by Woodrow Kroll

Study I: Begin With Right Attitudes

Almost nothing touches our lives more than money does. As we all know, there are oodles of programs out there on television, radio and the Internet advising us on money. I believe Christians should be informed by the Bible so that they have something against which to judge all the advice they're getting about how to handle money. In this series of studies, I'm interested only in what the Word of God has to say on the subject of money. I don't have any get-rich-quick schemes to offer. I do offer you hope which is more than a million dollars can provide. If you need that kind of hope, stay with me through each of these five studies.

Everything we think or say arises out of our underlying attitudes, and that's true about money as well. Attitudes are like the superstructure of a building. They hold everything else together. Having right attitudes toward money, wealth and possessions will help to determine the right outcomes of each of these things.

By "right attitudes," I mean biblical attitudes that come right out of the Bible. These attitudes that reflect the mind of Christ--not the mind of this world. Biblical attitudes are godly--not worldly. They're the attitudes of God. Let's begin by examining our attitudes toward money and finding a definition of wealth.

The Funk and Wagnall's Dictionary defines the word "wealth" as: "A large aggregate of real and personal property, an abundance of those material or worldly things that men desire to possess."

Isn't that a perfect definition? I think it catches the spirit of the times exactly. That's exactly how we would expect the world to define wealth. But I understand wealth differently. Again, wealth is the sum total of all that God has given to us. With this definition, I can see things from a different vantage point:

• I'm wealthy because I have a wonderful family.
• I'm rich because I'm rich in memories of days gone by.
• My wife and I own a home (actually, it's a joint venture with the bank).
• We have a Bible that's inerrant. It's infallible. It's understandable.
• The Bible is life-changing.
• I'm rich in friends.
• I'm rich in opportunities to serve the Lord.
• I'm rich in prayer.
• I have wealth galore in the promises of God and in the riches of Christ.
• I'm really rich in the inheritance that cannot be depleted, cannot be denied, that's reserved for me in heaven.

You see, I'm a wealthy man by God's standards. If I must use man's standards, I have to redefine my riches. But God's standards are eternal. I'm much better off if I judge my wealth by His standards. It's the only wealth that will not face decay, loss or destruction (Matthew 6:19,20).

Therefore, the first attitude we need to have towards money is all wealth belongs to God. This is a very difficult attitude for most of the world to adopt. Most people think that everything belongs to them or it should belong to them. But the Bible says that everything is created, sustained and owned by God. This is the most basic attitude of all in learning to have a biblical perspective on money.

What the Bible says(study these verses and notice where the wealth comes from):

• Psalm 104:24: "The earth is full of Thy riches."
• I Timothy 6:17: "Charge them that are rich in this world that they be not high-minded, nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God who gives us richly all things to enjoy."
• Haggai 2:8: "The silver is Mine and the gold is Mine, saith the Lord of hosts."

Any wealth we have originates with God, belongs to God, and whether it's a dime or a dollar, our response should be gratefulness to God because it all comes from Him. If you bring this attitude into your heart and life, it will change the way you use your money.

The second attitude in this study is wealth is a gift from God. If God owns it all, how do we get some of it? Is it just pure, dumb luck? Is it hard work? Ultimately, it is a gift from God. In God's grace, He shares His property with us--including money, wealth and possessions.

What the Bible says:

• Deuteronomy 8:18: "But thou shalt remember the Lord thy God, for it is He who gives you power to get wealth."
• Ecclesiastes 5:19: "Every man also to whom God has given riches and wealth, and has given him power to eat thereof and to take his portion and to rejoice in his labor, this is the gift of God."
• Ecclesiastes 6:2: "A man to whom God has given riches, wealth and honor so that he wants nothing for his soul of all that he desires, yet God gives him not power to eat thereof, but a stranger eats it. This is vanity. It is an evil disease."

The Old Testament Israelites had to remember that everything they had and would earn came from the hand of God. Equally today, what we enjoy comes from His hand, too.

Wealth--if you have it--is a gift from God. If you are wealthy, recognize that God has chosen to give it to you. If you are not wealth, that doesn't necessarily mean that you have been lazy or unproductive. It means that it has not been part of God's sovereign design for your life. Again, whatever we have is a gift of God. To some He gives wealth. To some He gives wisdom. To some He gives wealth and wisdom. To some He chooses to give neither.

