The Lord's Money
Money makes a great servant, but a poor master.
Dr. Gary Chapman
Goal #6: I will be a good steward of the Lord's money. I will give as I have been prospered. I will not borrow unnecessarily. I will not attempt to serve both God and money. I will use money as a tool for my service to God.
There is probably no subject more thoroughly addressed in the Scriptures than that of money; not love nor faith nor grace nor any other subject is talked about more in the Bible than money. But, why? After years of study, both in the Bible and in the field of economics and finance, I have learned what you already knew: You cannot serve both God and money. God knew that men would make an idol out of money and the things that money can buy, so He warns us against doing so and provides ample instruction on how to avoid this human tendency to try to serve both. So, how can we avoid an unhealthy relationship with money? How can we tell when money is no longer our servant, but instead has become our master? May I recommend the pliers test?
What is the pliers test, you ask? It is simply this: A farmer or rancher rarely goes through a day without using his pliers for many different activities - from fixing the fences, to tightening those bolts that he is too busy to find the proper wrench for, to removing the twist tie from his sandwich wrapper. But, while pliers are useful in his daily routine, he does not obsess over those pliers. He does not lie awake at night wondering if he has enough pliers on hand to get him through the day ahead. He does not worry about that pair of pliers that he left on the dash in his unlocked Ford pickup. Nor does dreamily contemplate the day when he will have so many pliers that he will never have to worry again. No, he just uses them when he needs them: pliers are his servant, not his master.
If you and I are to ever have a proper relationship with money, then we are going to have to realize that it is nothing more than a tool for God's service. If we can accomplish that, then we will never miss another worship service because we don't want to give some of that money back to God. We will never again go out to a $100 meal that we don't have the money for and simply "put it on the card". We will not lie awake at night worrying what we will do about our money problems. Money is a tool! God will give us all we need to serve Him well or, rather, will give us the opportunities that we need to earn it and then use it for Him as best we can. Money will either be our master or our servant - it can never be both. Who do you serve... in your life?
No one can serve two masters...You cannot serve both God and money.
Matthew 6:24, NIV
