The Scriptures on Finances: June 8, 2018

This week we will again look at material from the book “Managing God’s Money” by Randy Alcorn.

Luke 16:9 I tell you, use worldly wealth to gain friends for yourselves, so that when it is gone, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings.

It is quite interesting what you find when you read the Bible. We know that we should use our time and resources wisely. Jesus instructs us to use worldly wealth to gain friends for ourselves.

The truth is that worldly wealth will be gone. We will leave it behind when we die. It can disappear or fly off when we cast a glance at it. It can become worthless like Confederate money did at the end of the Civil War.

What can we do with worldly wealth to gain friends so that we will be welcomed into eternal dwellings? I suggest that some of our worldly wealth can be used to win souls. Proverbs tells us that all who win souls are wise. Some practical ways of supporting the winning of souls can be to provide funding for missionaries, money for Gideon Bibles, fuel for airplanes to help missionaries reach their assignments, broadcast time for Christian radio, support for Bible teachers, and goods and cash for programs that meet both physical and spiritual needs such as the Salvation Army, the Soup Kitchen, and the Hi-Line Pregnancy Resource Center.

We will be disciplined for poor stewardship and rewarded for good stewardship. As God’s servants and friends we should take His assets that He has entrusted to us and use them to care for and expand His Kingdom.

As a rich American Christian, I am reminded that the Bible warns us that to whom much is given much shall be required. Nothing is hidden from God. Each one of us must do the job or jobs He has assigned us and then be prepared to give Him an account of our service.

We ought not to take crazy risks with His resources nor should we bury them in the ground. A healthy reverential awe of God can motivate us to be wise managers. We should remember that we serve an audience of One. We should live each day as if Jesus were returning that day.

Money makes a terrible master but it is a good servant if we have the right master — God. He created us to love people and use things but some who are materialistic love things and use people.

Leviticus instructs us not to take advantage of each other when we make an agreement with our neighbor to buy or sell property. Jesus warns us to be on guard against all kinds of greed because a man’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions. When I add to my possessions I have one more thing to steward, clean, repair, maintain, or replace.

Materialism can destroy or hinder our spiritual lives. We certainly need food and clothes and tools to do our jobs but we do not need things to capture our hearts. We need Jesus. He warned the Laodicean Christians who were materially wealthy that they were poor in the things of God. They didn’t realize that they were wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked.

When we embrace materialism we abandon God and dig for ourselves cracked cisterns that hold no water. Materialism blinds us to the problems of wealth. Ezekiel 28:4-5 states, “With your wisdom and understanding you have amassed great wealth-gold and silver for your treasuries. Yes, your wisdom has made you very rich, and your riches have made you very proud.”

We will look further at the topic of materialism in my next article. May God bless you big.

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This is the 21st column in a series by Kevin Barsotti, pastor at Ark Church in Havre, about financial matters and their treatment in the Christian faith.