me? I am not strong enough to dig, and I am ashamed to beg. I have decided what to do, so that when I am removed from management, people may receive me into their houses.’ So, summoning his master’s debtors one by one, he said to the first, ‘How much do you owe my master?’ He said, ‘A hundred measures of oil.’ He said to him, ‘Take your bill, and sit down quickly and write fifty.’ Then he said to another, ‘And how much do you owe?’ He said, ‘A hundred measures of wheat.’ He said to him, ‘Take your bill, and write eighty.’ The master commended the dishonest manager for his shrewdness. For the sons of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their own generation than the sons of light. And I tell you, make friends for yourselves by means of unrighteous wealth, so that when it fails they may receive you into the eternal dwellings.

“One who is faithful in a very little is also faithful in much, and one who is dishonest in a very little is also dishonest in much. If then you have not been faithful in the unrighteous wealth, who will entrust to you the true riches? And if you have not been faithful in that which is another’s, who will give you that which is your own? No servant can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.”

The Pharisees, who were lovers of money, heard all these things, and they ridiculed him.

Jesus is not commending Dishonesty or unrighteousness

He is commending the shrewdness of a dishonest man when it comes to money

The manager, though dishonest, showed a measure of wisdom and intelligence in dealing with financial matters

Jesus is not commending gaining wealth through unrighteous means

He is distinguishing between unrighteous wealth and true wealth. Unrighteous wealth here is not evil wealth, rather, it is common, mundane, earthly and temporal as contrasted with true wealth which is holy and eternal and righteous and of true value.

The sons of this world are more shrewd than the sons of light

This is a hard criticism from Jesus and it still rings true to this day.

Christians often succumb to a kind of gnosticism which thinks that all that is temporal and physical and worldly is either bad, or unimportant, and the only things that matter are eternal things

Therefore, we are not thoughtful about this life, we are not strategic, we are not shrewd

Meanwhile, those who only live for this life and unrighteous wealth are wise and shrewd and strategic about accruing and maintaining their wealth.

Jesus is saying that we must first be concerned with true wealth, but also we must be shrewd about the lesser wealth of this life

After all, why would we be granted the management and possession of true wealth if we cannot be faithful in managing lesser ‘unrighteous wealth?’

We must be pious and shrewd with our money

That means we must Know how to use it in the here and now for the sake of the hereafter

Wealth is a Gift

Wealth, like every other good thing we have, is a gift given to us by our Father.

1 Corinthians 4:7 “ What do you have that you did not receive? If then you received it, why do you boast as if you did not receive it?”

It ought to, all of it be received with gratitude.

Perhaps you don’t have a lot of money and your tempted to be discontent as a result.

Just remember that you do not deserve even the little that you do have, but God has been gracious to you and has provided for your needs.

Perhaps you are very wealthy and you’re tempted to flaunt the symbols of your status like Kenneth Copeland or some rapper.

Remember, you’re no big stuff because the entirety of your wealth was given to you as a gift from God.

Wealth Belongs to the Lord

Which leads us to the truth that all wealth actually belongs to God.

He is the Creator of all things, so all things are His. All that you have, your health, your time, your family, your thoughts, your money, all belong to Him.

Psalm 50:10 “For every beast of the forest is mine, the cattle on a thousand hills.”

This signifies the unending wealth of God. Wealth that He bestows on whomever He wills

Wealth Must be Stewarded

“When the Possessor of Heaven and Earth brought you into being, and placed you in this World, he placed you here not as a proprietor, but a steward: As such He entrusted you, for a season, with goods of various kinds; but the sole property of these still rests in Him, and cannot be alienated from Him.” -John Wesley

Proverbs 3:9–10 “Honor the Lord with your wealth and with the firstfruits of all your produce; then your barns will be filled with plenty, and your vats will be bursting with wine.”

Proverbs 27:23–24 “Know well the condition of your flocks, and give attention to your herds, for riches do not last forever; and does a crown endure to all generations?”

Keep track of your wealth. Categorize it and budget and protect it

Matthew 25:14–30 ESV

“For it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted to them his property. To one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability. Then he went away. He who had received the five talents went at once and traded with them, and he made five talents more. So also he who had the two talents made two talents more. But he who had received the one talent went and dug in the ground and hid his master’s money. Now after a long time the master of those servants came and settled accounts with them. And he who had received the five talents came forward, bringing five talents more, saying, ‘Master, you delivered to me five talents; here, I have made five talents more.’ His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’ And he also who had the two talents came forward, saying, ‘Master, you delivered to me two talents; here, I have made two talents more.’ His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’ He also who had received the one talent came forward, saying, ‘Master, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you scattered no seed, so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here, you have what is yours.’ But his master answered him, ‘You wicked and slothful servant! You knew that I reap where I have not sown and gather where I scattered no seed? Then you ought to have invested my money with the bankers, and at my coming I should have received what was my own with interest. So take the talent from him and give it to him who has the ten talents. For to everyone who has will more be given, and he will have an abundance. But from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. And cast the worthless servant into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’

The servant who is miserly with his money, not seeking to use it well, not seeking to increase it, he is called a wicked and slothful servant.

