Let's look at money from God's perspective. This article poses some very thought provoking questions to think about.

Money - Asking the Right Questions

For the Christian, we must be asking and discussing the right questions.  I believe this involves “getting down to the basics”.  If we get the core issues resolved, it will make all the other questions easier to answer.  So let’s dive into what I believe are the core questions.

Money: What is it?

The answer to this question may seem irrelevant, but I assure you that it has far-reaching ramifications that will be explored later in this article.

Before money was invented by man, a farmer had to trade milk, eggs, or cattle for lumber in order to build a barn.  But if the carpenter needed wool for a coat, he would need to trade with the shepherd.  So the farmer would hope the shepherd needed his products so he could get wool to trade with the carpenter.  It could get very complicated and confusing.   Money made trade for products and services much easier.
Money not only made trade easier, but it represented the person’s ability to produce milk, eggs, cattle, leather, clothing, furniture, and other products as well as a person’s ability to provide valuable services such as accounting, legal, and yes even babysitting.

It could also be used to produce wheels or weapons, pickles or porn.  Money can be an instrument of good or evil, but money itself is morally neutral.  Many have equated money with good.  Materialism does so as well as Prosperity Theology.  Others have taken a vow of poverty equating money and possessions to evil.  Neither is true.

Money represented a person’s worth or value to the community.  The problem is that it tended to become equated with a person’s worth or value.  To have more value in the eyes of others, you had to have more money.

Money also represented security.  If only we had enough money, we would be secure.  At least, this is the theory.

We will see what God has to say about that a little later in this article.

Money: Whose is it?

It’s not, “What do I want to do with my money?”  Nor is it, “What does God want me to do with my money?”  Instead, the question we need to be asking is, “What does God want me to do with His money?”

Scripture is quite clear on this.
 
The earth is the LORD's, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it; Ps 24:1

Beware lest you say in your heart, “My power and the might of my hand have gotten me this wealth.”  You shall remember the LORD your God, for it is he who gives you power to get wealth.  Deut 8:17-18

This is how one should regard us, as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God.  I Cor 4:1

It is required of stewards that they be found trustworthy.  I Cor 4:2

So then each of us will give an account of himself to God.  Rom 14:12

There is no “yours, mine, and ours” – it’s all His.  This issue is even harder to discuss when one spouse is not a Christian.  The best time to discuss this, as well as other money related questions, is before the decision to marry.  The next best time is right now. 

Again, application of this principle is much harder in a blended family since one has to contend with court orders, divorce decrees, child support, etc.  The overriding principle that it is all God’s and we are His money managers (stewards) must be kept in mind.

Money: How does God view it?

The Bible devotes twice as many verses to money than to faith and prayer combined.  Jesus said more about how we are to view and handle money and possessions than about any other single subject.  Why?  What did Jesus know about money and possessions that we don’t?

When it is all said and done, it boils down to this timeless principle: There is a powerful relationship between our true spiritual condition and our attitude and actions concerning money and possessions.  We need to go back to the first question above to understand that many of us have equated money and possessions to a person’s worth and value;  even more damaging is that many of us have equated money and possessions with our worth and value.  When we give up control of our money and possessions to God, we are equating that to giving up control of our lives to God.  That is exactly what God wants us to do.

When we put our security in having “enough” money and possessions, we are putting security in things instead of God.  By the way, have you ever noticed that there is never “enough”?  I saw an interview recently about a book written by a young heir to a fortune.  The book was about the attitudes of the super-rich.  They were all afraid of running out of money – of not having “enough”.  He who loves money will not be satisfied with money, nor he who loves wealth with his income; this also is vanity. Eccl 5:10

Pastors know that the quickest way to get angry phone calls or hate-mail is to talk about money from the pulpit.  It touches a “sore spot”.  It’s getting to the “heart of the matter”.  “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” Matt 6:21. 

Attitude toward and use of money is an exact index of a person’s true character.  Richard Halverson, Christian Author and former Chaplain to the U.S. Senate stated, “All through Scripture there is an intimate correlation between the development of a person’s character and how that person handles money.”

If Christ is not Lord over our money and possessions, then he is not our Lord.

Money: What is its potential for eternal use?

The next overriding issue to understand and discuss about money and possessions is its potential for eternal use.

Matthew 6:19-21 records Jesus saying,  “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal.  For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

In his book, The Treasure Principle, Randy Alcorn uses the following analogy to explain this passage:

“Imagine you’re alive near the end of the Civil War.  You’re living in the South, but you’re a Northerner.  You plan to move home as soon as the war’s over.  While in the South you’ve accumulated lots of Confederate currency.  Now, suppose you know for a fact the North’s going to win the war, and the end is imminent.  What would you do with your Confederate money?
If you’re smart, there’s only one answer.  You should immediately cash in your Confederate currency for U.S. currency – the only money that will have value once the war is over.  Keep only enough Confederate currency to meet your short-term needs.

As believers, we have inside knowledge of a coming change in the worldwide economic situation.  The currency of this world will be worthless at our death or Christ’s return, both of which are imminent. This knowledge should radically affect our investment strategy.  For us to accumulate vast earthly treasures in the face of the inevitable future is equivalent to stockpiling Confederate money.  It’s not just wrong.  It’s stupid.

