Millions of Christians over the years have been misled by religious and church teachings about money. I believe misconceptions and false teachings about money have driven many conscientious, well-meaning people of faith into anxiety, depression, debt, and/or poverty. These misconceptions need to be cleared up. And the false teachings need to stop.
In some cases, falsehoods have been promulgated by opportunistic, money-hungry cultists or manipulative ministry leaders. Such scandal needs to be called out and those responsible need to be held accountable.
In other cases, however, the errors and problems stem from tragic misunderstandings of what the Bible actually says on the subject of money. As a result, many Christians have been led to believe that a desire for more money as well as any effort they put into the earning of additional income is inherently idolatrous and sinful. As a result, many people of faith have sabotaged their own efforts to provide for themselves and their families. It’s time to set the record straight.
“No Man Can Serve Two Masters”
When someone or something is your “Master,” that person or thing has your devotion along with a definite hold on your life. In the first century Roman world, a master had almost full control over his servants. The servant’s business was the master’s business. The servant could do nothing without the master’s permission, and declaring allegiance to a second master was naturally out of the question.
This is the context within which Jesus was teaching, when he proclaimed that no one can serve two masters. Everyone in his audience knew what he meant when he used the term “master.”
In the fall of 1988, long before I felt God leading me into the ministry, I took a semester off from George Mason University to intern with a congressional campaign in Mississippi. During my time there, I met a gentleman I’ll call “Jeff,” who served on the campaign’s leadership team.
Jeff talked money so much, that on one occasion, this naive 19-year old intern blurted out: “There are things more important than money.”
After the laughter in the room died down, Jeff looked at me, smiled, and asked: “What else is there?”
Clearly, Jeff would’ve fallen into the category of individuals that Jesus describes in Matthew 6 as having made money their “Master.”
Jesus correctly points out that a person can only serve a single Master. One Master will achieve primacy in that person’s heart. Any attempt to serve both will inevitably lead to resentment toward one or the other.
When an individual positions himself or herself at the head of a ministry and uses that position for personal enrichment and gain at the expense of God’s people and/or God’s work, then that person has made Money his Master.
We’ve all seen and read numerous examples of ministry leaders succumbing to greed and excess. It’s tragic. And when it happens at the expense of God’s work or people, it’s reprehensible.
Nevertheless, I believe there’s a more subtle and more dangerous teaching regarding money in the “mainstream” Christian community. As a result of this false teaching, honest Christians have been made to feel guilty for wanting extra money or striving to earn additional income.
Jesus never said it was wrong for people to earn money – even a lot of money! He said it was wrong for them to make money their “Master.”
The desire for money (even if you desire to earn more money than you actually need) is not necessarily making money your “Master.”
“Go to the ant, Sluggard!”
According to the Bible, a person who needs additional money to pay off debt (or, by implied extension, to make ends meet in general) should take inspiration from the ant!
In the book of Proverbs, we read: “Go to the ant, sluggard; consider her ways and be wise; who having no guide, overseer, or ruler, provides her food in the summer and gathers her food in the harvest.” (Proverbs 6:6-8)
While I don’t necessarily intend to make a political statement here, ants don’t complain about how unfair or tough it is to make a living. You won’t find ants lobbying for minimum wage laws or holding “Occupy Roadkill” protests.
Again, I’m not trying to be political. I’m not suggesting that all protests are bad or that it’s necessarily wrong to (at least on some occasions) address grievances, but sometimes, we invest too much of our most precious resource – TIME – into complaining, when we’re supposed to be working and producing!
Yet many Christians (in part due to terrible teaching from churches and ministry leaders) sabotage their efforts, because they feel guilty about wanting additional money.
Do you realize that, in the ancient world, God’s people often worked sunup to sundown to put food on their tables?
Hard work was not only a part of their everyday life, but it was something God affirmed.
You should work hard to provide for yourself and for your family. And, if the regular full-time job isn’t providing enough for your needs, then you should seriously and prayerfully consider taking a second job or starting a part-time, home-based business. That’s taking an ancient biblical principle and applying it to the 21st century!
Let’s take someone who chooses to set up a home-based business to add additional income to her household. When she does this, is she making money her “Master”? If so, why is the woman in Proverbs 31 praised as “virtuous”? After all, that is precisely what she did!
