Money is a tremendous tool when used appropriately. God blesses us so that we in turn will bless others. When we use what we have been given for His glory and to further His Kingdom, money is a great blessing. We are blessed with it by God so that we can bless others for God, which in turn brings glory to God. This is the proper use of what we have been entrusted to manage. It’s all about what we do with money that counts. In and of itself, money is useless, just bits of paper and metal. Put to proper use, it becomes amazingly powerful and good. There is, of course, a dark side to money as well.
When we use those bits of paper and metal to serve our own purposes, all the good money can do becomes hidden under a dark cloud. Our selfish desires cause us to rationalize reasons why money is better used to serve our purposes rather than those of God. What was intended to be a tool for good is turned into an instrument of evil. The money itself is neutral. It is our perspective on what we should do with it that changes it into a blessing or a curse.
A proper perspective of money begins with the acknowledgement of its source. If we believe all that we have is provided by God to be used for His purposes, our decisions on how to spend money will already be made for us. We understand that what comes into our hands is meant to pass through them for the purpose of building the Kingdom of God. In His mercy, He provides for our needs. When He blesses us with money beyond those needs, it is our responsibility to properly manage that excess for Him so that we can be the hands and feet of Jesus in our world. Out of His excess, He blesses us. Out of our excess, we are to bless others.
If on the other hand we believe the money we have has come through our own hard work, we will see it as something that belongs to us, and not to others. We might give 10% to God, and maybe even a little more to some worthy causes, but at the end of the day we believe the money is ours. When we hold tightly to the money we have, we cannot honor God by allowing it to be used for His will.
There is nothing we possess that was not given to us by God. Our money, our talent, our ability to work, all of these things come from Him and all of them are designed to be used for His glory. Without a proper money perspective, we will never be able to live fully in the will of God. We will never grow to become the person He created us to be, or do the things He designed us to do. Money is deeply personal, and the moment we say things like “my money”, we must be very careful to make certain we are holding the proper perspective of money. It’s all God’s, and it’s all for His glory.