What does God want us to do with money?
According to God's Word, there are four fundamental purposes for money: to provide for basic needs, to confirm direction, to give to those in need, and to illustrate God's power and care in provision. Understanding these purposes allows you to see how money relates to God's work in your life and community.
Instead of spending our money on things that can lead us to financial ruin, we need to spend our money on the things that matter. Tithing, our families, making sure our bills are paid, getting out of debt, and helping others.
2 Corinthians 9:8 reveals God's purpose for surplus. It says, "And God will generously provide all you need. Then you will always have everything you need and plenty left over to share with others." (NLT) According to this passage, God doesn't just provide for what we need, which is really amazing.
We Are to Use Our Wealth for the Aid of Those in Poverty
However, there is also a strong and consistent mandate throughout Scripture for those with wealth to use it to aid those in poverty. The most obvious way (and the one most written about in the Bible) is through giving.
Proverbs 21:20 says, “A wise man saves for the future, but the foolish man spends whatever he gets.” Saving is making provision for tomorrow. The most effective way to save is to do it every time you receive income. Save for both long-term and short-term.
Jesus taught that, since we are merely stewards, we should invest ourselves into the lives of others, not hoard our resources to ourselves (Matthew 25:34-40; Luke 6:30-38; 10:25-37; 12:15-21).
Proverbs 10:22: The blessing of the Lord makes a person rich, and he adds no sorrow with it. 2 Corinthians 9:8: And God will generously provide all you need. Then you will always have everything you need and plenty left over to share with others.
Matthew 6:33
In Matthew 6, we're reminded to “seek the Kingdom of God above all else and live righteously, and he will give you all that you need.” Notice Jesus doesn't say he will give you everything you want. God will give you everything you need.
2 Corinthians 8:9 (NIV)
“For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich.”
While tithing 10% of your income is biblical, that doesn't mean you have to be a Christian to tithe. It also doesn't mean you're a bad Christian if you don't tithe.
Does God want every believer to be rich?
The Bible issues several warnings against the love of money and the snare of wealth (1 Timothy 3:3; 6:10), but in Proverbs 30:8–9, Agur, the gather of wise sayings, asks that he would have neither poverty nor wealth.
But Scripture tells us that God loves the poor. He is on their side simply because they are still persons worthy of respect. And in their helplessness, they put their trust in God.
God is not against the proper use of money, material riches, or physical wealth. A number of God's true servants were very wealthy, like Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Job, King David, King Solomon, Joseph of Arimathea, and some others. Physical abundance and material wealth is one of God's blessings.
Saving Honors God and Serves Others
Yet the Bible actually encourages us to set aside for expected, future needs. Proverbs 21:5 says, “The plans of the diligent lead surely to abundance, but everyone who is hasty comes only to poverty” (ESV). Saving honors God because it values money as a gift that He has given to us.
- Spend less than you earn. ...
- Be wise with debt. ...
- Plan for financial margin, because the unexpected will occur. ...
- Set long-term goals, because there's always a trade-off between the short-term and the long-term. ...
- Give generously, because giving breaks the power of money.
What the Bible says about borrowing: Exodus 22:14 - If anything is borrowed, it should be paid back. If what is borrowed is lost or injured, full restitution must be made. Ps 37:21 - The wicked borrows but does not pay back, but the righteous is generous and gives.
- We tithe. “'Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. ...
- We provide for specific needs. ...
- We get out of debt and stay out of debt. ...
- We live contently. ...
- We don't fret about finances.
You are the God who provides all my needs according to your riches in Glory. I come to You as I am struggling financially, asking for your provision. Remove my fear, doubt, and unbelief. Fill me with Your peace and confidence in the promise of your care for me in time of need.
It is important for the Christian to trust God in every circ*mstance. If we believe that God really loves us and will give us only that amount of money that we can handle without worry, we can have perfect peace in finances. But not until we have committed all of our resources to Him.
That's why God's will for you is to have everything you need—DEBT FREE. How do we know? He tells us His will is for us to be “the head, and not the tail” (Deuteronomy 28:13), “to owe no man any thing but to love” (Romans 13:8), and that we “lend to many…but…not borrow” (Deuteronomy 28:12).
Does God want us to be in debt?
Absolutely nowhere in the scriptures are we advised or commanded to use debt to accomplish God-given economic goals. On the contrary, the Bible has many warnings against the use of debt.
3) God Uses Financial Hardships to Increase Our Faith
We have so many material goods available to us, so many comforts and distractions to preoccupy us that staying faithful and true to God and our calling is becoming more difficult. God will use any opportunity to grow and keep your faith and trust in Him.
Danger one: the desire to get rich (I Timothy 6:10). Danger two: worry about money (Matthew 6:25-34). Danger three: trusting in wealth rather than God (Luke 12:16-21). Danger four: loving money as your god, when no man can actually serve two masters (Matthew 6:24).
As a result, you can never be under a curse, you can never rob God because there is no longer a requirement or a necessity to pay a tithe. God cannot accept the payment of tithes because of what Jesus has done. But God will accept you GIVING A TITHE. He will not punish you if you do not give a tithe.
The Bible clearly illustrates how Christians are to respond to the poor and hopeless. Jesus says, “Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you,” in Matthew 5:42, and in James it says, “Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food.
