God is the master and owner of everything in the heavens and everything on earth. The Holy Bible tells us that God breathed into man of His own spirit. In other words, He created man in His own image. He allowed the man and his wife to roam freely in the Garden of Eden. But when Satan tempted man and wife, and they gave into temptation, God sent the man and his wife on earth to live through a period of time when they would be exposed to both good and evil. Man was promised by God that he and his children would be returned to the Garden of Eden if they lived on earth holding fast to good and shunning all evil. Satan, too, was sent on earth with the man and his wife. However, man was to become the vicegerent of God – His steward – seeing that man had been endowed with God’s spirit. Satan did not contain God’s spirit; hence, Satan too was subjected to man along with everything else in the heavens and on the earth, including money, of course.
Man could control Satan, and the latter could only tempt man. Those who gave in to satanic temptation could not return to the Garden of Eden, according to God’s vow. Only those who lived by God’s principles on earth, and managed God’s affairs well were allowed to return to their first home – a home of absolute peace and joy.
The body of man was created by God out of clay. This body encased the soul – God’s spirit in man. Therefore, man could not be equal to God. Man was the servant of God. Nevertheless, he contained the spirit of God which made him the master of everything in creation. This is why Jesus Christ had said that the Father is greater than the Christ; even so, the Father and Christ were one given that the Christ was the spirit of God. Jesus was seen to overcome the limits of physicality as a body. Nevertheless, most men cannot overcome the limits of physicality enough to begin walking on water, etc. This is because Jesus was closer to God. Most men are not spiritual enough to feel as Jesus did. To put it another way, the men who do not think like Jesus – the role model of countless people around the world – are limited by their incorrect beliefs about reality. They have not truly believed that they are God’s spirit. Hence, they also have not gathered yet that everything, including money, is only theirs to keep, and so there is no reason to weep.
Very many human beings feel anxious about worldly affairs, and also about their financial affairs. However, high anxiety is all-bad. Jesus had advised everyone not to feel worried or highly anxious because they could not add even a day to their lives by being anxious or worried. Similarly, those who received the Good News of Jesus, were asked never to be upset. This is because such people knew that God’s spirit lives within, and in reality, God’s spirit is never worried or highly anxious about money. As a matter of fact, God’s spirit with man owns it all. This spirit never makes mistakes. And yet, innumerable people are making major mistakes a lot of the time. Such mistakes can cost them a great deal, both in the short term (this life) and long term (eternal life).
As an example of mistakes, let us consider the following facts about the financial culture of today. While reviewing Lee Jenkins’ Taking Care of Business: Establishing A Financial Legacy For the African American Family (2001), Megan Maloney writes:
FINANCIAL STEWARDSHIP Conspicuous consumption, rampant credit card debt, and an anemic propensity to save are hardly phenomena unique to African Americans, after all. They have, in fact, become the
American way of life for many. Outstanding consumer debt in the United States rose from $355 billion in 1980 to $805 billion in 1990, and then went on to climb to $1.65 trillion in 2001. Credit card debt now averages somewhere between $5,800-$8,500 per household.
According to the Federal Reserve, over 40% of all U.S. families spend more than they earn, and the number of consumer bankruptcies reached a record 1.5 million in 2001, while the year-end personal savings rate fell below 1%. Given this context, it is no wonder that the Department of Health and Human Services is reporting that 96% of all Americans retire financially dependent on the government, family, or charity.
We have also heard that countless people steal, murder, commit suicide, and get into depression and psychotic behaviors because of money. Families are destroyed, individuals are jailed, and hearts do fail very often because of financial issues.
