Reflections on God and Money: A 'Christ-Centred' Approach to Money

Now there is great gain in godliness with contentment… [and] if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content. But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs. But as for you, O man of God, flee these things. Pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness, gentleness. Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life…

1 Timothy 6:6-12

Earlier this year, a friend preparing to marry asked me for some advice on organising his household finances. He explained that money had always been ‘something that ticks along in the background’ but in view of his new responsibilities he wanted a ‘Christ-centred approach to money’. From what I knew, I thought that my friend probably had a Christ-centred approach already and that money ticking along in the background was a pretty good way of describing how it should be.

I've been teaching personal finance skills for 12 years and the more I think about it, the more certain I am that there is no such thing as a ‘Christian’ or ‘Biblical’ or ‘Christ-centred’ approach to money. Or, rather, not one that is in any way separate from a Christian, Biblical or Christ-centred approach to life. In fact, soon after I began teaching personal finance, one of the things that troubled me about the financial disciplines that some teachers derived from the Bible is that they seem to leave us still thinking more about money than Christ.

Jesus of Nazareth said that we cannot serve both God and money, although it would be more exact to say that he said we can’t serve the influence of money, called ‘mammon’, rather than money itself. We often think of serving money as a form of idolatry but the fact is that 21st Century society wouldn’t tolerate anything quite so transparent. Rather, the influence of money has transcended to something more like a cosmology. We now take for granted the ebb and flow of money as simply the way the world works: a primal force as natural as gravity and as generally accepted as evolution.

It isn’t a Christ-centred approach to money that we need but a Christ-centred approach to life. Then, money will find the right level in our thinking and behaviour, somewhere in the background.

I always advise people to maintain a budget. That may sound at odds with what I've just written but it's as sensible as watching our diet. We may not be fussy about what we eat but if we were as careless with food as some people are with money we would undermine our health and could even poison ourselves. Or I could liken budgeting to watching the instruments when we're driving a car. How many of us could judge our speed, be confident of the engine tempreture and know when to add petrol without them?

An explanation about how to keep a simple budget is in my booklet, 'MONEY: the small print' that can be downloaded free from the Money-Ed page on the Clubhouse website. It’s important to get into the habit of each week going over the previous week’s spending and making sure there is enough money for the coming month. Everything we spend and the repayments of everything we borrow must be contained within a budget. If it isn’t, we soon undermine our financial health, run out of 'fuel' and end up in debt.

Contentment with what God provides is crucial to living the sort of life that Jesus described for his disciples. It’s therefore important in a consumer society, which keeps itself going by persuading people they ‘need’ what in fact they neither need nor really want, to identify and evaluate marketing, advertising, peer pressure and all the other forces that try to shape our fears and ambitions to keep us spending and borrowing. But contentment that works, and is more than a temporary shield again consumer pressures, has to be a contentment that embraces all of life, all that God gives us and all that he withholds. This is why next weekend I plan to start of series of Reflections on contentment based on Paul’s letter to the Philippians.

Churches can, unfortunately, generate as much consumer pressure as a shopping mall. I don't mean to be unfair, but Christians who tithe or give generously often seem to think that God is happy for them to spend the rest on their own indulgences rather than helping people less well off than they are. Moreover, many churches and mission organisations function as micro-consumer societies, looking for significant income from the sale of teaching materials, 'christianized' fashion accessories and a variety of everyday objects bearing scripture verses and spiritual logos. To fit in, to be accepted and to be appreciated at some churches can be expensive!

Nothing I’ve written should suggest that it’s alright to be careless with money or that managing a budget is necessarily easy. Handling money can be complicated, especially for people struggling to make ends meet or already in debt. I've sought to describe an approach that is compatible with Jesus Christ's teaching about lifestyle but you may need one-to-one expert help in your situation.

If you’re worried about your financial situation or if you think you could benefit from help with organising money, with money problems or with debt, then get some free help from people trained to give it. Just as most people need someone to teach them how to drive, and people with weight-related health issues need expert help with their diet and exercise, so many people benefit from help managing their money and clearing credit and debt commitments. In the UK, free local advice agencies are listed in the front of telephone directories or on display in local libraries. Many churches also offer expert help.

'The just shall live by faith', not by money; humans do not live by bread alone - the things that go into their mouths - but by every word that comes out of the mouth of God. God created everything by the words he spoke and by his words he can recreate and sustain us. A Christ-centred approach to life therefore refuses to be blinkered by financial considerations in the pursuit of righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness, gentleness. It fights the good fight of the faith and takes hold of eternal life without regard to 'the bottom line'.

Jesus said, ‘Do not be anxious, saying, “What shall we eat?” or “What shall we drink?” or “What shall we wear?”. For the Gentiles [by which he meant, unbelievers] seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.’ A Christ-centred approach to life trusts God to underwrite our obedience.

What is freely received should be freely shared, not sold for profit,

and you are very welcome to copy these Reflections freely and without cost to others.

Friday 3 October 2014

A 'Christ-Centred' Approach to Money