Loving Money!
There are 3000 references to money in bible and 500 on prayer!
That tells us that the bible has a lot to say about how we use money.
10% of Jesus’ speech was about money!
People tend to have many thoughts on the topic.
Some questions that you could ask yourself as you read are;
Should we sell all and give to the poor?
Is money the root of all evil?
What do you believe about money?
There are mainly three lifestyles people live by:
Living above your means
Living at your means
Living below your means
Think about your own life. What category would you put yourself in today?
My personal testimony is as follows:
I was at a place in my life where I had lost my business and was in massive debt – poorer than most people reading this! I could have bought a flat with the debt I was in!
I had lost everything but despite this I decided to tithe and made a decision to honour all my debts. I didn’t file for bankruptcy.
I wrote to all my debtors to let them know I would honour the debt and gradually paid off everything.
I am now in a great financial position where I have more than enough!
Financial freedom starts with letting go of wrong ideas and desires – breaking debt starts with giving.
Paul wrote that the Love of money is root of evil –it also means that money itself is not evil!
1 Timothy 6:10 New International Version (NIV)
9 Those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction.
10 For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.
However, this is not exclusive to the rich. You can be poor and still love money!!!
It's not wrong to be wealthy!
1 Timothy 6:17-19New International Version (NIV)
17 Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment.18 Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. 19 In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life.
Here the bible clearly says that we should Command the rich to give generously and not to put their trust in money. However, it does not say to give it all away, unless the heart is in the wrong place. (For example the rich young ruler, who wasn’t able to give all his money away because he loved it too much!) The rich who have command over their heart and don’t desire money over God are tools for his Kingdom!
I leave you with this thought from Matthew 6:24:
“No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.