Many people want more and more money because money is a status symbol, and riches are important. All the same, Jenkins reminds us through his book that even pimps, drug dealers, and ruthless thugs and fraud businessmen may be rich. Money is truly a state that many people can achieve. But wealth is something that everyone does not have. The concept of “wealth” according to Jenkins applies to prophets of God as well as ordinary believers. This wealth is godliness. It is about who we truly are – one with the spirit of the Lord of the universe. Jenkins writes that wealth “is primarily achieved through the skills, obedience, spiritual knowledge, and character developed in obeying God’s laws” (Jenkins). Only by concentrating on God can man find peace, and this is the reason why so many people turn to meditation – in order to find a space of peaceful yearning next to God. They do not give up wanting and desiring and needing more and more from the Almighty even while they meditate. Even so, there are many people in the world, such as the ascetics, who have turned entirely to God and left the world far behind. Such people may or may not interact with other people; and they may or may not get married. While it is debatable whether everybody must become like a nun or a monk – turning to God wholly at the expense of significant human relations – it is still a fact that godly people are expected to be better at managing affairs of all kinds, including money matters.
Very many spiritualists have asserted that setting the human heart on riches may lead one astray and into continuous dissatisfaction. This is because the human heart easily becomes discontented if it has not spent enough time contemplating the spirit of God and the true potential and nature of humanity. The heart which has spent time focusing on the love and goodness of God, does not become ungrateful to God, even in the time of financial distress. Still, those who have not thus far given thought to the obedience of God and spiritual knowledge, plus the improvement of character – cannot easily save themselves from financial messes. Hence, Jenkins counsels his readers to seek the wealth that is essentially an inner spiritual reality, “developed under the discipline of the Lord” (Maloney).
Once again, not everybody would pay heed to Jenkins’ words at this point in time. Many people do not believe in religion, nor in spirituality. They have essentially given up on God, and He has rightfully allowed them to go astray. Therefore, these people cannot be good financial stewards. In point of fact, they may run into problem after problem with respect to money. Larry Burkett, the founder and president of Christian Financial Concepts, Inc., a ministry that teaches Biblical principles of financial management – explains a few other aspects of the financial issues surrounding the unfaithful men who have not taken the responsibility to be God’s financial stewards in all propriety, because they do not understand yet the importance of ‘man containing the spirit of the Lord’:
Consumerism in America is so pandemic because we are constantly told, “You need to have more, you need to have the best, you certainly need to have better than what somebody else has, and you need to have it now!” In our ministry here at Christian Financial Concepts, we often counsel young couples who have bought things they cannot afford–houses, cars, motor homes, vacations. The use of credit to buy these things did not avoid the reality that they could not afford them; it only delayed it and made it worse. Unfortunately, the proliferation of credit allows families to buy things they cannot afford to own.
Automobiles are a good example of this principle. Most young couples cannot afford to buy a new automobile; their budget simply will not handle it. A family making less than $50,000 per year should not spend more than 15 percent of their disposable income on an automobile. Yet, many young couples typically commit 25 to 30 percent of their income on automobiles. This trend has advanced to the next step, because now most young couples cannot even afford the down payment on a new car, so they lease it instead, thus incurring ahigher monthly payment. Again, these couples do not avoid the fact that they cannot afford a new car, they only delay it and make it worse. This is why the divorce rate among new marriages is so high–it is about 50 percent right now. Over 80 percent of young couples getting a divorce say their primary problem is financial.
The spiritual counselor is the same as the financial counselor at Christian Financial Concepts, Inc. This is because the spiritual counselor is wealthy enough – according to Jenkins’ definition of wealth – to impart the knowledge of financial success to those who are not as wealthy as he. The spiritual counselor explains financial problems to others because he understands that he is a financial steward who is meant to almost know everything. Man was taught the names of all things, according to the Holy Bible. The knowledge of these names was a symbol for the power of man over everything in the heavens and on earth. The steward must know the things he manages. He knows their names, and by these names he knows the attributes of all things he was given to control on behalf of God.
The spiritual counselor shows people the way to God. For man to reach the Garden of Eden safely after his experience on earth, he must pass by the difficulties gathered on earth to put the man to trial. These trials are struggles between good and evil.
In order to pass the worldly life with flying colors before one can reach Paradise – money has to be encountered. Man needs to buy his food and clothing. A lazy poor man who steals instead of taking up full time employment has chosen to fail his trial set by God. He is not a vicegerent of God. He has failed his financial test from God by refusing full time employment and taking up thievery in its stead. Thievery is a social ill, and Satan is held responsible for teaching social ills to the heart of man. It is the duty of the spiritual counselor or the steward of God, therefore, to help society get rid of its ills through education.
