Why do Christians not like to talk about money and stewardship? Are we afraid that lost people will be turned off by Christianity if we discuss the topic of money? Yet, the Bible has hundreds of verses that give sound advice for followers of Jesus to be good stewards of the resources God provides. The Bible isn’t afraid to talk about money, but Christians seem terrified.
A recent non-scientific poll taken by Christianity Today shared that only 1/3 of pastors have a healthy balanced approach to discussing the subject of money from their pulpit. I think it is time we get comfortable sharing what the Bible says about money to the ones we are trying to reach. In fact, a healthy discussion about money may be the turning point for the one you are trying to reach to know that God cares about the financial health of them and their families.
There are several things that Christians do with their money that doesn’t make any sense to a non-believer. But they come straight out of scripture. We don’t have time to cover all of them in this blog, so I am going to share a link to a 14 min YouTube video that describes 7 of them at the end of this article.
One of the most odd thing that Christians do with their money is give it away. The biblical principle is the idea that giving more means having more. You may have heard the phrase, “You can’t out give God”, and that statement is true. The posture is not “give to get”. God doesn’t honor that attitude. Instead, it is more like Solomon put it in Proverbs 11:24 “There is one who scatters, yet increases all the more”. R.G. LaTourneau in his book Mover of Men and Mountains has a great quote that summarizes this idea in one sentence, “I shovel it out and God shovels it back, but God has a bigger shovel”.
Sound Biblical principles on money and stewardship are more than just good advice. They really work. The business model of Chick-fil-A is a perfect example. On any given day (except Sunday), a Chick-fil-A restaurant will make a profit margin three times that of McDonalds located in the same city. The company is founded on a Biblical model of financial stewardship and practice. Does that mean that God likes Chick-fil-A more than McDonalds? No. Rather, it is because the biblical approach to financial stewardship really works.
Jason McNair has served for more than a decade as Strengthen Churches Missionary for Utah Idaho SBC. He and his wife help lead a Financial Peace University class in his community on Tuesdays.