Kingdom currency, backed by the eternal treasury, is the only medium of exchange recognized by the Son of God, whose government will last forever.  The currency of His kingdom is our present faithful service and sacrificial use of our resources [those He has entrusted to us] for Him.”

To be focused upon treasures in heaven is to be in pursuit of those goals and activities that have eternal significance.

In Matthew 6:22-23, Jesus continues by using physical vision as a metaphor for perspective.  Without an eternal perspective or worldview, we are destined to take all the wrong turns and come to all the wrong conclusions.

It’s like someone who continually gets in car accidents at stoplights and asks, “Why is this happening to me?  I don’t understand it!  I stop when the light is green and go when the light is red, just like I am supposed to.”  Their understanding of what life is all about doesn’t match reality.  As Rick Warren states in his book, The Purpose Driven Life, “It’s not about you.  It’s all about God”.

What if while on an airplane flight you glance across the isle and notice a passenger by a window seat hanging curtains over the window, putting up a wall hanging, and taping pictures to the seat in front of him.  I’m sure you would think it strange because it’s a short flight.  Once the flight is over, none of this will matter.

Compared to eternity, our lives are a short flight.  The difference is that what we do during this short flight impacts eternity.

The Dot: Life on Earth	The Line: Eternity

Our lives are like a small dot on a line that goes on forever.   The short-sighted person lives for the dot.  The person with perspective lives for the line.  The person who lives for the dot is consumed with treasures on earth that, before the blink of an eye, are worthless.  The person who lives for the line builds up treasures that they can enjoy forever in eternity.

Foolish people live for the dot.  Wise people live for the line.                                                

We need to be more concerned with the eternal rate of return than the internal rate of return.  We need to be asking if there could be eternal consequences on a particular use of our resources.

A couple examples might help in understanding the application of how we might be able to increase our eternal rate of return (store up treasures in heaven).

Let’s say your family does a “family night out” once per week where you go out to eat and then go bowling, or to a movie, or some other fun event.  It’s important to have that family time.  But what if you have a family conference to discuss this concept of eternal rate of return or storing up treasures in heaven?  Together you decide to skip family night once per month and use the money you would have spent to donate to a worthy cause.  What about spending that money as well as time to help another family or person in need? In other words, family time once per month is spent in some way helping another family.

The next step may be to spend a future family vacation on a mission trip.

Another example may be when we are making out our will or designing our trust.  First of all, we need to understand that we are passing on stewardship, not ownership.  What if we have a child who at one time professed a saving relationship with Jesus Christ but it has never been evidenced by a changed life and he squanders money on a non-Christian lifestyle?  If we include him in the will, we feel he would be a poor steward.  If we don’t include him in the will, the hurt and resentment may never allow him to come to a saving relationship with our Lord.  Taking an eternal perspective, the internal rate of return on the assets if we include him in the will may be terrible but the eternal rate of return may be the joy of spending eternity with our son.  This is a decision that requires much prayer and ultimately must be made based upon where you feel the Lord is leading you. 

The last example comes from a completely different perspective.  I’ve included it to help you understand that keeping an eternal perspective is all-encompassing.  On August 8, 2006 the Washington Post ran an article about a well respected Republican Senator who opposed abortion while profiting from it by owning stock in the manufacturer of the morning-after pill.  I’m sure the internal rate of return on the stock proved profitable.  Eternally it was a terrible loss and caused the Senator to loose his seat in the Senate and therefore his influence on the future course of the abortion issue.

As Christians, we are under a microscope.  Our witness and influence upon others can be damaged by our actions.

As an Investment Advisor and member of the Biblically Responsible Investing Affinity Group of the Christian Financial Professionals Network, this issue is close to my heart.  I know that many of you reading this right now would be shocked to learn that without your knowledge there is a very high likelihood that you are profiting from abortion, pornography, anti-family entertainment, and support of the homosexual lifestyle.  You are doing so through your 401(k), IRA, or other investments.

There is a legal term for someone who has the responsibility for the oversight of the invested assets of someone else.  That term is “fiduciary” and is synonymous with the term “steward”.  The fiduciary is accountable to the owner for the use of the owner’s assets.  I’m sure that you would agree that God would not want the assets He has entrusted to you to be invested as mentioned above, especially when there are alternatives that don’t do so.  I would encourage you to (click here) to learn how you can make an eternal impact through your present investments.

Money: How much is enough?

The last overarching question that needs to be addressed and discussed is, “How much is enough?” 

Scripture indicates that the ideal state is somewhere between poverty and riches.   “Give me neither poverty nor riches! Give me just enough to satisfy my needs. For if I grow rich, I may deny you and say, “Who is the Lord?” And if I am too poor, I may steal and thus insult God’s holy name.” Proverbs 30:8-9

I have found the following example from the book Money, Possessions, and Eternity by Randy Alcorn to be helpful.

“The owner, God, has put each of our names on his account. We have unrestricted access to it, a privilege that is subject to abuse. As his money managers, God trusts us to set our own salaries. We draw needed funds from His wealth to pay our living expenses. One of our central spiritual decisions is determining what a reasonable amount to live on is. Whatever the amount is – and it will legitimately vary from person to person – we shouldn’t hoard or waste the excess. After all, it’s His, not ours.”

I believe the best way to determine this “reasonable amount” is to create a financial plan, either by yourself or with professional help, and then follow and adjust that plan as needed. (Stop Worrying and Start Planning)