Counter-Cultural Finances

1 John 2:15 contains a command and a warning for Christians. “Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.” You have a choice—to be worldly or Kingdom-minded with your finances but beware, God’s way is definitely counter-cultural. Most people like fitting in, following the crowd, and keeping up with the Joneses. If you’re a Christian, however, God calls you to live with a different set of values than the world. This kind of counter-cultural thinking is just what Jesus demonstrated during his ministry and it applies to every part of your life— including money.

The question is this: Do your actions and attitudes around money reflect the world’s values or God’s?

The list below compares the world’s messages about money and possessions to what God’s Word says about the same issues. The two mindsets are like night and day:

The World

• God is dead, and nothing—including what you do with your money—really matters.
• Keeping things brings blessing (Luke 12:19).
• The “DIY” philosophy: Do it all yourself because you’re on your own, and there’s no accountability.
• The goal of life is to get more—more money, more influence, more security.
• Wealth or success justifies pride (1 Timothy 6:17-19).
• If someone cheats you or steals from you, it’s okay to take revenge.
• You can own things.
• It’s okay to love money, even if you’re a Christian.

God’s Word

• Our God is living (Matthew 16:16), He is love (1 John 4:16), and you are His workmanship (Ephesians 2:10). What you do does matter.
• Giving produces blessing (Proverbs 22:9, Acts 20:35).
• The Creator of heaven and earth is always with us (Psalm 23:4), and he is our best source of help (Psalm 121:2).
• Those things will eventually disappear. What has eternal value is knowing and loving God (Jeremiah 9:23-24). Seek God first, and everything else falls into place (Matthew 6:33).
• Pride leads to destruction (Proverbs 16:18), and humility is a source of victory (1 Peter 5:5).
• “Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult. On the contrary, repay evil with blessing… so that you may inherit a blessing.” (1 Peter 3:9).
• Things always end up owning you. What sets people free is not having possessions but knowing Christ (John 8:32).
• It’s impossible to love God and money at the same time (Matthew 6:24) because you can’t serve two masters at once.

As Christians, we’re supposed to be different because we have a different Lord than the world does. As James 4:4 says, "Friendship with the world is enmity with God.” Does that mean we find a bunker somewhere and avoid all contact with anything or anyone who isn’t Christian? Far from it!

Consider how Jesus did things. During his earthly ministry, he served the people around him, demonstrating a kind of love that changed lives. He also had a knack for challenging cultural attitudes about relationships and possessions. He was a revolutionary, both in his time and ours.

So, if we’re going to be followers of Christ, we have to learn from his example. We’ll do things differently than the secular culture might expect. That means replacing greed with generosity, exchanging disrespect for love, and being a counter-cultural giver of our time, care, and resources.

In light of all this, your financial choices are critical. First, your attitude about money reveals a lot about your heart. Second, how you handle money can be an example to others. They’ll see the blessings that come from honesty, faithfulness, and generosity.

The apostle Peter calls us “sojourners and exiles” for a reason (1 Peter 2:11). We’re on our way home, but we have a job to do in the meantime. We should love and serve others counter-culturally, as Jesus did—and God gets the glory. You can also listen to the related podcast on this topic.