English philosopher and statesman Francis Bacon wrote, “Money is a great servant but a bad master.” Perhaps the greatest decision you’ll make about finances is … will money serve you … or will you serve money? Put another way, will money be a blessing to you or a curse? This is MoneyWise Live - biblical wisdom for your financial decisions. 
<ul><li>When we think of managing money, a passage that probably doesn’t come to mind is the First Commandment in Exodus 20:2 and 3. “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. “You shall have no other gods before me” because we usually think of those verses in regard to idolatry. Since money so often becomes an idol, a false god, there’s definitely a financial application. Money can become a “lower case G” god and master, leading to spiritual destruction. </li><li>As believers, we need to choose wisely and make a very conscious decision. In Matthew 6, Jesus warns, “No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.” </li><li>Obviously, that passage is about greed, but at a more basic level, it’s also about idolatry. That’s because idolatry is the root cause of many sins and greed is certainly included. In Ephesians 5:5, the Apostle Paul says, “No immoral, impure or greedy person—such a person is an idolater—has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God.”</li><li>Paul makes an even more direct connection in 1 Timothy 6, “Those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, 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.” So we see that money can, indeed, be a very bad master.</li><li>But money is a double-edged sword. It can also be a great blessing. And that’s an idea that we struggle with a lot in Western society. God has given us so much in wealth and material resources, and along with that comes the great temptation to hang on to as much of it as we can.</li><li>Of course, it’s important to remember that the love of money is evil, not money itself. What we do with money can also be a spiritual barometer. Larry Burkett was fond of saying how you use money is “an outward sign of an inward condition.”</li><li>Fortunately for us, God has modeled exactly how to break money’s curse of greed and idolatry, and that’s with generosity. He gave us His only Son that we might spend eternity in heaven with Him. What could possibly be more generous than that? So we see that giving is the antidote for greed.</li><li>The Lord doesn’t care how much money we have, but He’s keenly interested in how we use it. In Luke 21, Jesus praises the poor widow for giving her two mites, all she had. To God, that was far more generous than the temple offerings of the rich Pharisees and Sadducees.</li><li>So we see that money can be a blessing when it’s used for good. It can provide clean drinking water for children around the world dying of disease. It can feed the poor and fund Bible translations for people starving for God’s Word.</li><li>If you’ve ever asked yourself why do we exist, the answer is found in Isaiah 43:6 and 7. It reads, “Bring my sons from afar and my daughters from the end of the earth, everyone who is called by my name, whom I created for my glory, whom I formed and made.”</li><li>We exist to reflect God’s glory to the world, which is His, by the way, and everything in it. He gives us His wealth and His resources to glorify Him, not indulge ourselves. </li><li>Of course it’s okay to enjoy some of what He’s given us, but within reason. And when we give to further His kingdom, money actually becomes a double blessing, not only to the recipient, but to the giver, as well.</li><li>Randy Alcorn’s book Giving Is the Good Life is filled with stories of believers who once thought every penny they made belonged to them. But their testimonies reveal they were never satisfied thinking that way. It was only when they came to know the blessing of giving that they became truly happy, and experienced “the good life.”</li><li>The point is that money only becomes a curse when we allow it to, when we allow ourselves to love it more than we love God, instead of using it to show how much we love God. </li><li>Money turns into a blessing when we use it to bless others. Now, the idea that giving is a blessing to the giver is foolishness to the world, but it’s how things work in God’s kingdom.</li></ul>Next, Rob answers these questions at 800-525-7000 or via email at Questions@MoneyWiseLive.org:
<ul><li>If you bought a house 4 years ago and used a service that allowed you to finance the down payment and now you also need to perform some home improvements, should you refinance and fold the down payment loan into this new one?</li><li>If you've heard one should have 10 times their income in your 401(k) at retirement age and you have $14,000 in yours at age 46, how can you possibly get to this target?</li><li>What should you now about setting up your car as a personal rental car?</li><li>If you've been invited to use a crypto currency called Pi, should you participate?</li><li>Can you convert paper bonds to I Bonds?</li><li>Is there any reason to pay before the closing date of your credit card statement or should you just pay at the due date?</li><li>If you recently paid off a car loan and discovered it's showing "Account Closed" but not "Paid in Full" and you also noticed a 25 point drop in your credit score, should you be concerned about the status of this loan?</li><li>What is planned giving?</li><li>Is Social Security going to be there in 9 years when you retire?</li></ul>Be sure to check out the rest of MoneyWise.org to connect with a MoneyWise Coach or access our books and our many free helpful resources. You can also find us on Facebook (MoneyWise Media) and join the conversation. Thanks for your prayerful and financial support that helps keep MoneyWise on the air. And if you'd like to help, just click the Donate tab at the top of the page.

FaithFi

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MoneyWise Live

Perhaps the greatest decision you’ll make about finances is … will money serve you … or will you serve money? Put another way, will money be a blessing to you or a curse? Rob talks talk about that first.

Money: A Double-Edged Sword

FaithFi | May 30, 2022

Show Notes

Where Faith Meets Finance

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