Guest Post: The Church and Money

[Today’s post is the 8th in our continuing “The Church and…” series. It is written by Craig Ford, who is a missionary in Papua New Guinea. Craig is one of the writers at the blog Money Help for Christians. You can subscribe to the blog’s RSS feed here. We are grateful for Craig’s insight into this topic, and for taking time to write for us.]

I grew up believing that discussions about money carried a certain amount of ‘unholiness’.  Those who are truly spiritual elevate themselves above such petty issues and instead focus on more important discussions of salvation, baptism, heaven, and hell.  I assumed that the truly holy are those with shrinking bank account balances.  The man who squanders all his money on fast food, cars, and entertainment but has little in the bank is a man of God, while the man who saves, lives frugally, helps others, but has money in the bank is a heretic.  I would be fine to accept my impressions if it were not the case that I know many others who carry the same thoughts about Christianity, Bible, the church, and money.

Several months ago I taught a Bible class where I gave the class a set of words (each word on a piece of paper).  I asked them to put the words into order of the frequency that those words appear in the Gospels.  The words were Kingdom of God/Heaven, Love, Salvation, Baptism, Hell, Money, and Saved.  You know the word that produced the most discussion (before I even introduced the class topic)?  Money.  “No, it goes near the top” one person said. “ No way, there isn’t much about money in the gospels,” another challenged.  And then the discussion took off.  Is it at the top or bottom?  Depending on your counting strategy money is either number two or number three on the list (behind Kingdom of God/Heaven and love). 

Why churches need to talk about money more.

Imagine a man who had a deadly cancer spreading through his body.  And yet, neither this man nor his family ever brought up the subject.  Furthermore, the man never sought any form of medical treatment.  Would you claim what this man is doing is healthy or unhealthy?  Unfortunately, many churches simply ignore the topic of finances and thus allow this cancer to continue to spread.

We need to know what the Bible does and does not say about money.  We need a better understanding of the darker and lighter sides of money.  We need to be challenged towards generosity.  We need to be educated about earning, spending, giving, and managing money.  

In Ephesians 2:1-3 Paul characterizes an unregenerate life by the following characteristics:

(1) Following the ways of this world.

(2) Following the ruler of the kingdom of the air.

(3) Gratifying the cravings of our own sinful self. 

How does the church combat these negative influences today?  We preach about it, study about it, write about it, pray about it, and talk about it.  But when it comes to finances, the church is often silent.  When the church is silent, I believe people naturally revert back to the influences outlined in Eph. 2:1-3.  They follow the culture at large, the Devil, and satisfy themselves.  There is no more clear example than our interaction with money.

Nine reasons why the church needs to talk about money more often:

1. Jesus talked a lot about money.  I believe Jesus talked about money because he knew money held inherent dangers for Christ followers.  A way to combat those dangers was by teaching and reemphasizing a kingdom value regarding money.
2. When money is not addressed, it will quietly and subtly consume us.  Our natural selves are not good money managers.  Biblical money management must be an intentional decision.  We must ask ourselves: Am I handling my money in a way that honors God?  Are my purchases reflective of my Christian values?  Am I free from the love of money? Our budget can be a statement of faith.
3. We are always learning about money management.  Society is telling us how we should use our money, but is the church?  Through osmosis we absorb teaching about money.  If the church is silent, how will people learn to adopt a biblical view of money management?  Paul exhorts us to be transformed instead of conforming (Rom. 12:2).  Unfortunately, Ron Sider has shown that statistically Christians tend to conform in terms of how they handle money.  See Scandal of the Evangelical Conscience,   
4. Almost all of us have daily interactions with money.  Christians have not withdrawn themselves from the interaction with money or use of money.  Therefore, churches ought to present biblical teachings and resources on how to appropriately earn, give, save, and spend money.
5. Money is a limited resource (at least on a personal level).  Every dollar used to purchase one item is also a dollar that is not being used for another purpose.  Money management requires spiritual discernment as we seek to determine how our funds ought and ought not to be spent.  This is typically called stewardship.
6. It is not uncommon to hear that the single greatest sin in America is materialism.  If that is the case, the church needs to be presenting a Godly view of money management and money ownership so that we can redirect Christians against the trend of materialism. 
7. Compared to the world, God has different expectations of how Christians handle money.  I outlined seven factors in a post entitled What is the difference between biblical finances and personal finances.
8. I believe money is a clear and present danger to Christianity.  The more we openly discuss it, the more likely we are to avoid its dangers.  Christians have the opportunity to use money in a way that is either spiritually destructive or a spiritual blessing for others to the glory of God.  
9. Church members need biblical advice and guidance when dealing with difficult financial questions.  They might be wondering about tithing while in debt or bankruptcy.  We want to infuse God’s guidance into those difficult choices.

If you are interested in learning more about the relationship between the Bible and money, I suggest you check out the “Bible and Money Page” on Money Help for Christians.