Biblical View of Finances 1 of 3 (Dr. Ken Williams)

Welcome to another edition of MemCare By Radio. I’m Scott Hollinger and I would like to thank you for joining us again today. We’re going to start a series of programs looking at biblical principles of handling finances. This is an area many of us could probably use some advice and I’ll be working from the material of Dr. Ken Williams of Wycliffe Bible Translators. I remember a young Christian worker who had just arrived on the field. This person’s previous job had been fairly lucrative and because of the timing of their arrival this person was paid shortly after their arrival. When this person looked at the size of the paycheck their comment was, they felt they could make it on that amount if they were very careful. What this new Christian worker didn’t seem to realize was that the pay was to last the entire month and not just the week! Well they blew through that first paycheck in about three days and then leadership of the organization had to sit down with this person and help them figure a budget as well as give them a cookbook so they could learn to cook and not buy the extremely expensive prepared dishes they had been accustomed to in the U.S. As we go through this series we are going to look at three areas of our life in regard to finances – Christ honouring attitudes, Christ honouring faith and lastly Christ honouring behaviour. Today we are going to look at Christ honouring heart attitudes in regard to finances.

So as missionaries we have special challenges in the financial arena. We also have a special need to understand what the Lord says about money, if we are to honour Him in this area of our lives.  What is your greatest financial concern right now? Stop and think for a moment. What brings you the most anxiety? What specific problem in the area of money is uppermost in your mind? As you go through the following principles, look for possible solutions from God’s Word. The Lord has much to say about money. Perhaps this is because He knows we need so much help in this area!  Few things have as great a potential for good or evil in our lives as money. The good results from our money come primarily from giving it away rather than acquiring it! A few examples of good:

1.         We can honour the Lord with it (Proverbs 3:9).

2.         We can lay up treasure in heaven that will last forever (Matt. 6:19-21).

3.         It enables us to “abound in every good work” to “enlarge the harvest of your righteousness” and to bring “thanksgiving to God” (2 Cor. 9:7-11).

4.         God “richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment” (1 Tim. 6:17).

The Word warns us of money’s evil effects also. Here are a few examples:

1.         The deceitfulness of riches chokes out the Word (Matthew 13:22).

2.         It can divide our loyalty to God, causing us to attempt to serve two masters at the same time (Matthew 6:24).

3.         1 Timothy 6:9,10 speak of the immense dangers of wanting to get rich, “People who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.”

Realizing money’s great potential for good or evil, let’s look at three foundational issues emphasized in the Word. We need balance in all three areas to be financially successful by God’s definition.

Christ-Honouring Heart Attitudes

Our heart attitudes are of highest priority to God. He is deeply concerned about all of our attitudes, especially about money. Three attitudes are especially emphasized in the Word. These are interdependent; we cannot have one without the other two.

1. A heart centered on God, not on material things or wealth. God says that we must choose to love either Him or money. We cannot love both.

Matthew 6:24 says, “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.”

Colossians 3:1,2, “Since then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.”

Proverbs 11:28, “Whoever trusts in his riches will fall, but the righteous will thrive like a green leaf.”

2. A heart of contentment. Contentment is resting in God’s gracious provision of everything I need in present circumstances. Once our basic needs are met, there is virtually no relationship between contentment and how much we have.

Luke 12:15, “Watch out. Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.”

Hebrews 13:5, “Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, ‘Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.’”

Ecclesiastes 5:10, “Whoever loves money never has money enough; whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with his income. This too is meaningless.”

1 Timothy 6:6-8, “But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it.  But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that.”

Contentment must be learned. It doesn’t come naturally for most of us. Even Paul had to learn to be content.

Philippians 4:11,12, “...I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances ...I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.”

3. A heart of gratitude. Read the story of the ten lepers in Luke 17:11-19. No doubt all felt grateful but only one expressed it. Gratitude unexpressed is ingratitude.

Romans 1:21, “For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened.”

2 Timothy 3:1-5 lists horrible sins of the last days. One of those sins is ingratitude: an ungrateful heart directed toward God or other people.

I trust you are encouraged by what you have heard today. Next time we’ll focus on Christ Honouring Faith in dealing with finances from a Biblical perspective