Money is the root of all evil. How many times have I heard that before? Maybe even said it myself? It’s a misquote of Scripture that doesn’t reflect the much more nuanced view of money God has.
The Bible (especially in the book of Proverbs) repeatedly warns us of the dangers of money, but the Bible also (again, especially in the book of Proverbs) also sounds relentlessly positive about money:
- “Riches and honor are with me, enduring wealth and righteousness.” (Prod. 8:18)
- “The blessing of the LORD makes rich.” (Prov. 10:22)
- “A good man leaves an inheritance to his children’s children” (Prov. 13:22)
- “The crown of the wise is their wealth.” (Prov. 14:24)
- “A faithful man will abound with blessings” (Prov. 28:2)
Why is Proverbs so favorable toward money? Because there are so many opportunities that money brings. You can…
1. Worship God with your money.
Proverbs 3:9 says, “Honor the Lord with your wealth and with the firstfruits of all your produce.” You can worship the Lord with your wealth. Praise the Lord with your wallet.
In the Psalms, it says you can praise the Lord with trumpets, harps, and drums. With your voice and tongue. It even says you can praise his name with your dancing. Some of our dancing is pretty miserable. We can’t do much praising with our jerky, awkward moves. But we can all praise the Lord with our money.
Every time you whip out your credit card, you have an opportunity to worship. Every decision you make with your money is an opportunity to proclaim the sovereignty of God, the love of God, and the generosity of God. And then to reflect all those things in your own life. That’s the next opportunity…
2. Reflect God with your money.
He’s the God who MADE the earth and everything in it. Including money. Genesis 1 says, “God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good,” and then in Genesis 2 it talks in more detail about what God created, including the gold he deposited in the land of Havilah. Gold was one of the first things people used as money. God created money, and it was good.
But what about the money is the root of all evil thing? What Paul actually said in 1 Timothy 6:10 is, “The love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs.” In other words, money can be dangerous.
When we take God’s creation and use it as a substitute for God, it can lead us into all kinds of evil. When we think money will cure our sadness, low self-esteem, and insecurity, then we’re failing to see God’s purpose for money. He created gold, silver, diamonds, and money to point us to him. It’s a signpost directing us to him and his generosity.
And when we remember that, we can use our money to reflect him. We’re made in his image, so we can use our money to show the world what God’s generosity looks like. Which leads to the next opportunity that comes with money…
3. Bless the world with your money.
In Proverbs 3:9, when it says “Honor the Lord with your wealth,” there’s another way some scholars translate the verse. You could say, “Honor the Lord from your wealth.” Which is pretty different.
I can honor the Lord with my wealth just by not doing anything sinful with it. I could save up for a long time and buy myself a new Tesla Model D. It has a button on it that says “Insane Mode.” You push that button and you go 0-60 miles per hour in 3.2 seconds. 3.2 seconds! It’s like climbing into a rocket! I could buy that and say I’m honoring the Lord with my wealth, because it’s an electric car. It’s good for the aina. I’m caring for God’s creation!
But when you say, “Honor the Lord from your wealth,” that means he gets a cut from my wealth. That means I need to give away some of my wealth. As Proverbs 3 says … “Honor the Lord … with the firstfruits of all your produce.”
The concept of the firstfruits is a very significant one in Scripture. When the Israelites praised God for delivering them from slavery in Egypt, they joyfully committed the first fruits of their crops to him:
He brought us into this place and gave us this land, a land flowing with milk and honey. 10 And behold, now I bring the first of the fruit of the ground, which you, O Lord, have given me. (Deuteronomy 26:9-10)
The Israelites knew that their land and everything that came from their land had was given to them by God, so they wanted to give him the firstfruits of their land. And the principle of the firstfruits gives us two ways to approach our own giving, as we seek to bless the world and praise God with our money.
1. Make Your Giving a Priority
For the Israelites, giving the first fruit meant giving God the very first part of the harvest. You had been waiting all year for this grain to come, your pantry was probably kinda bare at this point, so when the harvest time finally came, you were tempted to take the grain for yourself and store it away. Instead you gave to God first.
2. Make Your Giving a Sacrifice
For the Israelites, giving their first fruit didn’t just mean giving whatever sorry looking crop came out of the ground first. It meant giving the first and best of your crop. It meant taking a hit. Giving so you actually felt it.
King David said in 2 Samuel 24, “I will not sacrifice to the LORD my God burnt offerings that cost me nothing.” If I don’t feel an impact on my life, then it didn’t really cost me anything. I need to give until there are things I would normally buy that I can’t buy anymore, and experiences I’d like to have that I can’t pursue anymore, because I’ve already invested the money in better uses. And I need to do it because I’m so grateful for everything God’s given me, that I just can’t help myself from giving!
That’s not how most people give. Lots of Christians believe in something called a tithe. Giving 10% of your income to the church, missionaries, relief organizations, etc. That’s a great idea, but people give based on a set percentage that’s laid on top of them, what they often do is just give the bare minimum to meet the requirement, and not much more.
It’s so easy for us to forget everything that God gave to us. He gave us his one and only son on the cross, the most valuable thing in the universe he could ever give us. And that frees us to live our lives the same way. As the scholar Savonarola asked 500 years ago, “What is there that you do not possess if you possess the Possessor of all things?”
Jesus gave you himself. The creator and sustainer of the universe is in your possession. Which means you’re now free to use your money to worship God, reflect God, and bless the world in everything you do.