The Problem with Money: Fear, Greed, Passiveness

“The rich get richer and the poor get poorer. That’s the way it’s always been.”

Sadly, many Christians think this is true.

For many, talking about money is in bad taste. If you talk about it you must be greedy.

Discipling young Christians in how God sees money is unheard of except of course to teach them to pay their teacher.

Consequently many people (including Christians) are trapped in a never-ending cycle of fear and greed when it comes to money. Others have taken the “supposedly” high road and say they are indifferent to it. That's just another form of fearfulness that you will see in a moment from Jesus' teaching.

The true purpose of money is to surprise our neighbors and help the poor. (That's called ministry.)

Getting our hearts in line with kingdom thinking is not some passive, wish it were so, pseudo-Christian way of thinking. In fact, passiveness has no value in advancing the kingdom of God.

“From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven has been forcefully advancing, and forceful men lay hold of it.” Matthew 11:12

Jesus talked a lot about money. Perhaps more than any other single subject. Here is one example of some of the astonishing things He had to say about money. The topic is investments for kingdom purposes.

This is an excerpt from “Radical Trust in God for Finances”, by Roger Sapp. This portion is about the Parable of the Ten Minas. Luke 19:11-27

"The Nobleman’s Judgment of the Third Slave
There are interesting elements in the reaction of the nobleman to this particular slave. The nobleman says to the third slave,

“He said to him, “By your own words I will judge you, you worthless slave. Did you know that I am an exacting man, taking up what I did not lay down, and reaping what I did not sow? Then why did you not put the money in the bank, and having come, I would have collected it with interest?”
Luke 19:22-23

The slave got just what he was expecting. He expected a harsh reaction and received one. He was judged by his own words. The third slave was rebuked for not even entrusting the banker with the money so that he could have drawn interest. This is an extremely interesting comment by Christ in this parable. Christ sees drawing interest on money as kind of a minimum thing that someone that is fearful should do. It is not really what he expects for His faithful and believing servants. He expects them to invest and do business with what he gives and come back with a multiplication of the principle not just interest. This also speaks to initiative. Financial passivity will not produce what Christ wishes. It is a reflection of fearfulness not faith. Christ expects us to actively invest and have a multiplication of the resources that He gives us.

Christ, through the words of the nobleman, describes the third slave as worthless in this verse. This is the Greek word poneros. It is often translated wicked. Why was the man wicked? He had a wrong view of the nobleman that made him fearful and produced disobedience to his commands and that made him unproductive. Many people today have a wrong view of God that makes them fearful and disobedient. They do not come to Christ as Savior because they do not see God properly. They are full of accusations against God and think of Him being harsh. They also unfortunately may be judged by their own words and attitudes toward God rather than experiencing the mercy and grace of God in Jesus Christ."

A Final Thought by Me

Have you ever been surprised by someone's financial generosity towards you? I'm not talking about picking up the cheque at a restaurant. If that happens and you don't reciprocate you're just a lazy ingrate. I'm talking about extravagant giving like a car, a house, paying off school loans, a future... Not many have and that is why most Christians do not walk in Jesus' teachings about money. It is hard to do what no one has done for you.

You can wait for someone to get this truth and pass it on to you. Or you can believe Jesus and be like the slave that took 1 mina and multiplied it tenfold. In doing this multiplication, he wasn't hoarding his nickels but extravagantly helping others as well. Is this possible? Jesus thought it was the first step in living a faith filled life.

And Jesus said,
"I tell you, use worldly wealth to gain friends for yourselves, so that when it is gone, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings. "Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much. So if you have not been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will trust you with true riches?" Luke 16:9-11

When you get doing this you'll find it to be extremely fun and frustrating. People will think you're nuts. Even the ones you try to help will resist and question your motives. Go with what Jesus thinks, the crowd will always get it wrong.