Key financial lessons
There are all sorts of videos and influencers who give their advice about finances on social media, but what does the bible tell us about handling money? Here are a four insights that might be useful to reflect on when it comes to finances.
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Leading a church for more than a decade teaches you a few things about finances. Aside from the usual budgeting process and annual accounts and auditing, there is fundraising, resource allocation and prioritisation, as well as teaching about finances, giving and tithing. All of it of course being founded on the beautiful trust in a faithful God who provides for all our needs.
There is the supposition that the British don’t like talking about money, and perhaps that might be true, but our congregation always loved it when we took the time to engage in the subject. Perhaps because we had a church of millennials and Gen Z but having the opportunity to question and gain visibility on finances was always well received. Transparency is always key when it comes to finances, but I think transparency for a younger crowd (in our context at least) wasn’t about probity, but about visibility, authenticity and partnership.
“ Transparency is always key when it comes to finances, but I think transparency for a younger crowd (in our context at least) wasn’t about probity, but about visibility, authenticity and partnership”
Of course, resources relating to finances and investment are now much more widely available, with the rise of ‘Fin-Tok’ where people try their hand at offering financial advise over social media, seeking to guide those starting out with investing, making money and buying crypto.
As a result, we spoke about finances, wrote about finances, we hosted discussions about finances (even in public services), we showed pie charts, bar graphs, future projections and even created a living infographic using the congregation to communicate about finances.
This isn’t to say I am an expert when it comes to communicating about money by any stretch. I find it challenging at the best of times mostly with how best to communicate, not giving too much detail but enough, and so I am on a learning curve myself. Over the years however, I landed on a few foundational truths that I kept coming back to time and again and I thought they could be useful to you in your own thinking about handling money, finances, budgeting and giving, whether in a personal arena or even professional.
1.We steward money
The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it’ – Gen 2.15
Go back to the beginning of Genesis, we find the creation account and how God gave Adam and Eve resources to look after and steward. All that they had was created by God and given to them to work it and take care of it. The same is true for us, whether that is our time, our relationships, our resources. God has given it to us to look after and use for his glory.
“But you might say, ‘I work each month and get paid for the work I do. That’s not a gift, I worked hard to get that!’. ”
But you might say, ‘I work each month and get paid for the work I do. That’s not a gift, I worked hard to get that!’. Yes, but ultimately God has given you that role, he has given you the gifts, the skills, the opportunities and invites you to use them for his glory as you join in with his plans and purposes for the world in your life. Money is a resource to steward. We come into the world with nothing, and it will be no surprise to hear that we will not be taking our money with us when we die.
Using another image might help bring this point home. My family and I have just moved house. I have personally moved house almost 20 times in my life. Moving is just normal. Most of those moves were when I lived in London. My friends and I and then latterly my wife and I rented all those different flats and houses, but when we lived there it was called home. But ultimately none of them were my home. We just lived there for a time. We were just passing through. We were looking after those different places during our tenancy. It’s the same with money. We look after our money and resources during our ‘tenancy’ on earth (1 Peter 2.11). We’re passing through. We are stewards of the resources and relationships God gives us.
So, how are you working those things and how are you taking care of those things like Adam and Eve were given the earth to steward?
2.The way we handle money can reflect a larger story
‘For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor…’ (2 Cor 8.9).
This is the good news in one sentence and the reason we give financially back to God because of what He has given us. ‘Giving’ is at the heart of the gospel according to CS Lewis, and of course he is correct. ‘For God so loved the world that he gave his son…’. (John 3.16). When we give, we point to a larger narrative. We convey something of God’s heart, character and nature.
“We are very familiar with fundraising and appeals enabling us to give to a ‘good cause’.”
And giving is embedded into our culture, isn’t it? We are very familiar with fundraising and appeals enabling us to give to a ‘good cause’. When the war in Ukraine broke out, there were opportunities to give financially. Every year there’s a Children in Need fundraiser. There are charity workers on the high street who try and talk people about good causes and invite people to sign up to regular giving.
Giving to a charity isn’t quite the same as giving to God. It may involve that, but this involves a conscious decision to give financially to God out of an act of worship, because it reflects all that he gave us. The reason this is important is not because God somehow needs the finances. More importantly we need the giving because it reflects something of God’s character to us and to the world. Normally giving would be to the local church. If you are not giving to your church already, I would encourage you to set something up. Talk to them about it if you have any questions.
3.We can hold it lightly or tightly
“The Macedonians held their resources lightly. They were convinced of the faithfulness of God in the midst of their poverty.”
‘In the midst of a very severe trial, their overflowing joy and their extreme poverty welled up in rich generosity’(2 Cor 8.2).
The Macedonians didn’t have a lot to give but they gave generously, and in contrast to giving because your arm has been twisted, generous giving is one of the conditions the bible talks about when it comes to giving (2 Cor 9.7). In fact, generous and joyful giving is the biblical way of giving because it reflects something of what God has given us in Jesus. He is not a God who withholds, but one who sacrificially lavishes gifts on us, and is also pleased to do so.
The Macedonians held their resources lightly. They were convinced of the faithfulness of God in the midst of their poverty. How inspiring. The vision of God’s character freed them to be generous. How do we measure up against the example of the Macedonians? Are we on the ‘tighter’ end of the spectrum or on the ’lighter’ end of the spectrum? When we give joyfully and generously because of our love for God and vision of who he is, we too are freed to hold our money and resources lightly so that we can respond to need around us.
4.Giving has eternal implications
‘…whoever sows generously will also reap generously’ (2 Cor 9.6).
Jesus gave his life generously, he didn’t hold back, he was all in. As a result this means we can each receive eternal life when we put our trust in Jesus (John 3.16). His giving resulted in something that had eternal implications.
Similarly, when we give financially to God it can result in something that also has big implications. Think of a simple example: your giving enables the good news of Jesus to go on being shared through your local church whether through services, events, courses, clubs, programmes, community. Think of all the people who subsequently encounter the living Lord Jesus and are transformed as a result. As we give something temporal (money) we can expect to reap something eternal (transformed lives and communities) by the grace of God.
As we engage in giving financially and stewarding the resources God has given us we have an opportunity to experience the grace of God in our lives as we trust him more fully and see his provision. Let me know below if any of this has resonated, or if you have any of your own insights and lessons you want to share.