In order to be a successful vicegerent, man has been given models to follow. Jesus Christ is one of the greatest models for mankind. All the same, we are required to show respect to other great friends of God, and sons of man, including David, Solomon, Moses, Abraham, and many more including the spiritual counselors in our time. All of the friends of God, and sons of man, contained the spirit of the Lord. Yet, Jesus Christ is one of the most excellent models seeing that he strictly refused to succumb to temptation and insisted, instead, on presenting himself as the spirit of God. He further advised man to turn to God with pure sincerity, and declared that those who do so would find themselves safely sheltered ‘in God’ and ‘in Christ.’
The body of man could succumb to evil. But the heart that stays close to the spirit would always find a way to “resist evil,” which, according to the Bible, is an appropriate way to keep the devil away from one’s life. By resisting evil, man can always keep away from financial difficulties, the reason being that the spirit is the best advisor and friend that man can have. And so, we find superior spiritual people both, in the New Testament and outside, talking about knowing ourselves. According to the “know thyself” theory, the one who knows himself best (that he is indeed the spirit of God) also knows God the best (that He is a perfect manager of all affairs).
The temptations of the body require extreme care because the devil is allowed to tempt the body of man to commit wrongdoing, including acts of hatred. The body has various needs, for example, the needs for food, water, and shelter against the natural elements. Nonetheless, the body can ask for much more than is required when tempted by the devil. This is the reason why countless folks have turned to fornication and adultery – against God’s law. People have additionally succumbed to the physical sensations of negative emotions directing the human being to commit dangerous acts in an angry state. Besides, we are aware that unnumberable folks have fallen severely ill because they were psychologically or emotionally disturbed, often because of money. In order to change our lives, we have to be born again – Jesus might say, in other words.
The body can be controlled by the mind, and this is how Jesus could walk on water. When one of his disciples asked the Christ to allow him to walk on water as well, the Christ allowed his disciple. But the disciple got afraid, and started to sink as soon as he had begun to walk on water. Jesus explained that this was because the discipline did not have firm belief in truth as Jesus had.
Moreover, Jesus had informed people that they could ask God for anything they wished, and He would respond to their needs. The Christ had taught very specific formulae for getting God to answer our prayers. The main formula for getting anything we want is: ‘Believe, and it shall be given you.’ And yet, uncounted folks have refused to believe, and thereby failed to achieve what they truly desired because they believed in the devil instead who told them that worry was essential and no matter what they did, they would not have enough financial and other resources to help themselves in this lifetime. People who believed in the devil lost out. They had not listened to Jesus, the ultimate steward, who had come to lead the lost sheep of Israel into safety.
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Innumerable people have misused their financial resources because Satan prompted them to spend more and more on useless things. Nevertheless, spiritual counselors like Jenkins have learned from the Bible solid strategies for becoming good managers over everything including money. The author of Taking Care of Business has seen many families apply Biblical truth to create a heritage of financial security to be passed on for generations. These people now believe that money is just a symbol, while wealth is of true substance. The wealth of godliness allows such financially successful people to know their roles in God’s financial affairs, plus the role that God plays in their financial affairs. Furthermore, these people have come to understand that God has a financial plan of abundance for them.
Jenkins also teaches his readers to trust in God and in godly principles of generating and using money. People should have action plans to achieve their goals, according to the author. And, these goals must be godly rather than satanic. In addition, Jenkins’ readers learn how to get out and stay out of debt. Honest employment is a necessity in this scenario. For this, an individual must view his career as a calling rather than a job.
Good financial stewards must additionally evaluate why and where they spend their money. What is more, they cannot forget that their money is a borrowing from God and must be shared as a blessing with other people, who too may be permitted to reap the benefits of God’s blessings seeing that they too are the spirit of God, even if they have forgotten this fact in the business of worldly matters (Jenkins).
