“Who has preceded Me, that I should pay him?
Everything under heaven is Mine.”
-Job 41:11
One of the things I find out while working for a church and talking to people struggling financially is how people view money and money management. Not every person in the church or those who claim to be a Christian are on the same page when it comes to money. There are a couple of reasons why. Follow me here. Before you were saved and redeemed, you did not use the Bible to find financial advice. Most people that are unsaved do not go to the Bible to find financial advice and not surprisingly, Christians don’t either! Guess what, the Bible is packed full of financial knowledge. There are over 2,000 Bible verses dealing with money, possessions, and tithing. That’s as twice as many verses that cover prayer and faith! That is a whole bunch of financial information packed in the Bible. That’s right, the Bible talks more about money than it does prayer and faith!! Do you reckon that means that finances are important to God? How about this fact: 16 out of 38 parables that Jesus taught dealt with money and possessions. Or the fact that nearly 25% of Jesus’ words, you know the words in red, deal with Biblical stewardship. Biblical Stewardship is understanding that your life and all that you own does not belong to you but to your Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ and you are to manage it for His kingdom ministry. So where would one start dissecting this information? Glad you asked. I placed Job 41:11 at the beginning of this chapter. Why? Because it shows all Christians where their money comes from. Everything under the sun is owned by God, including the sun! It is THE Biblical Foundation of Christianity. So that means all of our money belongs to God. So, in essence, we are money managers for God. Seems like God would have taught us a lesson based on being a money manager, oh wait, isn’t that the Parable of the Talents in Matthew 25:14-30. How about that. The Creator of the Universe and Author of the Bible has given us a lesson on being a money manager. So, if we are called to manage money for God, how are we to go about it? Let’s look.
Where do I start to manage my money according to the Bible? The short and long answer to it is to create a budget. A budget is defined as “an estimate of income and expenses for a set period of time”. A budget is rooted in the Bible. Look at these verses:
Luke 14:28 “For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not sit down first and count the cost, whether he has enough to finish it?”
Proverbs 15:22 “Without counsel plans fail, but with many advisers, they succeed.”
Proverbs 27:23 “Know well the condition of your flocks, and give attention
to your herds,”
That means having a budget. You must have one to succeed with money. How can you count your money if you do not know where it goes or where it is. Proverbs 27:23 tells us to keep an eye on your flocks and herds. Now while that is rooted in being a shepherd, it still applies to us in this modern world. How many times have you said, “I don’t know where my money went.” You are not alone. The people that say that are usually not counting their flocks or herds, which is their money. They do not keep a count of their money. A quick Google search shows that banks took in 12.4 BILLION dollars in overdraft fees in 2020. That tells me that it is a symptom of not keeping attention on our herds aka bank accounts. So, step one is to get a budget together. If you are married, both of you need to get on the same page. You will never find long-term success as a team if you both are pulling in different directions.
Focusing On Godly Things 