Christianity and Wealth

TRADEway is an organization that teaches people how to trade and thereby build wealth for their families. So the question inevitably comes up, “Is it okay for a Christian to be wealthy?”

Many of us have been taught that it's actually not okay, that somehow having money and loving God don’t mix. Where does this idea come from?

In Matthew 6:24 and Luke 16:13, Jesus said that you can't serve both God and money. But nowhere in the scripture does it say that you can't love God and serve him WITH your money. The key is that money isn't actually inherently evil or good, but it is our attitude toward it. It is going to reveal what's in your heart. So, if you're a lover of God and you have money, you can use that money to do good for God.

Think about this. In First Timothy 1:17, does Paul say “Command those who are rich in this present age to give away all their money”? No, it doesn't say that. He exhorts them not to be proud, and not to trust in riches, which are uncertain, but to trust in God. He exhorts them to be generous, willing to share, and to be rich in good deeds.

So, the Bible gives us instruction on what we are to do to be good stewards of whatever money we have. We CAN love God and serve Him with our money. It’s important that we realize that we don't need to feel guilty about wanting to make an impact through our finances.

I'll finish with this quick story. I was in Swaziland, Africa, which is one of the poorest countries in the world. I sat down with a pastor and told him, “I feel guilty that I have money; that I'm more wealthy than the people who are around me in this country.” And he said, "If you come to us and you have nothing to give, you can do nothing for us."

So remember, God wants to empower us with finances to help ourselves, our families, our communities, and that is a wonderful thing!

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We CAN love God and serve Him with our money.