‘Do not store up treasures on earth, but store up treasures in heaven,’ says Jesus (Matthew 6:19). The first misunderstanding regarding this is that some think having no concept of money is equivalent to having faith. People may believe that if one is interested in and puts effort into things like wealth management, stocks, or savings, it means they are idolizing money. On the other hand, attitudes like, “I live as I receive”, “I use what I have and live without complaining if I don’t have anything”, “I don’t understand why people obsess over making money”, “I’m not really interested in becoming rich”, “I want to live content with what I have,” are often mistaken for a faithful attitude.
While obsessing over money or determining the meaning of life based on whether one has money or not is indeed idolatry, considering the management and act of saving money wrong is also incorrect. In other words, people mistake irresponsible financial management as faith. Storing up treasures in heaven means using the material things given on earth for God’s work. This implies that having money is a given. Therefore, saving and managing money well is necessary. The problem lies in saving money purely for oneself. Being prudent and knowing how to save money should be seen as wise. Therefore, having no concept of money is not a sign of strong faith, but rather an immature and irresponsible attitude.
On the other hand, something that needs to be distinguished from this is the love of money. Anyone who has tried to lead a Christian life knows that love for money is wrong. The Bible warns us about this in many places. “You cannot serve both God and money. If you love one, you will despise the other” (Matthew 6:24). Even Jesus himself says, “If someone loves money, it will be difficult for them to have faith, and it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 19:23-24), noting that it is almost impossible. Paul also said, “Those who love money fall away from the faith and live entangled in all kinds of evil” (1 Timothy 6:9-10). In this respect, loving money is indeed dangerous.
To summarize, having no concept of money is foolish, and loving money is dangerous. Wisely saving, managing, and working hard to earn a legitimate profit is the way of a wise and faithful servant. And it is important to send the money we have saved to the places where the Lord desires it. Outline the portion of money you need for yourself and send the rest away. Use your material possessions for God’s kingdom, doing so with joy and generosity.
Therefore, Christians must have a clear understanding of money, more so than anyone else in the world, if possible. What is even more important, however, is that they boldly and willingly offer the wealth they have accumulated to the places it would please the Lord. As people living in the last days, waiting for the Lord’s return, I pray that there will be many workers of God in our church who earn money appropriately and generously offer it up for the Lord’s work.