Only those people who handle their finances well can be God’s financial stewards who obey God and allow God’s plan of financial success to unfold for them. This plan is plain abundance; nevertheless, God demands man to listen to Him and believe before this plan can be unfolded in their lives. Believing that God answers all prayers – because Jesus had said so – is correct. Believing that God does not answer prayers, and hence we must be worried about our financial future, is incorrect, and may be a cause of additional problems in the short term and the long term. Therefore, belief in reality is essential.
People who believe in the truth and decide that they must please God no matter what, are very fortunate in financial affairs. God opens all doors to financial success for such financial stewards. These people decide that they will help their communities with God’s money. And so, God gives them all the resources needed for the job. This is the reason why spiritual counselors are, more often than not, provided with all the necessary means to fulfill their duties correctly. These financial stewards allow God’s plan of financial success to unfold in their lives. However, God’s plan is a sacred thing that requires financial stewards to give it due importance. As an example, financial stewards learn how to save and invest their money. They also observe that moral decisions have economic consequences. Lastly, Jenkins teaches his readers to build generational wealth through the family, and how to protect and pass on assets. By making their families financially secure, people can fulfill their duties to both God and man. Besides, by removing the burden of financial worries from their families – financial stewards are earning rewards in both this world and the hereafter. The loss of worries turns a human being to gratitude, and grateful people are grateful only because they believe that they have enough to satisfy their needs. Also according to Jesus, those who have enough are given even more; but those who have not, get their possessions reduced to nothing. Quite literally, this means that the rich will continue to get richer, and the poor will continue to get poorer. Nevertheless, knowing the wisdom in the words of Jesus, we have to conclude that Jesus was also referring to “wealth” in Jenkins’ definition of riches, by saying that even gratitude – because one has enough to satisfy his needs – leads to greater happiness in this world and the hereafter. People who are grateful to God that he has given them enough to satisfy their needs – do never lack in necessities. Their prayers are answered too, seeing that they have believed in the Word of God that claims that all prayers must be answered anyway.
To put it another way, those who have believed that ‘Seek, and you shall find; knock, and it shall be opened for you’ is true – will benefit because God will answer their prayers according to their faith. However, those who believe that this claim of the Bible is false, will lose out, both in this world and the hereafter. God may very well believe them to be liars seeing that they disbelieved in His Word.
People who live by the body rather than the spirit of God or Jesus Christ, will refuse to listen to their conscience, which is actually the spirit of God telling them the difference between right and wrong. Such people cannot be the stewards of God, seeing that they cannot take the responsibility of managing God’s resources on earth. They have failed to listen to the guidance of God ‘within.’ Hence, they are not wise or knowledgeable enough to be perfect financial stewards. Jesus had, in fact, asked them to be perfect just as the Lord of the universe is perfect. This means that all financial decisions of the financial steward must also be perfect. And, as mentioned previously, God’s plan of abundance will only unfold in the life of the man who seeks to follow godly practices. Those who have rebuffed the Good News of God will lose out both in the short term and the long term.
The one who has believed in the Good News is a right minded man who lives by the spirit of God rather than his body of clay. This man uses the lessons of Christ and other great sons of man to live righteously on earth, remembering that he will return to God one day. On the Day of Judgment, both the responsible and the irresponsible man will hear the final decree of God with regards to the final home assigned to two separate groups of men – those who are responsible and dedicated to God, and those who are irresponsible and obedient to the devil much of the time. The responsible, good people will be sent to Heaven. The rest will be thrown in Hellfire.
Heaven and Hell are eternal, and yet, the irresponsible man does not understand the seriousness of his wrongdoing thus far. The responsible man, on the other hand, uses the guidance of God – his own conscience – to manage God’s affairs on earth as best as possible. When this man is endowed with the position of visible leadership on earth, he does not kill the innocent, nor steal the rights of others. Rather, he worships only God – which is the first condition of faith – by loving God with all his mind, soul, and body. Secondly, he loves his neighbor as himself. This does not mean, however, that the responsible man would succumb to injustice. On the contrary, he will impart justice like David and Solomon were required to. What is more, the responsible man – understanding that he has God’s authority on earth and His power over everything in creation – would use all resources most efficiently. T
hese resources include money. The responsible man is told that he has been granted abundance; in fact, all the riches of the heavens and the earth are under his care, and truly his to use. Hence, this man would use the money appropriately to bless and thank God. Gratitude is, once again, a very important element of stewardship. Being grateful requires the responsible man to respect and honor the resources given him by God. Without wasting the resources, the man responsible for managing all the money on earth would use it in the cause of God, which means that he would please God by using His resources wherever He would want them used.
