The Scriptures on Finances - Invest in people to glorify God

This week we continue to look at material from the book “Never Enough?” by Ron Blue with Karen Guess.

Matthew 19:23-26 And Jesus said to His disciples, “Truly I say to you, it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. Again I say to you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.” When the disciples heard this, they were very astonished and said, “Then who can be saved?” And looking at them Jesus said to them, “With people this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”

One good question we could ask ourselves would be “How can I use my income to best glorify God?” A possible answer to this question would be to invest in people. Another possible answer to the question is to invest in the ministries that God leads us to partner with. Using money with eternity in view while recognizing that God owns everything can help us to be salt and light in a tasteless and dark world.

2 Corinthians 9:6-7 Remember this: The person who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and the person who sows generously will also reap generously. Each person should do as he has decided in his heart — not reluctantly or out of necessity, for God loves a cheerful giver.

It takes grace to be a happy, hilarious, generous giver. 2 Corinthians 8:9 states, “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. Though He was rich, for your sake He became poor, so that by His poverty you might become rich.”

God loves each of us. He cares about the local church, the spread of the gospel and the vulnerable. We are to share all good things with our teachers and when we see a brother in need we are not to close our eyes to his need.

God’s resources are in our lives for His purposes. Giving is powerful and eternally important. When we purchase a Bible and give it away we are sowing the Word into someone’s life.

We can plan our giving out of what we have. We can also sacrificially give by sacrificing something we may have earmarked for another purpose by giving it away instead. Another possible giving option is to commit to give something away if God chooses to bless us in the future. Giving is a privilege of a believer.

One of the things that can hinder our giving is debt. Debt can be a symptom of something that is going on in our lives. Perhaps we are discontent. The problem is that debt enslaves us. It has to be repaid. We are warned in Proverbs 22: 26-27 not to sign for loans for someone else. The Bible says, “Don’t be one of those who enter agreements, who put up security for loans. If you have no money to pay, even your bed will be taken from under you.” If we cosign a loan for a relative and then the relative does not pay the loan, we are responsible to pay the loan back in full. Refusing to cosign a loan for a relative may cause some relational issues but you will be acting Biblically.

Debt can be an easy path to a harder tomorrow. Debt presumes on the future and we know that presumption can be a sin. James 4:13-16 says, “Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will travel to such and such a city and spend a year there and do business and make a profit.” You don’t even know what tomorrow will bring-what your life will be! For you are like smoke that appears for a little while, then vanishes. Instead, you should say, “If the Lord wills we will live and do this or that.” But as it is, you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil.”

We would do well to remember the brevity of life as we work to become good stewards of the resources our Father has entrusted to us. May God bless you big.

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This is the 16th column in a series by Kevin Barsotti, pastor at Ark Church in Havre, about financial matters and their treatment in the Christian faith.