36 Therefore be merciful, just as your Father also is merciful.
37 "Judge not, and you shall not be judged. Condemn not, and you shall not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven.
38 Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you."
There is a Biblical principle of sowing and reaping, predicated on being generous toward God. We can look to Him as our provider, but He doesn't call us to hoard our resources selfishly - certainly, he calls us to be responsible and to be good stewards of His blessings, utilizing sound financial principles. And, I think is prudent to build wealth. His economy, I believe, starts with God as the giver of all good gifts, who desires for us to develop the same attitude, approaching live with a giving spirit.
2nd Corinthians chapter 9 offers some Scripture that shows us not only a Biblical attitude toward finances, but highlights our role as stewards over what God has entrusted to us. We can read:
8 And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work.
9 As it is written: "He has dispersed abroad, He has given to the poor; His righteousness endures forever."
10 Now may He who supplies seed to the sower, and bread for food, supply and multiply the seed you have sown and increase the fruits of your righteousness...
The Scriptures provide the principles by which we live our lives and point us to the power source to enable us to bring honor to Christ. And, our spiritual life can and should affect the material. That includes the use of our financial resources. The Stewardship.com website states:
A recent survey by LifeWay Research dealt with money and how people view it. Some statements from the summary:
“My church teaches that if I give more money to my church and charities, God will bless me in return.” 38 percent of Protestant churchgoers agreed with that statement, 57% disagreed, and 40 percent said they strongly disagreed.
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2nd Corinthians chapter 9 offers some Scripture that shows us not only a Biblical attitude toward finances, but highlights our role as stewards over what God has entrusted to us. We can read:
8 And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work.
9 As it is written: "He has dispersed abroad, He has given to the poor; His righteousness endures forever."
10 Now may He who supplies seed to the sower, and bread for food, supply and multiply the seed you have sown and increase the fruits of your righteousness...
The Scriptures provide the principles by which we live our lives and point us to the power source to enable us to bring honor to Christ. And, our spiritual life can and should affect the material. That includes the use of our financial resources. The Stewardship.com website states:
Christian financial expert Howard Dayton has said that the Bible references money and possessions 2,350 times. That’s a lot. It’s more than Jesus talked about love, and more than He talked about heaven and hell combined.So, there is something that is important about money, and while sometimes it is mentioned in a negative sense, we also recognize that the currency of this world can facilitate the furtherance of God's agenda.
A recent survey by LifeWay Research dealt with money and how people view it. Some statements from the summary:
About a third of Protestant churchgoers say their congregation teaches that God will bless them if they donate money.
Two-thirds say God wants them to prosper. One in 4 say they have to do something for God to receive material blessings in return.Let's dig a little deeper. Respondents were asked if they agreed or disagreed with this statement:
“My church teaches that if I give more money to my church and charities, God will bless me in return.” 38 percent of Protestant churchgoers agreed with that statement, 57% disagreed, and 40 percent said they strongly disagreed.
Another statement: "God wants me to prosper financially." Over two-thirds agreed, at 69%, with only 20% disagreeing. By the way, the percentage agreeing goes up among those who attend church at least once a week - to 71%.
And, a third: "To receive material blessings from God, I have to do something for God." Just over one-quarter - 26% - agreed with that. 70 percent did not.
Scott McConnell, Executive Director of LifeWay Research, states: "A significant group of churches seem to teach that donations trigger a financial response from God." The summary also relates:
Our attitude toward money should be shaped by the attitude that God displays - He is a giver; He loved the world so much that he gave His only Son. He is described in James 1 as the giver of all good gifts. So, while we view our material possessions as blessings from God, we also recognize that we are not called to hold on to them too tightly. And, we can be sensitive to His direction on our use of those funds, including how we are to give in order to do His work.
Now, the Bible does teach, I believe, that the giver is blessed for his or her generosity. But that blessing is not for our own glory, but for His. We realize that this is not some sort of "get rich quick" scheme and that we are not to give in order to try to become rich or curry favor with God. While it is true that you can't outgive God, we are not to attempt to manipulate Him, either, even if we could. I believe the Biblical pattern is to give our tithe to the local church, and then, as God leads, to be generous toward other charitable work. We are grateful to those who choose to support the ministry of Faith Radio with a portion of what God has blessed them with.
Another principle of Biblical stewardship is our attitude toward debt. We can take practical steps to make sure that we are not spending more than we are making and address areas in which we owe, including credit cards. As sound, Biblical financial teachers remind us, we can experience freedom in our finances as we eliminate our indebtedness.
God teaches us to be responsible with our finances and to build wealth for the future. This can be done through saving and investing. One of the areas which you will hear financial experts talk about is the importance of diversifying - with our investments, we can be careful to not, "put our eggs in one basket."
In a recent article at the Sound Mind Investing website, Mark Biller offers some foundational principles on finances. Here is a portion of that piece:
McConnell said evangelicals appear to be to the most eager to embrace a link between God’s financial blessings and their actions.
“A number of high-profile evangelical leaders have condemned the prosperity gospel,” he said. “But more than a few people in the pews have embraced it.”God's economy is predicated on several principles. One is, as Ron Blue has said, it all belongs to God. So, we recognize our role as stewards. It's also not sinful to have worldly possessions - even a lot of them! But, as it's been said, it's OK to have things, but not OK for things to have you.
Our attitude toward money should be shaped by the attitude that God displays - He is a giver; He loved the world so much that he gave His only Son. He is described in James 1 as the giver of all good gifts. So, while we view our material possessions as blessings from God, we also recognize that we are not called to hold on to them too tightly. And, we can be sensitive to His direction on our use of those funds, including how we are to give in order to do His work.
Now, the Bible does teach, I believe, that the giver is blessed for his or her generosity. But that blessing is not for our own glory, but for His. We realize that this is not some sort of "get rich quick" scheme and that we are not to give in order to try to become rich or curry favor with God. While it is true that you can't outgive God, we are not to attempt to manipulate Him, either, even if we could. I believe the Biblical pattern is to give our tithe to the local church, and then, as God leads, to be generous toward other charitable work. We are grateful to those who choose to support the ministry of Faith Radio with a portion of what God has blessed them with.
Another principle of Biblical stewardship is our attitude toward debt. We can take practical steps to make sure that we are not spending more than we are making and address areas in which we owe, including credit cards. As sound, Biblical financial teachers remind us, we can experience freedom in our finances as we eliminate our indebtedness.
God teaches us to be responsible with our finances and to build wealth for the future. This can be done through saving and investing. One of the areas which you will hear financial experts talk about is the importance of diversifying - with our investments, we can be careful to not, "put our eggs in one basket."
In a recent article at the Sound Mind Investing website, Mark Biller offers some foundational principles on finances. Here is a portion of that piece:
- Our specific responsibility is to take care of our family.
1 Timothy 5:8 says, “But if anyone does not provide for his own, and especially for those of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.” Work typically allows us to accomplish this early in life, and the familiar SMI blueprint provides a safe route for continuing to do so in the future:1. Get Out of Debt
“The rich rule over the poor, and the borrower is slave to the lender” (Proverbs 22:7).
2. Build Savings
“In the house of the wise are stores of choice food and oil, but a foolish man devours all he has” (Proverbs 21:20).
3. Invest for the Future
“Steady plodding brings prosperity; hasty speculation brings poverty” (Proverbs 21:5).
4. Diversify to Manage Risk
“Divide your portion to seven, or even to eight, for you do not know what misfortune may occur on the earth” (Ecclesiastes 11:2).
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