Our world is occupied by both, the irresponsible individuals as well as financial stewards of God. According to economists worldwide, the irresponsible individuals create problems for themselves and other nonbelievers like themselves – given that the believer in the Word of God is always self-sufficient – by using resources unwisely. As an illustration, Securing the Future: Delivering UK Sustainable Development Strategy (2005) delivers the truth that the world as a whole cannot sustain consumption patterns like those of Western Europe in diet. It seems that Malthus’ urgency in dealing with the food problem with respect to population had the Western Europe style consumption patterns in view. The world as a whole does not identify with affluence and extravagance. All the same, it is the global economist’s task to address the issue of bettering living standards for all people occupying the planet. Sustainable consumption, then, includes a distribution of affluence to some extent. “Respecting the limits of the planet’s environment, resources and biodiversity,” we cannot disrespect the planet’s human resources. Besides, our resources for food production have “limits” we need only respect so as to ensure that famines such as those of Africa become rarer over time (Defra).
In order to teach the respect of God’s resources – because this is the only way to properly use God’s plan of financial success for dutiful human beings – Purpose Driven Finances: Principles of Tithing & Stewardship for Financial Success (2004) teaches individuals to become financial stewards by knowing that they “will be about God’s business,” based on the following scriptures: (1) “But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given you as well” (Matthew 6:33); and (2) “As a prisoner of the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received” (Ephesians 4:1). What is more, people must be diligent with regards to God’s money. This idea is based on at least three scriptures: (1) “But remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth, and so confirms his covenant . . .” (Deuteronomy 8:18); (2) “Diligent hands bring wealth” (Proverbs 10:4); and (3) “Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness” (Matthew 25:21, 23). Thirdly, the financial steward understands the concept of returning tithes through these scriptures: (1) “The tithe . . . belongs to the Lord; it is holy to the Lord” (Leviticus 27:30); and (2) “Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. ‘Test me on this’, says the Lord Almighty, ‘and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it’ ” (Malachi 3:10).
Those who give in the cause of God, by sharing His blessings with other people that He loves, may expect themselves to be blessed beyond measure by the Almighty. And so, such people understand the importance of presenting offerings. This is based on the scripture: “One man gives freely, yet gains even more; . . . A generous man will prosper, he who refreshes others will himself be refreshed” (Proverbs 11:24-25). Principle Five of Principles of Tithing ; Stewardship is based on the idea of blessing those who bless us with the gift of God’s Word, based on the scripture: “Yet it was good of you to share in my troubles . . . not one church shared with me in the matter of giving and receiving, except you only; for even when I was in Thessalonica, you sent me aid again and again when I was in need. Not that I am looking for a gift, but I am looking for what may be credited to your account. I have received full payment and even more; I am amply supplied, now that I have received from Epaphroditus the gifts you sent. They are a fragrant offering, an acceptable sacrifice, pleasing to God” (Philippians 4:14-18). Principle Six requires the financial steward to meet all his financial obligations because Jesus had said: “Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s” (Matthew 22:21). Principle Seven reminds financial stewards not to cross their limits because crossing limits is a transgression. Jesus had told humanity to ask God for daily bread. Hence, the author of the Principles of Tithing ; Stewardship tells his readers to “establish boundaries and stay within them.” To put it another way, the financial steward must expect God’s help in revealing His plan of financial success, instead of trying to force circumstances. The Bible had said: “Do not wear yourself out to get rich; have the wisdom to show restraint” (Proverbs 23:4). This also suggests that everybody will get his assigned portion of wealth and riches from God’s treasury anyway, whether he is one of the people of Heaven or on his way to Hell.
