Scripture
D. James Kennedy, pastor of the Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church, tells a story of a man who came to Peter Marshall, former chaplain of the Unites States Senate, with a concern about tithing. He said: “I have a problem. I have been tithing for some time. It wasn’t too bad when I was making $20,000 a year. I could afford to give the $2,000. But you see, now I am making $500,000 a year, and there is just no way I can afford to tithe $50,000 a year.”
Dr. Marshall reflected on this wealthy man’s dilemma but gave no advice. He simply said: “Yes, sir. I see that you do have a problem. I think we ought to pray about it. Is that alright?”
The man agreed. So Dr. Marshall bowed his head and prayed with boldness and authority, “Dear Lord, this man has a problem, and I pray that you will help him. Lord, reduce his salary back to the place where he can afford to tithe.”
Many of us struggle to manage the money the Lord has entrusted to us. Today, I want to consider how good stewards manage money. Let’s read the Parable of the Faithful Steward as a background for this study. So, please turn to Luke 12:42-48:
42 The Lord answered, “Who then is the faithful and wise manager, whom the master puts in charge of his servants to give them their food allowance at the proper time? 43 It will be good for that servant whom the master finds doing so when he returns. 44 I tell you the truth, he will put him in charge of all his possessions. 45 But suppose the servant says to himself, ‘My master is taking a long time in coming,’ and he then begins to beat the menservants and maidservants and to eat and drink and get drunk. 46 The master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he is not aware of. He will cut him to pieces and assign him a place with the unbelievers.
47 “That servant who knows his master’s will and does not get ready or does not do what his master wants will be beaten with many blows. 48 But the one who does not know and does things deserving punishment will be beaten with few blows. From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked.” (Luke 12:42-48)
Introduction
When it comes to talking about money, there are two extremes in the Christian world.
The first extreme is “prosperity theology,” which teaches that it is God’s will that Christians be rich. Prosperity teachers preach on Scriptures dealing with money and prosperity.
One preacher who made a lot of money about fifty years ago was Marjoe Gortner. Marjoe first gained a certain fame in the late 1940s and early 1950s when he became the youngest ordained preacher—at the age of four! When Marjoe was three, his father noticed his son’s talent for mimicry and overall fearlessness of strangers and public settings. His parents claimed Marjoe had received a vision from God during a bath. They began training him to deliver sermons, complete with dramatic gestures and emphatic lunges. By the time Marjoe was four, his parents arranged for him to perform a marriage ceremony, referring to him as “the youngest ordained minister in history.”
Until the time he was a teenager, Marjoe and his parents traveled the rural United States, holding revival meetings. As well as teaching him scriptural passages, Marjoe’s parents also taught him several money-making tactics, involving the sale of supposedly “holy” articles at revivals which promised to heal the sick and dying. By the time Marjoe was sixteen, he later estimated, his family had amassed maybe three million dollars.
But, shortly after his sixteenth birthday, Marjoe’s father absconded with the money, and a disillusioned Marjoe left his mother for San Francisco, where he was taken in by and became the lover of an older woman. Marjoe spent the remainder of his teenage years as an itinerant hippie until his early twenties, when, hard pressed for money, he decided to put his old skills to work. He re-emerged on the revival circuit with a charismatic stage-show modeled after those of contemporary rockers, most notably Mick Jagger. Marjoe made enough money to take six months off every year, during which he returned to California, surviving on the previous six months’ earnings.
The second extreme ignores the subject of money entirely. These preachers feel it is somehow dirty or unspiritual to talk about giving and money. Rod Rogers notes in his book, Pastor Driven Stewardship, that one great preacher ministered for fifty years, and his biographer bragged that he never once preached on money! Even though the Bible is filled with teaching on money, giving, and God’s promises regarding money, some never preach on these passages. They have a fear of being thought of as a “prosperity preacher.”
The fact is that both extremes are wrong! If God talks about money, faithful pastors will do so as well.
The apostle Paul said in Acts 20:20a: “You know that I have not hesitated to preach anything that would be helpful to you.” The proper approach to this subject is to teach exactly what the Bible says—no more and no less. Teaching how good stewards manage money is helpful to you, and that is why I want to teach it to you.
The fact is that most people are poor money managers. Rod Rogers, quoting financial author Ron Blue, provides some sobering statistics to show that many people are poor money managers. He notes that at age 65:
• 45% are dependent on relatives,
• 30% are dependent on charity,
• 23% percent are still working,
• Only 2% are financially independent,
• 80% of all Americans owe more than they own,
• 25% of all income goes to repay debt, and
• 50% of all income goes to repay debt and mortgage.
So, it is not surprising then to read the bumper sticker that says: “I owe, I owe, so off to work I go.”
