WEDNESDAY BIBLE STUDY: TITLE: Money
Money
Luke 16:10-11
Key Statement: - How much of you does money have?
Money is a medium of exchange. It was never meant to be an idol. While it is neither good nor evil, the lustful attitude towards it has resulted in heated arguments, robbery, divorce, murders and loss of friendships. It is at the centre of our drug trafficking, abortion pills, pornographic industry and prostitution. And yet, while it is a necessity of life, it cannot purchase love, peace, forgiveness or happiness. Money can make life more comfortable and pleasurable, open doors of opportunity which otherwise may remain closed to us and is one of the best resources by which we can help others. But we must have the proper attitude towards it and use it wisely.
There are two primary truths about money essential to our proper understanding of it and our profitable use of it.
All we have belongs to God.
The first principle is this:- God owns it all: “ The silver is mine, and the gold is Mine, says the LORD of hosts” ( Haggai 2:8). He knows our financial needs and has promised to provide for them (Philippians 4:19).
The Lord has equipped and enable us to acquire the money we need and much of what we want (Deuteronomy 8:18) through our labor, wise investments, the generosity of others, and by giving it away (Luke 6:38). God uses money in our life not only to provide for us, but to test us, train us, and mature us.
Manage well what God gives to you.
The second principle is that we are stewards of the money with which God has entrusted us, whether little or much. Four warnings come with that trust: first, if we are poor managers of little, we will be poor managers of much; second failure to be good managers of our money will result in the loss of God’s greater riches, the understanding of His word; third, failure to handle faithfully that which belongs to another will deprive us of our own; fourth, we cannot be committed to Christ and be driven by the love of money (Luke 16:10-12).
Consequences of loving Money
Does money dominate your affection? Are you driven by the desire to acquire more of it? Do you see it as a means of gaining power, prestige and prominence? If so, you are in for a sobering disappointment.
The bible warns us that those who love money will not be satisfied, not even with an abundance of it (Ecclesiastes 5:10). God commands us, “Do you overwork to be rich” (Proverbs 23:4). When we overwork to increase our income, we usually do so at the hurtful expense of those who love us most, who would rather have us than what our hard earned money can buy for them. Our defense that we are doing it for them will not withstand close scrutiny. It is something within ourselves that we are attempting to satisfy.
There are other consequences of loving money. It will displace the Word of God in our lives leaving us spiritually unfruitful (Mark 4:19).
It can replace God as the resource of all our needs. We begin to look to money and trust in ourselves (Deuteronomy 8:10-17). The love of money, which is “a root of all kinds of evil” can ultimately destroy us and bring us all kinds of sorrow and heartache (1 Timothy 6:9-10).
The important question is not, “How much money do you have?” but, “How much of you does money have?
For further insights:-
2 Kings 5:20-27, Ecclesiastes 5:10
Matthew 6:24, Matthew 25:14-30, Galatians 1:10.
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