Principle Eight reminds readers to use their extra income to pay down debts. This is because “The borrower is servant to the lender” (Proverbs 22:7), and man had been essentially asked to serve no one except God, and only to serve His people out of love for Him. Principle Nine states that financial stewards must exercise wise stewardship over money. The last principle reminds the stewards to sow more money into God’s kingdom, based on the following scriptures: (1) “Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver” (2 Corinthians 9:6-7); and (2) “But remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth, and so confirms his covenant . . . ” (Deuteronomy 8:18).
The responsible man understands that using money on educating people about the Word of God is a good thing. Moreover, giving food and gifts to those who would show gratitude to God for the food and gifts is a noble deed. According to a report by the Christian and Homeschool Resource Center, there are more than 2,300 verses in the Holy Bible on the topic of finances. Money is discussed twice as often as faith and prayer combined. Besides, fifteen percent of everything said by Jesus is related to money and belongings. “He spoke about money and possessions more than heaven and hell combined. (“Financial Stewardship”)” This is because money is an essential requirement in living a decent, grateful life; and in helping society for the love of God. Jesus taught the principles of financial stewardship because he knew that the responsible man may easily reach the Gardens of Paradise by using the principles appropriately. He also understood that God has a plan of financial success for all people who believe in Him. Therefore, instead of worrying, these people had the freedom to unburden themselves before God Almighty and allow Him to fulfill all of their lawful needs in time. The Christian and Homeschool Resource Center has pointed out that the following verses in the New Testament relate to the management of financial resources, in order for us to easily locate the source of God’s guidance in His Word, also to follow His plan to allow Him to unfold financial sufficiency in our lives:
Money and Possessions
The Rich Fool — Luke 12:16-21
The Shrewd Manager — Luke 16:1-8
The Talents/The Minas — Matthew 25:14-30; Luke 19:11 -27
God’s Lordship and Ownership
The Cost of Discipleship — Luke 14:28 -33
The Faithful and Wise Servant — Matthew 24:45-51; Luke 12:42-48
The Great Banquet — Luke 14:16 -24
The Master and His Servant — Luke 17:7-10
The Shepherd and His Flock — John 10:1-18
The Tenants — Matthew 21:33 -44; Mark 12:1-11; Luke 20:9-18
The Thief — Matthew 24:42-44; Luke 12:39-40
The Two Sons — Matthew 21:28 -32
The Unfruitful Fig Tree — Luke 13:6-9
The Unmerciful Servant — Matthew 18:23 -35
The Watchful Servants — Mark 13:34-37; Luke 12:35-40
The Wedding Banquet — Matthew 22:2-14
Human Prosperity and Poverty
The Lost Sheep — Matthew 18:12 -14; Luke 15:4-7
The Rich Man and Lazarus — Luke 16:19 -31
Contentment
The Workers in the Vineyard — Matthew 20:1-16
Tithing
New Cloth on an Old Garment — Matthew 9:16 ; Mark 2:21 ; Luke 5:36
New Wine in Old Wineskins — Matthew 9:17 ; Mark 2:22 ; Luke 5:37 -38
The Pharisee and the Tax Collector — Luke 18:9-14
Generosity
The Friend in Need — Luke 11:5-8
The Good Samaritan — Luke 10:30 -37
The Moneylender — Luke 7:41 -43
The Owner of a House — Matthew 13:52
The Prodigal Son — Luke 15:11 -32
The Son’s Request — Matthew 7:9-11; Luke 11:11-13
Funding the Great Commission
The Growing Seed — Mark 4:26 -29
The Kernel of Wheat — John 12:24
The Mustard Seed — Matthew 13:31-32; Mark 4:30-32; Luke 13:18-19
The Yeast — Matthew 13:33 ; Luke 13:20 -21
Revival and Reformation
The Discarded Salt — Matthew 5:13 ; Mark 9:50 ; Luke 14:34 -35
The Fig Tree — Matthew 24:32-35; Mark 13:28-31; Luke 21:29-31
The Lamp under a Bowl — Matthew 5:14-16; Mark 4:21-22; Luke 8:16 , 11:33 -36
The Lost Coin — Luke 15:8-10
Eternal Reward
The Hidden Treasure — Matthew 13:44
The Lowest Seat at the Feast — Luke 14:7-14
The Sheep and Goats — Matthew 25:31-46
The Valuable Pearl — Matthew 13:45-46
The Wise and Foolish Builders — Matthew 7:24-27; Luke 6:46-49
Source: “Financial Stewardship”
Jesus Christ warned the responsible man about bestowing blessings on the ungrateful people. Hence, the responsible son of man would show discretion in all affairs, including money management, and spend on only those causes about which he is sure that God will be pleased.