Lesson
It seems clear that we need to learn how to manage our money more wisely. Let’s see the wisdom God has to give us from the book of Proverbs about how good stewards manage money. I want you to notice six principles of wise money management.
I. Use a Budget (Proverbs 21:5a)
The first principle of wise money management is to use a budget. Proverbs 21:5a says, “The plans of the diligent lead to profit.”
The plans that the “diligent” (i.e., a determined, steady worker) make lead to financial prosperity. The verse doesn’t say, “Use a budget,” but the principle of diligent planning implies the need for a budget.
Now, what is a budget? A budget is simply a way of planning your financial life. The late Larry Burkett was a Christian financial planner. He made a wonderful contribution to the church with his books and tapes on biblical principles of money management. In his book, Answers to Your Family’s Financial Questions, he writes about the purpose and value of a budget:
A budget is nothing more than a short-range plan for how you will spend your money during the coming year. A budget should not restrict your freedom to enjoy life; it should expand it.
“How,” you say, “can living on a budget expand my freedom?” By helping you live within your means and not go into debt. If you’re already in debt, a budget will help you out of it.
A budget is not magical, and living on one won’t permit you to spend more than you make and avoid debt. But a budget will tell you when you have spent all you can afford to each month in each category, such as entertainment, food, and gasoline.
A budget also tells you how much you must save each month for one-time annual expenses, such as car insurance, property taxes, and clothing.
I recently heard a stewardship testimony. The husband shared how he and his wife decided that they wanted to give 10% of their income to the church as a result of the pastor’s challenge to do so. Previously, they had been living without a budget, had significant debt, and gave about $120 a month to the Lord’s work at their church. They developed and followed a budget.
The husband testified that their financial situation had significantly improved, even though he did not receive any increase in income that year. Their standard of living had remained essentially the same. They had simply found ways not to squander their money. In addition, they had reduced their debt by 34% and were on track to be debt-free within two years. Most significantly, however, their giving to the church went from $120 a month to $800 a month! And all of this because they wanted to give 10% of their income to the Lord, and in order to do so they used a budget!
Using a budget works! It helps you to manage God’s money wisely. There are many fine resources to help you develop a budget, and I want to encourage you to use a budget.
II. Have a Savings Plan (Proverbs 21:20)
The second principle of wise money management is to have a savings plan. Proverbs 21:20 says, “In the house of the wise are stores of choice food and oil, but a foolish man devours all he has.”
A wise man doesn’t spend everything. He saves some of it for unforeseen emergencies and future anticipated needs.
Larry Burkett again gives sound advice regarding savings. He says, “I believe that every family should allocate a percentage of its income to savings. If you don’t have any savings and your car breaks down, or the washing machine goes out, or the refrigerator quits, then you’ll have to rely on credit and ultimately end up deeper in debt.”
If you spend everything you make and never save anything, you are not being a wise manager of God’s money. Save something, no matter how small, out of every paycheck. It will add up over time and it is a good habit to develop.
I know someone who was disciplined about saving something each paycheck. He was not saving for anything in particular, but he was just saving because he knew that it was a good principle to save some money out of each paycheck. Then, unexpectedly, he had to have major surgery. Even though his insurance covered most of his bills, he still had to pay a significant amount of money. But, because he had been wise about saving money, God had provided a way to pay for his medical emergency in advance.
So, have a savings plan, no matter how small it is.
III. Don’t Co-sign for Someone Else’s Loan (Proverbs 17:18)
The third principle of wise money management is don’t co-sign for someone else’s loan. Proverbs 17:18 says, “A man lacking in judgment strikes hands in pledge and puts up security for his neighbor.”
The New Century Version puts it this way, “It is not wise to promise to pay what your neighbor owes.”
The bottom line is that the Bible says that it is foolish to cosign for someone else’s loan. This also applies to a business partnership where you are responsible for your partner’s debts.
The Bible tells us why we should not co-sign for someone else’s debt—you could lose your bed! Proverbs 22:26-27 says, “Do not be a man who strikes hands in pledge or puts up security for debts; if you lack the means to pay, your very bed will be snatched from under you.”
I read a story about a pastor of a huge church in Denver who was of retirement age. Some years previously, he had co-signed for some of his son’s loans. His son was a real estate developer who had built some condominiums that didn’t sell. The pastor was planning to retire soon, but when his son couldn’t pay his debts, the creditors took all the assets of his father. The pastor’s entire life savings were wiped out. As a result, he could not retire.
