How to handle your money?

No matter how much or how little you have, managing your money and material possessions is one of the greatest problems you face. You might feel that getting money and possessions is a greater problem, but in reality it is not. If you have a lot of money, you are concerned with investing it and using it wisely. If you have little money, you try to figure out how to stretch it to meet your needs. Either way, the biggest problem is not how to get things, but what to do with what you have.

It may surprise you to learn that the Bible has much to say about how we manage our finances. Of thirty-eight parables Jesus told in the gospels, sixteen concern handling money. Two hundred eighty-eight verses in the gospels-nearly 1 out of 10- talk about money or possessions. There are about 500 references in Scripture to prayer, fewer than 500 references to faith, but more than 2,000 references to money and material goods. Why would Scripture have so much to say about money? Because how you manage your money is a spiritual issue. In fact, it is the most accurate barometer of your spirituality. Jesus said, ''Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also'' (Matthew 6:21). If you want to know where a person's heart is, look at what he does with his money.

Much of what Scripture has to say about money is in the form of warnings to those who misuse it. God condemns the rich who oppress the poor (James 5:1-6). He condemns the poor who steal and dishonors His name (cf. Proverbs 30:8-9). The guidelines in Scripture are intensely practical. The warnings God gave thousands of years ago sound as if they were written for today. Here are three of them:

Don't worry about money: Jesus said, ''Do not be anxious for your life, as to what you shall eat, or what you shall drink; nor your body, as to what you shall put on ... Your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first His Kingdom and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added to you'' (Matthew 6:25, 32-33). No message could be more appropriately aimed at our materialistic culture. People in our society are consumed with a passion to acquire things. This is the age of the yuppie and the chief preoccupation is money.

Materialism is a frustrating indulgence. Its only product is tormenting anxiety. Millions in our society are proof of this. America has more wealth and a higher standard of living than any large nation in history, yet money is still the single greatest cause of our worry.

A friend of mine came to me one day and said, "John, I have a spiritual problem.'' ''What is it?'' I asked. '! have five hundred shares of stock in an oil company, and it is ruining my spiritual life. It is like idolatry to me. l want to give it to you,'' he said. 'I don't want your spiritual problems,'' l told him. "I have my own.'' But he insisted. "I want to watch how you handle it. I think it will be a good test of your spiritual life. Do you know what that stock did to me? The same thing it had done to my friend. I became obsessed with it. I watched it go up and down and worried about how it was performing. Finally, I said, ''This is messing me up as badly as it did him.'' So I sold the shares. Letting that stock go brought a tremendous sense of freedom. Not long afterward I learned its value had increased. I don't care. I'm glad I don't have it to worry about.

Our Lord challenged people who worry more about money than about righteousness. He promised that those who devote themselves to the pursuit of righteousness and God's kingdom will never lack food, clothing, and contentment. 'And if we have food and covering, with these we shall be content'' (1 Timothy 6:8). Worry is the opposite of faith, and a barrier to contentment. It is not a trivial sin.

Worry means that you are mastered by circumstances and not by the truth of God. It reflects a complete ignorance of His love and power. It says to God, ''I can't trust You.'' It denies the truth of His Word. It strikes out at His character. It makes Him a liar. Anxiety about money is a plague. By focusing our attention on transient blessings, worry turns us away from more important, eternal values, such as righteousness, forgiveness and eternal life. There's no need to worry. If we seek righteousness, God will provide our material needs. He doesn't promise material wealth, but He does promise to meet all our needs-''according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus'' (Philippians 4: 19). The spiritual riches God pours out to those who seek His righteousness are far more lasting and far more satisfying than the wealth of this world. Money is a paltry treasure compared to the blessing of eternity in the kingdom of God.

Don't Hoard Money : A second word of warning about money is in Matthew 6:19-20. There Jesus said, ''Do not lay up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven.'' The Lord was not condemning the legitimate use of money for day-to-day needs. He was not denouncing ownership of personal possessions. He was not criticizing people who invest their money. He was attacking the practice of stashing up things merely for the sake of self-indulgence. It is right to provide for our families, it is right to prepare for the future; it is right to make good investments and do business wisely. But it is wrong to be greedy and miserly. Motive is the issue. It is not wrong to have wealth, if God blesses you with material things. But it is wrong to hoard things.

Modern man is maniacal in his desire for things. Egged on by the media, he believes he can be happy only when he obtains all the commodities he can. He heaps up assets, but it's never enough. Television, radio and billboards shout at him that he needs more things in order to be truly happy. The result is appalling selfishness and greed. Amassing material things in order to indulge oneself is sin. Wea1th is given by God so that it can be invested wisely, in order to bear eternal dividends. If God has given you material blessings, you have a responsibility to support the Lord's work, to feed the poor and to be a blessing to others. You do not have a right to hoard things for self- indulgence.

Don't Love Money : You've probably heard it said that money is the root of all evil. That's not what Scripture says. ''The love of money is the root of all evil'' (1Timothy 6:10, KJV, emphasis added). This is not an admonition for rich people only. You can have no money and still love it madly. For the love of money, people steal, murder, betray friends, cheat, lie and commit all forms of evil. Judas sold the Son of God for a pittance and in the process he lost his soul. Acts 5:1-7 tells of Ananias and Sapphira, early Church members who lied because of their greed. God struck them dead in front of everyone for it. The scandals in media religion have their root in the love of money.

Scripture warns that many who claim to speak for God are actually false prophets consumed with greed (2 Peter 2:3). Their love of luxury, self- indulgence, money and power leads them into all kinds of sordid behaviour. We should not be surprised at their heinous sin. The Bible clearly warns of them (cf. Jude 4, 11). They are not God's representatives, but wolves in sheep's clothing. Love of money reveals itself in innumerable ways. I recently saw a man with a T-shirt that said "Next to sex, I like Harley Davidsons best'' That's how he read life. To him the most important things were the right machine and the right girl. There's nothing funny about such a shallow perspective. People who live just for a fancy car, a new house or an expensive wardrobe find that those things can never bring true happiness. Their love is misplaced.

Material things are blessings God bestows. They are not a valid object of love-only He is. As the giver of every good and perfect gift (cf. James 1:17), He promises to meet our needs. But He demands that our love for Him supersede our attachment to what He gives. Anything else is evil idolatry (cf. Exodus 20:3-4).