The irresponsible man gives in to temptation by listening to the devil who converses with man’s body made of clay. Satan has no power over the spirit of God, hence he only suggests to man to perform careless deeds with respect to his physicality. Turning alcoholic, losing all money on gambling, and abusing people are acts inspired by the devil. The spirit of God is all-noble. This spirit is God Himself – absolutely perfect in the management of all affairs.
Seeing that the spirit of God is all-rich, the man who lives by the spirit does not get poor. It is only the one who is irresponsible with regards to stewardship who may experience poverty, mainly because he is ignorant of the reality of God and His spirit, and also the seriousness of worldly affairs with respect to their consequences in the hereafter. For example, a man who cheats in his worldly affairs even through adultery is not only spoiling his chances of entering Paradise in the end, but is also removing himself from participation in God’s plan of financial success. This is because God’s plan requires firm faith in His promises, His Word, and a thorough commitment on the part of man to obey God by all means. Gloria Copeland writes on the importance of obedience to God with reference to His plans for us:
He will fulfill His plans for you and me. But how disappointing it would be to miss any of
the details along the way.
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The plans He has for us work out step by step – obeying Him in the little things that lead us
right up to the big things. Now, we may miss a step from time to time. We may disobey
something He tells us, then look back later and say, “If only I had….”
Sometimes the result of missing a step or disobeying may seem insignificant. But I am
convinced there is no insignificant disobedience. We must approach every moment in tune
with His voice and obedient to His Word.
According to Jenkins, the wealth obtained by the financial steward comes through obedience just as much as it does through specific “skills.” One of the skills learned by the financial steward is to unlearn the past learning of failure and replace it with the Word. Another skill of the financial steward concerns the use of money management plans wisely, in order to assure God that the steward is indeed serious about using God’s resources for His good pleasure, and can do with even greater responsibilities.
Jenkins had further suggested that people must attempt to bear the fruits of “wealth” by improving their characters. Faithfulness, for instance, is one of the characteristics we should learn to embrace. As mentioned before, by assuring God that we can be responsible with respect to His resources, we assure ourselves of receiving the bounties of God through His continuing plan for our financial success. As a matter of fact, God owes this plan to those who have been good in His view. Such people are faithful to God. They also have greater faith in God’s promises than the others have (Savelle). Having faith in God’s Word exterminates the need to be worried because of financial matters. On the contrary, the one who is faithful to God is sure that
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God too is faithful to the man who is righteous. This man will meet God’s approval, and God will reward him with financial security and abundance.
Kenneth Copeland refers to faith as the “power to prosper.” He reminds the believing and non-believing reader that Abraham was a man of God who was blessed beyond measure. By following Abraham’s faithfulness to God, we too may be blessed beyond measure. In actuality, the attribute that all believers share with Abraham is only one: Faith, even if it is as much as a mustard seed. Kenneth Copeland quotes Galatians 3 to explain this concept:
Even as Abraham believed in God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness. Know
ye therefore that they which are of faith, the same are the children of Abraham. And the
scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through faith, preached before the
gospel unto Abraham, saying, In thee shall all nations be blessed. So then they which be of
faith are blessed with faithful Abraham. For as many as are of the works of the law are under
the curse: for it is written, Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are
written in the book of the law to do them. But that no man is justified by the law in the sight
of God, it is evident: for, The just shall live by faith….
Faithfulness entails justice given that justice requires the meeting of duties and obligations and a faithful person is just to himself to boot when he takes care of his life, here and hereafter, by showing honesty in handling God’s resources as a steward proper. In this life, the man meets
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God’s plan of financial success for him because God honors the honest efforts and true beliefs of man. In the next life, this man will enter Paradise.
