The Bible addresses the topic of money, possessions, and associated attitudes more than any other subject in the Scripture. There are more than 2000 verses on this theme as it pertains to our financial and spiritual lives.
The use of money and possessions are a needful part of daily living and are important to fulfilling the commission of God’s Word to care for family, help the poor, and even to spread the gospel. Due to the integral role of financial matters in life, God in His infinite wisdom gave fixed doctrinal parameters for the Christian to follow in addition to giving sound financial principles upon which to operate. The state of one’s finances greatly affects the mind and emotions which in turn affect the spiritual; hence, it is imperative for Christians to have a biblical perspective of money to more effectively walk daily with God.
While the world is driven by a false perspective of personal ownership which perpetuates greed, envy, and covetousness, the biblical perspective of material things is drastically different. “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth” (Genesis 1:1). All things belong to God and “every good gift…is from above” (James 1:17).
God has entrusted the things of this life into the care of humans to responsibly manage His resources. The world would be so different if people would understand that things are not ours but God’s. We are merely stewards of all things that are in our possession and our decision making should be based upon that which is glorifying to God. It is the “love of money” (1 Timothy 6:10) that is the “root of all evil,” not the money itself. Jesus said that “No man can serve two masters…. Ye cannot serve God and mammon [money, possessions]” (Matthew 6:24). Hence, Christians are to be careful not to serve money, but to let the money serve them while recognizing that true treasure is not found in the things of this earth.
A wise steward makes choices that are not selfish but pleasing to the master. As stewards of God, our finances should be regulated and administered with the same care and faithfulness as in spiritual things. “It is required in stewards, that a man be found faithful”
(1 Corinthians 4:2).
Jesus Himself asked a greatly relevant question in Luke 16:11, “If therefore you have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches?” As in the parable of the talents (Matthew 25:14-30), Christians are to be faithful financial stewards of the possessions entrusted to them by God. Financial stewardship is about ordering finances in a way that is pleasing to God in how money is earned, spent, invested and managed.