The third biblical attitude about money, wealth and possessions is being wealthy is not a sin. Maybe you're thinking, "I don't have to worry about that," or, "I'm not rich, so I don't have to be concerned about being wealthy, whether it's sinful or not." Is that really true? Please remember that most people have much more than they dream. Take some time to consider where your wealth is held, and do a self-inventory.

You probably have some value in an insurance policy, or maybe more than one. Perhaps you have an IRA or a couple of them. Maybe you have a house and its contents. Do you have stocks, bonds or savings accounts? It all adds up. If you have any combination of these things, the total value may indicate that you are much more "wealthy" than you ever dreamed possible.

To some, God has committed great resources in terms of money, wealth and possessions. To others, He has committed only meager resources. Whichever the case, we all have some resources, and these things are part of our wealth. These resources, whether great or small, are not sinful (only our attitudes and use of these things can be sinful).

What the Bible says:

II Chronicles 9:22: "And King Solomon passed all the kings of the earth in riches and wisdom." Solomon was the king of Israel. We like to think about Solomon being the wisest man on the face of the earth. The Bible says he was also the richest man.

Jehoshaphat was another king blessed by God in the same way: II Chronicles 17:5: "Therefore, the Lord established the kingdom in his hand and he had riches and honor in abundance." These are God's people—people who were wealthy.

Again, King Hezekiah is an example of exactly the same thing. II Chronicles 32:27: "And Hezekiah had exceeding much riches and honor."

Certainly we would expect these Old Testament kings to be wealthy. But not everyone who is wealthy in the Bible was a king. Consider Boaz from the book of Ruth: Ruth 2:1 says, "And Naomi had a kinsman of her husband's, a mighty man of wealth of the family of Alimelech, and his name was Boaz."

He was not a mighty man of stature nor a mighty man of influence. It says he was a mighty man of wealth. Boaz also was a very godly person. We have to remember that being wealthy in itself is not sinful.

What is your attitude toward wealthy people? If God hasn't entrusted it to you, does that mean you are allowed to automatically think that wealthy people are somehow crooked or somehow ungodly? No. Perhaps another example is needed. What about Job?

Job 1:1 says, "There was a man in the land of Uz whose name was Job, and this man was perfect and upright, one that feared God and eschewed evil. This man was the greatest of all the men of the east."

Being wealthy is no crime. Many of the great heroes of the faith were very wealthy people.

Joseph of Arimathea, who buried the body of our Lord Jesus, was a man of means--see John 19:38. Barnabas was a wealthy land owner. He sold his possessions to provide for the needs of other Christians (Acts 4). Philemon was a wealthy man. His house must have been large because it was the meeting place for the church at Colossae (Philemon 1-7). In fact, some of the most godly people I know are also some of the wealthiest. Again, being wealthy in and of itself is not sinful.

This leads me to the final attitude of this study: being poor is not sinful either. While there are many in these waning years of the 20th century who preach a false gospel of wealth and prosperity, such teaching does not come from the Bible. God doesn't want all of us to be rich. That is not a biblical principle, because too many of the godly people in Scripture were not rich. In the story of the rich man and Lazarus (Luke 16:19-31), the rich man was clothed in purple and fine linen. He had the finest clothes money could buy, and ate at the most expensive restaurants. Yet he died without God.

On the other hand, Lazarus was a beggar. He was covered from head to toe with sores. He had to forage for food in the garbage cans behind the restaurants where the rich man ate. He had only what fell from the tables, and still he died with God. God wanted the beggar, but apparently did not want him rich.

A final example of the false teaching behind the wealth and prosperity gospel comes from their improper use of Hebrews 11--the faith chapter. It's the hall of fame of people who walked by faith. They often quote the first half of the chapter as proof that God wants us rich. Conveniently they forget about the last half of that chapter that describes some of God's people being tortured and scourged, wandering about in sheepskins and goatskins, being destitute and afflicted, living in the desert, in dens and in caves of the earth. You see, these, too, were God's people, but they were the poor people of the earth.

The central issue is not how much we have in money, wealth and possessions. It is how we relate to what we have. So how are you relating to your wealth and that of others? Is the need for money the driving force in your life? Do you understand the meaning of godly contentment? Are you investing in time or are you investing in eternity? Are you wisely using the money that God has given you for the good of others and for the glory of God?

In this study, we have started with what God has to say about money and about our attitudes. It all begins there. Maybe it's time we all checked our attitudes.

Thank you for studying with me today. Please check back for the next issue of Stewardship Solutions to continue on in this important topic of Giving the Master Charge.