When it snows, she has no fear for her household; for all of them are clothed in scarlet.
Proverbs 31:21 NIV
Should Christians Plan Ahead?
Wealth is a complicated concept in my brain. Jesus told the rich man to give away all his wealth in order to enter the kingdom of heaven, yet many of the faithful in the Old Testament were wealthy. Abraham and Isaac were extremely wealthy. King David and King Solomon were extremely wealthy and not asked to give up their riches. Even Job was given great wealth after being tested. So is it okay for Christians to build personal wealth and plan ahead financially for their family?
It seemed to me growing up that the church always talked about giving generously and not to love money. That got in my head as all excess money I got should go to church and helping show God’s love. After all, God demanded a tithe from the Old Testament people. Christians should show they love God by giving him our money, right? Wrong.
Jesus praised the widow who gave all her money, even though it was a small amount, because she did it willingly. The Pharisee who gave a lot more money gave it to promote himself, not because he loved God. That’s why the widow was praised. She gave willingly. Jesus asked the wealthy man to give up all his wealth not because all Christians should be poor, but because he didn’t want to. Jesus knew that the rich man defined himself by his money, not by his faith. His money was a false idol between him and God so Jesus asked him to give it up.
God Gave Us The Ability To Plan Ahead
Joseph is one person who lived through extremes. He was raised the spoiled son of a rich man, sold as a slave, promoted to the assistant of the head of a really wealthy household, put in prison, promoted while in prison, then became one of the most powerful assistants to the king of Egypt, the wealthiest kingdom around. (Talk about whiplash and trusting God, but his story is another topic). Joseph was told about the famine God planned so he could prepare. God told him to prepare and save during the seven good years in order to take care of people in the coming bad years.
God has also given us the ability to plan ahead in order to take care of us and our families. He has gifted each of us the talents needed to thrive and help the church thrive. Having our families financially secure allows us to give more to others with a willing heart, therefore praising God instead of being stressed.
Just Don’t Get Attached To Your Preparations
God talks so much about giving money back to God because money often comes between people and God. When someone doesn’t know where their money is coming from, it’s easy to trust God. When we have enough to live comfortably and know how to make our money, it’s easy to forget that what we have is from God and not ourselves.
When Moses led the people out of Egypt, God fed them everyday for forty years. Any food they had left over from the day before wasn’t able to be eaten (except on Saturdays). They had a daily reminder to trust God. Yet the Old Testament is full of times the nation ignored God because times were good and they trusted in their own ability to maintain that comfort.
Use Wealth To Help God, Not Horde
Dave Ramsey is a Christian finance guru. His thought is that everyone should be financially secure. His reasoning is to get debt free so we can give more to God. Joseph and Esther were among the wealthiest people in their world, but they were given that wealth so they were in a position to help others through God’s plan.
I’ve learned that I need to be financially secure in order to take care of others. Like putting a life mask on yourself before the person next to you, having a savings account allows us to be more willing to give back to God what he has entrusted us with.