Money has relative value and we use it to buy, sell, borrow, give, etc. In our society it is a means and unfortunately to some, it’s an end as well. The purpose of money as described in the Bible is another thing that man has possession of but it ultimately belongs to God. This like anything else should be used to glorify/ magnify or honor God.

“Money is a means for exchange of goods and services. It functions as the reflex of economic intercourse, measuring relative worth and facilitating the transactions of commodities.” [1]

What is the Bible’s attitude about money?

As Jesus spoke about money several times, he taught us different truths in how we should view money and riches. Here are a few quotations:

Jesus speaking to the rich, hypocritical religious leaders:

“No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money” (Luke 16:13)

Jesus challenging a rich man to be perfect:

“Jesus looked at him and loved him. ‘One thing you lack,’ he said. ‘Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.’” (Mark 10:21)

Jesus talking about taxes

“…Then he said to them, ‘Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s.’” (Matthew 22:21)

In the early church “All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of his possessions as his own, but they shared everything they had.” (Acts 4:32 & 6:1-6). Here we see an example of people pooling together all they had to live in commune-like society. But this is not the only picture of faith and money. In other places in Acts we see that some of the believers were women of prominent status such as Lydia, one the first believers in Philippi (Acts 14:14) and the prominent new female believers of Thessalonica (Acts 17:4) and Berea (Acts 17:12). Realistically there were believers from almost all classes of people in the Bible. So what now? We have examples of believers who are fairly “well-to-do” and poor.

The Bigger Issue is Stewardship

In the rest of the Bible we see the bigger issue being stewardship which is “the responsibility to manage all the resources of life for the glory of God, acknowledging God as provider.” [2] He is the provider and sustainer of all that we have. We treat our resources as if they are His. The apostle Paul echoes this. He teaches the church of Corinth, to count possessions as if they are not theirs to keep and they should not be engrossed in them. (1 Corinthians 7:30-31). However a proper understanding of stewardship goes beyond money and “stuff”. God has entrusted us with a responsibility towards the land, property, time, real estate, influence, talents, money, etc. Our decisions regarding how we are to use the resources entrusted to us should be subjected to the authority of Christ and God’s will as described in the Bible. God expects that we give back to him in expression of thankfulness and reverence, but he also demands that we use what he has given to us to honor Him. [3] For example tithe and offering is an expression of thankfulness to God as well as an expectation that God has for us.

Conclusion:

We ought to be good decision makers of what we have been given. In everything we should honor God. (1 Cor, 10:31). This includes money and all other stuff under the sun.

[1] “Money” Freedman, David Noel, ed., Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible, (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2000), 914.

[2] “Stewardship” Brand, Charles, Charles Draper, and Archie England, Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary, (Nashville: Holman, 2003), 1534.

[3] Ibid.