Let me start by saying that it was difficult to create this list. I have a background in commercial finance, and am a small business owner as well as pastor. I really want Christians to understand money, Not have a poverty mentality, and certainly not expect that the world owes them anything. Think about it.
I am trying to pick the best verses from the Bible about a particular topic. Are there really best verses, or are there just those that have impacted us more than others? I tend to think the latter.
So, this list is just that. These are 5 verses about money that, even as I just scratch the surface of understanding them, have revolutionised my financial life. Each one of them has had a strong impact on me during good times and during financial struggles as well. I hope you allow them to impact you as well.
1. Philippians 4:19
“And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus.”
If you have lived much life at all, you are probably well aware that putting your trust in the economy, your employer, or your bank account is not a good idea. They are all fair-weather friends. They all can be helping you greatly one minute, and then the next everything has changed.
God, however is always faithful. That is why we should always be trusting Him as our supply! It doesn’t matter if there is a financial crisis, if you get laid off, or your superannuation loses 90 percent of it’s value, God will still supply your needs. Just like He promised.
2. Malachi 3:10
“”Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in 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.’”
It is a bold step of faith to start tithing. Cynics sometimes argue that tithing is not required in the New Testament. I actually agree, since our salvation is no longer based on works, but on faith in Jesus. But to be quite honest, as New Testament believers, 10 percent should just be the start on our giving journey. After all, God owns it all and no matter where we are as far as what we are giving, we should always be striving to give more. From my own personal tithing experience, I found that stepping out in Faith in this area and testing Him proved to be quite fruitful and yielded an amazing testimony.
3. 1 Timothy 6:10
“For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.”
This verse is so often misquoted that it is almost laughable. Money is not evil. The love of it is. Having a million in your bank account doesn’t mean that you love it. Having $5 in your account doesn’t prove that you don’t.
For example, Warren Buffett has billions in his accounts, but he is giving almost all of it away to benefit the lives of others. On the other hand I have heard stories of people getting killed over a matter of $20. It is a matter of the heart that only God can judge.
4. Acts 20:35
“In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’”
Giving sets us free, while hoarding entraps us (James 5:2). Giving changes the lives of others (John 3:16). Giving brings blessing back to us (Luke 6:38). Giving allows us to store up treasures in Heaven rather than here on the earth (Matthew 19:21). Giving really is fun — we need to be in on it.
5. Proverbs 22:7
“The rich rule over the poor, and the borrower is servant to the lender.”
The freedom of being debt free has always been so incredibly enticing to me that I have been willing to give up a whole lot in exchange for it. The few plus years my wife and I have been diligently chopping away at it, passing up opportunities to spend as frivolously as some of our peers have done. Getting out of debt is not easy and often requires a fight, but the freedom that comes with it is so worth it.
Study your Bible and seek out what the inspired word of God says to you about money, most of all though Trust in God not man for your provision.
© www.faithministries.com.au 2016 All rights reserved. Except as permitted under the Australian Copyright Act 1968, no part of this Article may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, communicated or transmitted in any form or by any means without the prior written permission.