Today I want to bring up a revolutionary concept regarding how Christians are supposed to use their money.
THE PRINCIPLE
Firstly, let me state the foundational concept: Christians are not supposed to use money the same way that everyone else does - because we believe things about money that other people don’t believe. (For instance, the idea that God is the true and ultimate owner of everything that you call yours is a very different belief from what most Americans hold.)
THE PRINCIPLE
Firstly, let me state the foundational concept: Christians are not supposed to use money the same way that everyone else does - because we believe things about money that other people don’t believe. (For instance, the idea that God is the true and ultimate owner of everything that you call yours is a very different belief from what most Americans hold.)
THIS SHOULD AFFECT GIVING, SAVING, AND SPENDING
For that reason Christians are supposed to give money away in different amounts and for different reasons than many other people. If you’d like to hear a sermon on that, feel free to check this one out.
I also believe that Christians are supposed to be guided by God’s wisdom and therefore they will often save money in different amounts and for different reasons than many other people. And here’s a sermon on that topic.
Lastly, Christians are supposed to spend money in different amounts and for different reasons than many other people. And that is the topic of this essay.
THREE DIFFERENT PHILOSOPHIES REGARDING CHRISTIAN SPENDING
Here are three different conceptions of spending within Christianity that I’ve come across during my life:
a) Once I’ve given God what’s His, I can spend the rest of the money on myself. – This view basically takes verses like Leviticus 27:30 (which is about how the Israelites were to handle their agriculture) and applies it to modern-day finances. And a common application goes something like this: If I give God His 10%, then I can spend the remaining 90% on whatever I want.
One of the biggest problems with this view is that God wants you to use your whole life for His honor, and not just 10% of it. The person who holds this view can forget about the many things that God cares about, and they can still be free of any concerns or shame… as long as they pay the 10% tax they owe God.
b) When I spend money, I need to make as many “Christian purchases” as I can in order to honor the Lord. – This view acknowledges that God may actually care about how we spend the 90% and therefore, as much as possible, tries to Christianize those other purchases. For instance, if I need to hire a plumber to fix my bathtub, I ought to hire a Christian plumber over a non-Christian plumber and keep the money “in the family” so to speak. If I have to pick between two coffee mugs, I should buy the one that has “God is Love” emblazoned on the side of it. And if I’m in the mood for chicken nuggets, of course I should choose Chick-Fil-a.
Though better than the first view, one of the biggest problems with this view is that it is impossible to Christianize every purchase. What if you need to take care of your grandma, and you need gas to drive to her house in the Villages? And what if there are only two gas stations along the way: one that sells pornographic magazines, and one owned by a Hindu. Now what? Do you not help grandma?
c) Christianize your life, and then fund it. – This view factors in that all of your life (not just 10%) is to be spent for the glory of God. So, the person chooses to do, with their life, what they believe God wants them to do. This might include taking care of grandma, raising children to honor the Lord, feeding the hungry, evangelizing your neighbors, bringing snacks to your Bible study, and/or taking a vacation when rest is needed.
And all of these things can be funded “Christianly” not because the vacation is to the Ark Encounter in Kentucky or because the snacks are those mints that you can buy at a Christian Book store, but because the purpose of the spending is to fund a life that honors God.
In other words, the gasoline purchased at the Hindu’s gas station (or the porn-selling station) is a holy purchase, not because of anything inherent to the gasoline or to the store it came from, but because the reason they were buying the gas has to do with what the Lord has called that Christian to do: take care of grandma (see 1 Timothy 5:4).
CONCLUSION
This third view is the view that I counsel people to adopt. (A) We must reject the view that God intended for us to give him only a portion of our lives, while using the rest on ourselves. And (B) we shouldn’t neglect grandma while priding ourselves by the fact that our most recent boat was purchased from a Christian boat manufacturer.
Once you’ve been blown away by the mercy of Jesus Christ, your focus should be on Christianizing you rather than your chicken. (See Romans 12:1) And then, as you Christianize yourself, you pay your bills. In other words, you fund the life that you live for God.
This concept is not taught on very often, but it is revolutionary.
For that reason Christians are supposed to give money away in different amounts and for different reasons than many other people. If you’d like to hear a sermon on that, feel free to check this one out.
I also believe that Christians are supposed to be guided by God’s wisdom and therefore they will often save money in different amounts and for different reasons than many other people. And here’s a sermon on that topic.
Lastly, Christians are supposed to spend money in different amounts and for different reasons than many other people. And that is the topic of this essay.
THREE DIFFERENT PHILOSOPHIES REGARDING CHRISTIAN SPENDING
Here are three different conceptions of spending within Christianity that I’ve come across during my life:
a) Once I’ve given God what’s His, I can spend the rest of the money on myself. – This view basically takes verses like Leviticus 27:30 (which is about how the Israelites were to handle their agriculture) and applies it to modern-day finances. And a common application goes something like this: If I give God His 10%, then I can spend the remaining 90% on whatever I want.
One of the biggest problems with this view is that God wants you to use your whole life for His honor, and not just 10% of it. The person who holds this view can forget about the many things that God cares about, and they can still be free of any concerns or shame… as long as they pay the 10% tax they owe God.
b) When I spend money, I need to make as many “Christian purchases” as I can in order to honor the Lord. – This view acknowledges that God may actually care about how we spend the 90% and therefore, as much as possible, tries to Christianize those other purchases. For instance, if I need to hire a plumber to fix my bathtub, I ought to hire a Christian plumber over a non-Christian plumber and keep the money “in the family” so to speak. If I have to pick between two coffee mugs, I should buy the one that has “God is Love” emblazoned on the side of it. And if I’m in the mood for chicken nuggets, of course I should choose Chick-Fil-a.
Though better than the first view, one of the biggest problems with this view is that it is impossible to Christianize every purchase. What if you need to take care of your grandma, and you need gas to drive to her house in the Villages? And what if there are only two gas stations along the way: one that sells pornographic magazines, and one owned by a Hindu. Now what? Do you not help grandma?
c) Christianize your life, and then fund it. – This view factors in that all of your life (not just 10%) is to be spent for the glory of God. So, the person chooses to do, with their life, what they believe God wants them to do. This might include taking care of grandma, raising children to honor the Lord, feeding the hungry, evangelizing your neighbors, bringing snacks to your Bible study, and/or taking a vacation when rest is needed.
And all of these things can be funded “Christianly” not because the vacation is to the Ark Encounter in Kentucky or because the snacks are those mints that you can buy at a Christian Book store, but because the purpose of the spending is to fund a life that honors God.
In other words, the gasoline purchased at the Hindu’s gas station (or the porn-selling station) is a holy purchase, not because of anything inherent to the gasoline or to the store it came from, but because the reason they were buying the gas has to do with what the Lord has called that Christian to do: take care of grandma (see 1 Timothy 5:4).
CONCLUSION
This third view is the view that I counsel people to adopt. (A) We must reject the view that God intended for us to give him only a portion of our lives, while using the rest on ourselves. And (B) we shouldn’t neglect grandma while priding ourselves by the fact that our most recent boat was purchased from a Christian boat manufacturer.
Once you’ve been blown away by the mercy of Jesus Christ, your focus should be on Christianizing you rather than your chicken. (See Romans 12:1) And then, as you Christianize yourself, you pay your bills. In other words, you fund the life that you live for God.
This concept is not taught on very often, but it is revolutionary.