Spiritual knowledge, according to Jenkins, is as important as the characteristic of faithfulness in a financial steward of God. In fact, spiritual knowledge is wealth that the steward of God cannot do without. After all, even faithfulness requires spiritual knowledge, without which no man could know what to be faithful to and what to be absolutely unfaithful to. Burkett has written: “Without a doubt, there is a great need in Christianity to get back to the basics of God’s Word.” To put it another way, every man must acquaint himself with the Word of God – which contains no doubt – because every man is a potential financial steward of God. Stewardship is a matter of great responsibility. It is a sacred responsibility, in fact, and to undertake the responsibility man must have adequate knowledge about the way to meet his obligations. Even a good and honest individual who believes in basic righteousness may go wrong with respect to financial matters if he does not possess basic knowledge of God’s Word. This man may make mistakes that seem slight before his sense of righteousness. However, these mistakes may not be slight in God’s view. As an example, the man may gamble and use the money thus won to support a charity. But when he loses money, the charity which supports numerous people in society may suffer. In this case, the man will be held responsible for using his financial resources unwisely, seeing that gambling cannot assure a man of financial success that God’s plan assures him of. Moreover, the man will be held responsible for hurting the interests of the people whom he supported through his charity. The fact that the charity suffers due to one man’s ignorance with respect to the ills of gambling – is serious in the perspective of God, who had
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allowed the man to support the charity because of His trust in the man’s sense of righteousness. And, who knows how God would make the man pay for the consequences of his ignorance with respect to gambling?
God is very kind. He is totally generous. However, He has correctly made conditions for man to follow. These conditions require faith on the part of the man who believes in the promises of God made to the faithful. Moreover, by showing faith with respect to God’s promises and by obeying Him in good times and bad – man is bound to please God, who in turn would please the man by showering His unbounded blessings on him. These blessings include a sure financial plan of success for the man who has pleased God. All the same, those who fail to partake of God’s blessings because they have refused to believe in Him – may very well lose out on blessings in both the worlds. People who do not possess spiritual knowledge, nor obey God and improve their characters to please Him, are actually poor, according to Jenkins’ description of true wealth. Even if these people appear rich to the world, they may suddenly lose all their riches because of a disaster. This is because God protects and supports the financial affairs of only the faithful people. The unfaithful, on the contrary, can never be sure of the success of their financial plans. In the case of the believers, these plans are made by God Himself. Besides, no man can be a proper financial steward without God’s plan of financial success unfolding in his life. The plan made by God admits no failure, given that the responsibility of the steward is tremendous, and God wants His affairs to be run smoothly and for His resources to be used wisely according to His perfect plan used by the steward.
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Works Cited
Burkett, Larry. “Finances ; Your Relationship With God.” Personal Update News Journal (1999, February).
Copeland, Gloria. “The High Price of Disobedience.” The Believer’s Voice of Victory (2007, February).
Copeland, Kenneth. “The Power to Prosper.” The Believer’s Voice of Victory (2007, February).
Defra. Securing the Future: Delivering UK Sustainable Development Strategy (2005). Available at heep://www.sustainable-development.gov.uk/publications/uk-strategy/index.htm. Accessed 22 November 2006.
“Financial Stewardship.” Christian and Homeschool Resource Center. Retrieved from http://www.christianhomeschoolers.com/. (23 February 2007).
“Good Financial Stewardship Part of God’s Economy.” Religion and Liberty (1997, July-August), Volume 7, Number 4.
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Jenkins, Lee. Taking Care of Business: Establishing A Financial Legacy For the African American Family. Lee Jenkins
Moody Press/Institute for Black Family Development, 2001.
Maloney, Megan. “Spending Spiritually.” Religion and Liberty (2004, May-June), Volume 14, Number 3.
Purpose Driven Finances: Principles of Tithing & Stewardship for Financial Success. Purpose Driven Finances (2004). Retrieved from http://www.purposedrivenfinances.com/. (23 February 2007).
Savelle, Jerry. “Staying Faithful.” The Believer’s Voice of Victory (2006, August).
