Finishing Well: Salvation is free, everything else has a cost

Proverbs 21:20 In the house of the wise are stores of choice food and oil, but a foolish man devours all he has.

In my last article on aging we looked at the topics of nutrition, housing, and transportation. All of these areas require finances. Nutritious food, adequate housing and reliable transportation are not free. Salvation is God’s free gift to us but it appears that everything else has a cost.

The man of God should avoid all extremes. Some people hoard while others have huge debt. The Bible teaches us that Godliness with contentment is great gain. We are to be good stewards who recognize that all good gifts come from God. God owns the cattle on a thousand hills. He does not need what we call our money. We need to be faithful with money. The Bible teaches us that the love of money is the root of all evil and that we cannot serve both God and money.

How do we walk as believers when we know that heaven is our home and we are just aliens while we are on this earth? We can be acceptable to God and approved by men if we will allow the Holy Spirit to guide us in all of our financial decisions.

The man who buried his talent in the ground so that the Master did not receive interest on His investment lost his talent and it was given to the one who was most faithful with what he was entrusted to manage.

The Bible has well over two thousand verses concerning finances. The topic is important to God. Where our treasure is indicates where our hearts are. Most Christians are not even close to being faithful with money. God will never leave us or forsake us. He has given us the Holy Spirit to guide us and the Word of God has much to say about our hearts and money. If we will listen and obey God’s instructions we will be positioning ourselves to be blessed.

It is never too late to put Biblical concepts into practice. It would be great if all of us practiced Biblical financial principles from the time we were toddlers but the reality is that most of us have to learn these principles as we mature. If you are a senior citizen on a limited income Biblical practices still apply to you and your finances. Many people say that they cannot afford to tithe. I believe that we cannot afford to rob God.

A tithe means a tenth. The first tenth belongs to God. Before there was the law, during the time of the law, and during this present age of grace paying tithes and giving offerings has been important to God. Do not worry about what other people are doing with their money. Do not believe a word I say about anything. Look in your Bible and see for yourself what God has to say about finances.

There are different things that we can do with money. We can save, spend, give, invest, or squander it. The world says, “Get all you can. Can all you get and sit on your can.”

The Bible encourages us to work as if we are working for the Lord. We work so that we have something to give to those who are in need. Those who do not work do not eat. We need to pay those who work for us, as we are not to muzzle the ox as it is grinding the grain.

Putting God first in our finances is a big step of faith. Most people could always use more money. I believe that ninety percent of an income that is blessed is way better than one hundred percent that is not blessed. Please seek the Lord as to how He would have you steward His resources.

In the future we will look at investing, budgeting, living within our means, saving, giving, and leaving an inheritance.

May God bless you big.

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This is second in a series of columns by Kevin Barsotti of Ark Church looking at issues of aging in the light of the teachings of the church.