Six steps to using money God’s way
Part 1: Discover how to be content no matter how much you've got.
Everyone has an opinion on how we should use money. As followers of Jesus, we need to know how God thinks we should use money. And our God is a kind God. He tells us exactly what kind of attitude we should have to money. A lot of this article is based on the ideas about money found in 1 Timothy 6.
Taken from this chapter are six simple steps that we can use as a guide to how we should approach and respond to the money God gives us. We will look at the first three today.
1. Be content with what you have
"But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that" (1 Timothy 6:6-8).
Being content is being satisfied with what we already have and not chasing after more. Being discontent will lead us to buy the latest product, consume the latest good and spend money on this and on that to make our lives better. God tells us that all we need to be content are food and clothing (any food and any clothing, not necessarily lobsters and Levi’s). If we want more than this, we will often end up spending money on silly things and using it in a way that is unwise.
2. Don't love money
"Those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs" (1 Timtohy 6:9-10).
God doesn’t say that money is evil, but that a love for money is. It’s a love for money that drives people to want more than they need. Striving to get rich often leads people to behave in ungodly ways, whether that is sacrificing time with family or with God, or conducting corrupt dealings in order to make more, or exploiting the poor in other countries to increase profits. We need to make sure that our love for God is never compromised by a love for money.
3. Flee from the love of money
"But you, man of God, flee from all this, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness" (1 Timothy 6:11).
How do we avoid loving money? Flee from it, and redirect your focus. Pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness. Aiming for these things will result in living the life God wants us to live. Our focus shouldn’t be on loving money, but on loving God and pursuing the things that God wants us to pursue. (Besides, if we spend our time pursuing these things, we’ll be too busy to love money!)
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