Money and Giving

In His sovereignty, God orchestrates unique opportunities for us to be generous. He delights in those moments of divine connection, and so should we.

Scripture is full of God’s words to generous givers: “Honor the Lord with your wealth and with the firstfruits of all your produce; then your barns will be filled with plenty” (Proverbs 3:9-10). But God doesn’t intend for us to keep everything He brings into our barns! We are to distribute it generously. We give to Him, He gives to us, and we keep giving it back to Him, recognizing that it belongs to Him anyway. 

Jesus indicated that not just some but all of His followers must turn away from various forms of wealth that get in the way of following Him, whether that wealth comes in the form of money, property, security, family, prestige, or popularity. Short-term rewards and eternal ones await anyone who follows Christ. The life we obtain far surpasses anything we leave behind.

Pride, by its very nature, is self-focused. If we live for the purpose of celebrating our own greatness, we’ll endure small, pitiful lives. But if we focus on God’s greatness and live to serve others, then we will, in the best sense, live large.

As we learn to give, we draw closer to God. But no matter how far we progress in the grace of giving, Jesus Christ remains the unmatchable giver. It was He who left the wealth of Heaven to make the supreme sacrifice to deliver us from eternal poverty and grant us eternal riches.

In some circles, the abundant life Jesus promised His followers has been confused with material wealth. Prosperity theology says that God’s plan is always for us to be wealthy—and to spend our money primarily on ourselves. 

As the wealthiest man on earth, Solomon learned that affluence didn’t satisfy. All it did was give him greater opportunity to chase more mirages. People tend to run out of money before mirages, so they cling to the myth that things they can’t afford will satisfy them. Solomon’s money never ran out.

In her article How ‘Christian’ Should My Small Business Be?, Laura Baxter offers five principles for business owners wondering how to honor Christ with their companies. I would add one more point to her article: Seek to honor Christ with the resources He has entrusted to your business.

I read Randy Alcorn’s book Money, Eternity, and Possessions but didn’t see mention of Luke 14:33, which I am trying to understand: “So therefore, any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple.”