God's View and My View of Money
I have another confession to make—I like having money. Who doesn’t? Most Americans who claim they don’t are probably lying or trying to be self-righteous about it. Sorry for my cynicism! I have always been fascinated by how God talks about money—so much so that I did my master’s thesis on tithing in the Old Testament. After countless hours of reading and researching on the subject, I have summarized my understanding of God’s view of money into a personal philosophy statement about money—"Make as much as you can to the glory of God and give as much money as you can for the glory of God."
I base my understanding on the idea that God owns me and the world by virtue of being the creator of both (Psalm 24:1). He created me in His image with the ability to create, work and produce. I give Him the most glory when I create, work and produce with excellence. But since I belong to Him, what I create, work and produce belongs to Him as well. Recognizing that means that I give God the most glory when I give the most I can back to Him in recognition that He is the owner and I am His steward.
However, as a Christian, the most compelling reason for me to give to Him as much as I can is because He gave to me His most treasured possession—Jesus, His Son, to redeem me so that I now have all of heaven’s treasure as my inheritance (2 Cor. 8:9)!
