Money and the Church Part 2

Why even bother talking about money and possessions in church? After all, it is reasoned that those are private matters outside the purview of the church and faith.

OK??? Tell that to Jesus who talked more about money and possessions and how we handled those things than he did about about a whole lot of other things the church talks about all of the time.

• Do you know that fully 66% of the stories Jesus told had something to do with how we handled our earthly treasures?
• Do you know 2,300 verses in the Bible talk about money?
• Do you know there are 5 times as many verses about how we handle our money than there are about prayer and faith combined?

So, I think God thought how we handle our money and possessions was something to be talked about in church. Jesus said “Where your treasure is, there is your heart.”

How we handle what God has given us is an intensely spiritual issue- especially for people living in suburbia but for people everywhere. I'll be posting later on the fact that how we handle the resources God gives us is an issue of discipleship that is just as important as how much we pray, read the Bible or whether or not we beat our spouse and children. I will also be posting about how the church can talk about money in a holistic way that helps people manage what God has blessed them with and moves away from the manage your money well so you can give more to the church mindset. Stewardship as an issue of faith must start with helping people follow Jesus before moving to taking about tithing.