Cha-Ching! Cha-Ching!: Stewardship (Handling Your Money, God's Way!)

Cha-Ching! Cha-Ching! 2

Stewardship:

Handling Your Money, God's Way!

By Pastor Joby Soriano

What do you want in life?

A new sports car with a built-in refrigerator already filled with food?

A walk-in closet bigger than your room, containing clothes from your favourite clothing brands?

Your personal library which holds all the most wanted books?

An Iphone? An Iphone 4S?

There’s no denying that there are times when we crave to own such things. We just want to be happy, right? And owning these can no doubt provide the satisfaction that we want.

But we have to admit that those mentioned above do not simply appear in thin air the moment we ask. How do we acquire such things?

By purchasing with MONEY.

Yes, money!

As teenagers, we too have our share of money management matters. When we want something, we try our very best to save up and even attempt to conjure reasons that will convince Mom and Dad to give us extra bucks. Some of us even take up part-time jobs in order to help out and also, be able to buy things that we want. Money management has become a part of our lives the moment we realize the value of those paper bills.

Several bookstores shelve books about money. Some of them are about how we can make more money and others tackle money management. But there is only one book that has all the answers to all monetary issues-

THE BIBLE!

Indeed, we may not know it, but the Bible is THE book with the most awesome answers to all our money matters!

A fun trivia about the Good Book: it holds about 500 verses for the subject of faith and 500 for prayer. But when it comes to money, there are 2,350 verses on how to handle it properly. Sixteen out of thirty-eight parables are centred on money! Can you believe it? Compared to topics such as faith and prayer, money has more verses than these two issues combined.

Why though?

Unfortunately for us, MONEY is the primary competitor with Christ for the Lordship of our lives. Our greed for money can sometimes cause us to place it on the throne of our hearts, pushing God away and failing to realize what matters most. When money becomes the center of our focus, we lose sight of Jesus.

“Wherever your treasure is, there your heart and thoughts will also be...”

Matthew 6:21

Wherever we give our value the most, it is most likely that all our efforts and attention will be poured unto it. If money possesses the highest value in our life, then no doubt we will do anything and everything just to lay our hands on it. But God doesn’t want our relationship with money to overrule our relationship with Him. In fact, He wants to protect us from financial bondages (e.g. debts, bills, etc.)

Just stop for a moment and ask yourself:

Am I in control of my finances or a slave of it?

There are two types of economies we should learn about:

1.       MAN’S ECONOMY

In Man’s Economy, the motto is “BUY! BUY! BUY!” Buy anything that you can. In order to do so, this economy encourages us to use credit cards and even to borrow money from others. Get-Rich-Quick schemes are also highly promoted. The point is we should go to all lengths in order to get our hands on those crisp, high-value bills. If we have to trick our fellowmen in order to earn more, then we should.  BUY! BORROW! WORK! WORK! AND WORK!

2.       GOD’S ECONOMY

God’s economy has a different view. The money that we earn is not ours, in retrospect. Instead of buying, we should take the time to give back through tithing. As much as possible, God’s economy avoids borrowing from others and gaining credits. We should learn our limits when it comes to spending money. Get-Rich-Quick schemes are highly discouraged too. Money must be handled wisely. Also, we should be honest regarding monetary issues.

In the Bible, God has 250 names for Himself but when it comes to Him and the issue of money, there is one name that suits Him perfectly: MASTER. How we view God determines how we respond. Therefore, if we view God as the Master of our money, then we are most likely to heed His commands.

God has a part when it comes to our money matters and so do we!

God’s Part

1.       OWNER

“The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it. The world and all its people belong to Him.”

Psalm 24:1

We have to acknowledge the fact that God owns everything in this world and He is simply lending it to us. There are times when we tell God that we dedicate everything-our all, in fact- to Him but when it comes to money, we have to admit that it’s hard!

Do you know Job? In the Bible, he is described as a lover of the Lord and righteous man. He was absolutely blameless and God favoured Him. But when he was tested for his faith, Job had to lose everything in a single day! When this happened, instead of cursing God and turning his back, this is what he said:

“I came naked from my mother’s womb, and I will be stripped of everything when I die. The Lord gave me everything I had and the Lord has taken it away. Praise the name of the Lord!”

Job 1:21

Job acknowledged God as the Master and Owner of his possessions.

CONTENTMENT is displayed when we admit that we do not own anything in this world and losing our possessions does not affect our attitude. It’s all about ATTITUDE!

2.       CONTROLLER OF OUR LIVES

“...so all the world from east to west will know there is no other God. I am the Lord, and there is no other. I am the one who creates light and makes the darkness. I am the one who sends good times and bad times. I, the Lord, am the one who does these things.”

Isaiah 45:6-7

“And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to His purpose for them.”

Romans 8:28

We should always keep in mind that God is the sole controller of our lives. Contentment arises when we believe that He is in control of every situation that we face.

3.       PROVIDER (JEHOVAH JIREH)

God’s provision has always been evident through stories we read in the Bible. In the Old Testament, manna fell from heaven for the starving Jews who escaped the clutches of their Egyptian captors. In the New Testament, Jesus managed to feed 5,000 men with only five loaves of bread and two fish.

God provides!

Anxiety distracts us from completely trusting in God. Hold unto God’s word and it will surely give you the hope that you need.

“...and He will give you all you need from day to day if you live for Him and make the Kingdom of God your primary concern.”

Matthew 6:33

We should believe that our God is faithful in fulfilling His promises and that He will provide all our needs. Nothing is impossible with Him! He knows what we need and He will surely provide a way for us to receive it if we ask. The Lord didn’t design us to carry responsibilities only He is capable of fulfilling.

Our Part

We are STEWARDS of His money. Stewards are defined as individuals who manage the money. Money is not the solitary object we can be managers of. We are also stewards of the following:

·         Time

·         Talents

·         Treasures

·         Truth

As stewards, we should heed Paul’s reminder:

“Now, a person who is put in charge as a manager must be faithful.”

1 Corinthians 4:2

Our sole response is to be FAITHFUL to our God’s commands. We should be willing to obey His ways because He knows what is best.

In order for us to manage God’s wealth wisely, we should take note of three important principles:

-          Be faithful with what God has given you...little or a lot! (Matthew 25:15)

-          We must be faithful or He will take it away (Matthew 25:28-29)

-          Be faithful with the use of others’ possessions (Luke 16:12)

The money that we have is not ours, but God’s. We are His stewards and He is our master, not those crisp paper bills.

Remember, it’s not about the money! Ain’t about the cha-ching! It’s all about God!