The Bible Study Growth Group I am attending has just finished the topical study called Cash Values from Matthias Media. It ran for 5 weeks, each study focussing on a certain attitude that we should hold regarding money. Following is a summary and my spin on each. I am very open to your comments.Week 1, God & Money - God created everything, including money. We are custodians of his creation.
We should not be afraid of having money. However, with more money comes greater responsibility.
Week 2, Money as God - Seek first the kingdom of God, as money can be seductive.
Sometimes I think people get the verse mixed and say “money is the root of all evil” when it actually states “ the LOVE of money is a root of all kinds of evils” (1 Tim 6:10). There is nothing wrong with money per se, but people do funny things when they come across a large amount of it.
Week 3, Dear Prudence - Don’t be tight, or loose, with your money
In regards to being tight I have probably given my brother Danny a bad rap. I used to think he was tight but now that I am earning my own income I see what he was on about. I think people get the impression that he stores all his money away like the Parable of the Rich Fool (Luke 12:13-21) where all his grain was stored in silos only for him to die without making the most out of his wealth. Investment is not like storing wealth away in silos, but instead it is working for you. Danny is definitely not loose, I call it accountable. However he is not tight either, and is quite generous with his money.
Week 4, Paying the Bills - Be wise with your responsibilities
Pay what you owe, be it taxes or debts. I like a decent tax return as much as the next person, but I’ve heard some disturbing stories about people going to great lengths to minimise their tax. Whether or not it was by legal means I don’t know but it sure sounded dodgy. I question whether it is worth all the time and effort to dodge paying the taxes that we should. If we follow the theme of week 2 and seek first the kingdom of God the we should heed the statement made in Matthew 22:21 in regards to tax, “Therefore render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's.” Gladly pay your taxes and then gladly fill in your tax return, embellishment free.
Week 5, Partners in Generosity - Be generous and remember the partnership we are involved in.
Being generous was a rather easy concept to grasp, but where to be generous? Has our generosity been misguided? Through our study we learnt that the local church should be given number one priority when directing our monetary generosity. After that I’m not quite sure. There was talk of supporting missionary organizations such as CMS. Also there are so many organizations that don’t have a religious agenda. For example I support The Shepherd Centre who help kids with hearing disorders. My main question was where should our priority be after the local church.
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2 comments:
I remember looking at that study a couple of years ago, when I was still a poor, penniless uni student and feeling rather detached. I suspect I might see it a little differently now.
As with most Matthias studies, the basic gospel comes through pretty clear, this time in a more practical way than normal.
In John Dickson's sermon series on Things to Come he gives three aspects of Christian life: faith in Jesus' actions, love for our fellow man and hope for the future.
How we use our money now touches on faith and hope - seeing the things of this world as merely a shadow of what is important and to come - but is a very important way how we show our love to those around us in this world.
I think the need to avoid tax minimisation can be overstated.
I am too lazy to find new ways to reduce my tax but I begrudge no one the exercise.
The only caveat is truth.
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