Managing Money

In today’s modern culture, we are bombarded with advertising. Christians who do not have a proper defense against covetousness can easily fall prey to impulsive spending. The opposite of covetousness is contentment. A contented man is a grateful man who has learned to rest in what God has provided for him, regardless of what God may have granted to others.

Homes, churches, and businesses suffer when lazy and selfish men take advantage of others. The Apostle Paul directly addressed the eighth commandment in the fourth chapter of his epistle to the Ephesians. In verse 28, Paul wrote under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, “Let him that stole steal no more: but rather let him labour, working with his hands the thing which is good, that he may have to give to him that needeth.”

Tithing was not intended to be a burden; rather, it was to be a blessing. Our giving back to God a part of what He has bestowed upon us is an acknowledgement of our relationship and dependence upon Him, the God of Heaven. He provides us with what we need to live. We, in turn, worship Him and support His Kingdom by the regular and cheerful giving of our tithes and offerings.

From his earliest boyhood memories, Stanley Tam set his priorities toward making money. He grew up on a small farm near Lima, Ohio, and he helped his parents milk the cows and plant potatoes. However, his ambitions lay far beyond the humble circumstances of his upbringing. In his spare moments he would speculate about how to get rich, as many young boys do.

Thriftiness is using as few resources as possible for my own needs so that I will have greater resources for generosity to God and to others.

Generosity is demonstrating the nature of God by wisely reinvesting the resources that He has entrusted to us. Generosity breaks the bondage of greed and overcomes the love of money.

Tithing is one way to worship God—to honor Him as your provider and to remind yourself that all of your resources belong to Him and are provided through His grace.

Do you look to money to provide you with security, establish your independence, or equip you to exercise power and wield influence? Today, many people would identify these goals as appropriate purposes for money. However, a focus on temporal riches is dangerous, because it leads you to expect things from money that only God can provide.