The Danger of Wealth

Prioritizing what is important

There is something about wealth that is so ‘this worldly’ that the accumulation of it can sauce us to be worldly.

Our focus shifts from heavenly things, heavenly rewards, heavenly realities to the here and now.

It is not bad that money is ‘this worldly’ God created it to be. And it is incredibly useful in this life.

But we are not creatures of this age, we are creatures of the next, and we ought to be careful not to allow ourselves to be overcome with desire for the things of this world even as we try to live shrewdly in it.

Wealth can throw up barriers to eternal life

Matthew 19:21–26 “Jesus said to him, “If you would be perfect, go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” When the young man heard this he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions. And Jesus said to his disciples, “Truly, I say to you, only with difficulty will a rich person enter the kingdom of heaven. Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.” When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished, saying, “Who then can be saved?” But Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.””

1 Timothy 6:10 “For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs.”

Money is not the root of all evil. The love of money is not the root of all evil.

Rather, the love of Money is a root of all kinds of evil.

If we do not keep a check on our hearts, money can act like a strong magnet, drawing our hearts to the things of this world and forsaking the things above.

Wesley

For the next several weeks we will be following the outline of John Wesley’s famous sermon on the proper use of money.

Preaching from Lk. 16. He encourages us to

Gain all you can

Save all you can

and Give all you can

We will take one week with each of these three imperatives to explain it biblically, philosophically and theologically

Then we will follow up and have at least one week devoted to each of these imperative in which we will explore in detail the practical side of things.

What is the most effective way to gain more money?

How do I build the skills necessary to save more?

Are there better ways to give? How can current tax codes help me in giving more bang for my buck?

Gain All you Can

Proverbs 14:23 “In all toil there is profit, but mere talk tends only to poverty.”

Proverbs 12:11 “Whoever works his land will have plenty of bread, but he who follows worthless pursuits lacks sense.”

The point is that growing one’s wealth is seen as a good thing.

Because money has a purpose. It is to be used toward a certain end, the glory of God.

And the nature of money is that the more you have of it, the more useful it is in accomplishing its goal.

And the main avenue for the accrual of wealth is labor. This is the way God has designed the World

Gaining money is not a bad thing

It can be a bad thing if done improperly.

Proverbs 1:19 “Such are the ways of everyone who is greedy for unjust gain; it takes away the life of its possessors.”

It is bad if done from a heart of greed.

But the increase of wealth can be a great blessing to you and to others.

Save All you Can

Of course, gaining much wealth does little good if you spend like a drunken sailor.

We must be conservative in our spending and save up what comes in

For protection

It is good to have savings in cases of emergencies. to cover medical or home expenses that can threaten the wellbeing of our families.

Give All you Can

This is really the point of Gaining and Saving

Giving.

To those in need, to the work of the kingdom, to your church, to other worthy causes.

Sometimes just giving for the sake of giving is worthwhile because it is a statement a testimony and a reminder of the generosity of God toward us.

2 Corinthians 9:10–13 “He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your seed for sowing and increase the harvest of your righteousness. You will be enriched in every way to be generous in every way, which through us will produce thanksgiving to God. For the ministry of this service is not only supplying the needs of the saints but is also overflowing in many thanksgivings to God. By their approval of this service, they will glorify God because of your submission that comes from your confession of the gospel of Christ, and the generosity of your contribution for them and for all others,”

Paul says here that the generosity of the Corinthians does 2 things. First, it meets the need.

Second, it produces thanksgiving to God.

Our generosity is an act of worship and it aids others in their worship.

Because that which is given to you is given to you by God who simply uses people as a conduit to do the giving.

So give all you can.

Proverbs 3:27 “Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due, when it is in your power to do it.”

Proverbs 11:25 “Whoever brings blessing will be enriched, and one who waters will himself be watered.”

Proverbs 28:27 “Whoever gives to the poor will not want, but he who hides his eyes will get many a curse.”

2 Corinthians 9:6–7 “The point is this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.”