What do you do if you have co-signed and now realize how dangerous a position you are in? Proverbs 6:1-5 supplies the answer: “My son, if you have put up security for your neighbor, if you have struck hands in pledge for another, if you have been trapped by what you said, ensnared by the words of your mouth, then do this, my son, to free yourself, since you have fallen into your neighbor’s hands: Go and humble yourself; press your plea with your neighbor! Allow no sleep to your eyes, no slumber to your eyelids. Free yourself, like a gazelle from the hand of the hunter, like a bird from the snare of the fowler.”
In humility go and do whatever you can to free yourself from the obligation. It is so serious that you should not even sleep. The bottom line is that you should not co-sign for someone else’s loan.
IV. Stay Out of Debt (Proverbs 22:7)
The fourth principle of wise money management is to stay out of debt. Proverbs 22:7 says, “The rich rule over the poor, and the borrower is servant to the lender.”
When you owe money, you lose a degree of freedom because you must pay the lender a certain amount of money on a regular basis. You are not free to spend all your money in other areas without first paying on your loan.
When you borrow, you become a slave to the lender. Credit cards are the worst slave masters in our culture. Let me give you some warning signs of being too deeply in credit card debt:
• You frequently worry about money,
• You have family disputes over money,
• You have no savings for emergencies,
• You’re not saving for your future,
• You’re borrowing to pay non-routine bills such as taxes or insurance premiums,
• You’re borrowing to buy things that don’t last long, such as clothing, entertainment, or groceries,
• You pay the minimum due or less on your credit cards each month,
• You take cash advances on one credit card to pay off bills on another,
• You are at or near the borrowing limits for your credit cards, and
• You don’t know exactly how much you owe.
The basic rule for avoiding debt is: “Never spend more than you make.” If you never spend more money than you make, you can always avoid debt.
That’s where we are deceived. You can’t always “Get it now!”—like the commercials promise. Learn to live within your means. If you allow a desire for a rich lifestyle to control you, you will end up in financial disaster.
The key to living within your means is to be content with what God has given you. Hebrews 13:5 says, “Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, ‘Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.’”
If you are enslaved to creditors, get help:
• Sign up and attend the next Crown Financial Study when it is offered in Sunday school or as a home Bible study,
• Read one of the many excellent books on managing finances, and if necessary
• See a Christian financial planner.
V. Avoid Get-Rich-Quick Schemes (Proverbs 28:19-20)
The fifth principle of wise money management is to avoid get-rich-quick schemes. Proverbs 28:19-20 says, “He who works his land will have abundant food, but the one who chases fantasies will have his fill of poverty. A faithful man will be richly blessed, but one eager to get rich will not go unpunished.”
The point of these proverbs is that being in a hurry to get rich leads to poverty. When a person is in a hurry to get rich, he or she tends to ignore normal work and to pursue get-rich-quick schemes that are worthless and a waste of time.
I knew a man who was fooled about a new way to vaporize trash. It was some brand new technology and it would do wonders to save the environment. All he had to do was get a small amount of money to invest in the project. This man was able to get several thousands of dollars from investors, who were promised a 20% return on their money in three months. Well, nothing came from this project, and this man served several years in jail as a result.
There are many worthless schemes that promise vast amounts of money in a short period of time. Don’t be fooled. Avoid get-rich-quick schemes.
VI. Don’t Buy on Impulse (Proverbs 21:5b)
And the sixth principle of wise money management is don’t buy on impulse. Proverbs 21:5b says, “The plans of the diligent lead to profit as surely as haste leads to poverty.”
Hasty and rash spending decisions lead to poverty. Make your spending decisions with great caution and with diligent study of the possible consequences.
When thinking about buying a new house, another car, or investing your money, be diligent in studying to be sure the decision is a good one. When investing money, check out the security of the investment. Don’t be in a hurry when making financial decisions.
One way to be diligent in your financial planning is to evaluate all spending decisions by asking the following questions:
• Do I have any doubt about purchasing the item (Romans 14:23)?
• Have I given God an opportunity to supply it (Psalm 37:4; Proverbs 10:3)?
• Will it aid or hinder my spiritual growth (1 Corinthians 6:12)?
• Does it put me in debt (Proverbs 22:7)?
• Is it a good investment (Proverbs 20:14)?
• Is it meaningful for my family (1 Timothy 5:8)?
• Why do I want it (1 Timothy 6:9)?
• Do I really need it?
Conclusion
Proverbs 19:3 says, “A man’s own folly ruins his life, yet his heart rages against the Lord.” Some Christians mismanage their money, and then blame God for not blessing them financially.
Don’t blame God for your own financial foolishness! God wants to bless you financially, but you must first meet his conditions. And one of his conditions is to manage his money wisely.
Don’t expect God to bless you if you’re not willing to obey the principles he has revealed. But, when you do follow his principles, you can confidently trust him to bless you and enable you to manage his money wisely. Amen.