All Christians need to embrace the following truth:
There is nothing wrong with earning money — even if the money you earn may exceed your actual needs.
At least not in and of itself. God looks at the heart. And He is your judge. No one else.
“The Love of Money is the root of all evil…”
At this point, many Christians say: “Wait a minute! The Bible says money is the root of all evil!”
Nope. It never says that.
The Apostle Paul wrote of the “love of money,” not money in and of itself.
According to the classic King James Version, Paul wrote: “For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.” (I Timothy 6:10)
Many scholars involved in translation work argue that the classic KJV is incorrect when it renders Paul’s words as “the root of all evil.” They say it should be “at the root of all kinds of evil,” which is what most of the other English translations say.
Smarter people than me have debated this, but I tend to agree with the classic KJV. I don’t think there’s any need to reword or redefine what Paul said. The reason why is because most people don’t quote the whole verse. Here it is again (in the classic KJV): “For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.”
Note that Paul ties the “love of money” in with covetousness, which brings to mind the Tenth Commandment, which in the classic KJV reads: “Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his [donkey], nor any thing that is thy neighbour’s.” (Exodus 20:17)
Today, we think of money as currency – either paper currency or coinage. In the ancient world, “money” took on many forms, including the exchange of goods and services.
In Old Testament times, for example, the Levites were not paid a check by the other tribes. They lived off the sacrifices of the people from the other tribes. That meant crops and livestock.
Even as recent as colonial times in America, ministers were sometimes paid by the congregation in crops. Also in the ancient world and even into the medieval world, people labored for masters in exchange for food, shelter, and protection, not necessarily currency.
You need to put yourself in the mindset of a first century Christian reading Paul’s letter to Timothy. Money had a much broader meaning. It referred to whatever you earned to make a living.
With that in mind, Paul is talking about gain, not necessarily currency. He’s talking about the means by which people accumulate things and services in general. And when people’s desire for more things and services turns into love, it plants seeds in their heart — seeds that can form a root system for greed and covetousness. And that is most certainly at the root of all evil.
Greed = Bad, Making a Living = Good
Biblical teaching on the subject of money can be expressed in the above formula. It’s wrong to desire additional money so that you can accumulate more things and serve your own lusts. But it is not wrong to recognize that you need additional revenue to meet your needs and/or the needs of your loved ones AND to then take the steps you need to take to earn that additional money.
How do you know when you cross the line? There are two tests.
First, would you be willing to give up all that you have to follow God’s call on your life? Think about that question. If God asked you to walk away from a high-paying job and all the comforts you enjoy in your lifestyle and head to a foreign field as a missionary, would you do it? If God asked you to take a huge chunk of money you’ve accumulated in your savings account and donate it to a ministry or a family in need? Would you do it?
Are you willing to give up what you’ve gained? If you’re not, then money is more important to you than God. Money is your master.
Second, are you tithing? The tithe is, in fact, God’s simplest test. Are you giving Him at least a tenth (that’s where we get the word “tithe” from) from the “first fruits” of your labor? See Genesis 14:20, Leviticus 27:30-32, Nehemiah 10:37-38, Proverbs 3:9, Malachi 3:8-10, I Corinthians 16:1-2, and II Corinthians 9:7.
If you’re not obeying God with what you have, then you’ve told God He can’t trust you with more. You need to obey God in your tithes and offerings, if you want Him to bless your efforts to earn more for your family.
Assuming that you pass the above two tests, then there’s nothing wrong with your seeking out ways to earn money for your family.
I believe that Christians should be the very best they can be in their jobs and businesses. If you work at a restaurant, you should be the most reliable, most conscientious, and most trustworthy employee there. If you’re in law enforcement, you should be the most trustworthy and diligent public servant in your agency, department, or police force. If you’re a sales professional, then you should be among the top producers for your company, assuming that you can do so with integrity, of course. I could go on. Christians should be the best, because we’re working not for ourselves, but ultimately we’re working for God.
And if, right now, you are in a situation where your needs are not being met or your income goals (retirement, savings, paying down debt, etc.) are not being reached, then you have the liberty from Christ to take action to improve your financial situation.
Just make sure that you keep God as your Master, with money being but a tool. And never let the tool become your idol.
