Money and the Mouth

We have all heard the expression, “Put your money where your mouth is.” These words have been used to draw some into a wager or to challenge a person who professes one thing and does something else. There is a husband and wife in the Bible who did not put their money where their mouth was and as a consequence they were made to attend their own funeral. Ananias and Sapphira had to leave church, feet first (Acts 5:1-11). This couple promised they would give the whole amount from the sale of personal property and lied about how much of it they were giving to the church. It was highhanded hypocrisy, attempting to appear to be what they were not. We dance to the devil’s tune when we put on the mask of generosity while hiding dishonesty. Think about what this means. Selfishness can masquerade in pious talk, prayers, and church attendance. It is no small thing to give lip service to the greatest story ever told and at the same time love money more than God.

God has made it abundantly clear how we are to love Him with all our money. The Book of Proverbs (application of the Law) tells us that wisdom is better than money (Prov. 3:13-15), that our money is to honor God (Prov.3:9), that money must be acquired in God-pleasing ways (Prov. 10:4-5; 13:11; 11:1-2) and money must be handled with care (6:1-5; 27:24-27; 11:24, 25). The Gospels reveal the special attention Jesus gave to monetary matters. “No one can serve two masters…You cannot serve God and money” (Matt. 6:24). “Seek first His kingdom, and these things (food and clothing) shall be added to you” (Lk. 12:31). “Lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven” (Matt. 6:19). The Pharisees presented themselves as devoted to God, but Jesus knew they were lovers of money (Lk. 16:14). For this reason the damning effect of greed was a regular topic in the Savior’s sermons. The church of Jesus Christ is given explicit directions in how to use money to support the work of God. Christians are to give systematically, regularly, proportionately, and voluntarily to their local church (1 Cor. 16:1-4). Every believer, no matter what their income, is to have a plan of grace giving. God provides for us. We manage these provisions by His wisdom and give proof of our love for God by our spending, saving, and giving.

But we must come back to the responsibility of putting our money where our mouth is. It is possible to know what the Bible teaches about money and still be sucked into the quicksand of materialism. There are sins that must be confessed and repented of if we are to be faithful managers of our money: the refusal to work and provide for our family, impulsive buying, the use of shopping to keep us happy, spending more on entertainment, pet food, and vacations than we give to our church, letting personal debt decrease the amount we give to God’s work, failure to plan our giving, failure to save and plan for emergency giving, being bitter while we give generously, failure to support our local church, relying on feelings (“inner promptings”) to determine how much we should give, making investments and major expenditures without praying and seeking wise counsel, allowing our possessions to become more important than people, envying those who have more than we do, pursuing get-rich-quick schemes as the answer to our money problems, lack of contentedness with what we have. Sin must be tracked down and killed or it will choke out our love for God and the generous giving habits that should characterize people who are on their way to heaven.

As we clear the debris of our own sinful patterns, there are ways we can invest for the eternal glory of God. With an eye on the future we invest in people. One day, money will be gone, but we can have “friends for eternity.” We are to take into account the many opportunities God gives us in this life. If we don’t give as we should when we have very little to give, we reveal where our hearts really are. God is to be our Master not our money (Lk. 16:1-9). With these spiritual realities ensconced in our lives we can make some needed resolutions. I resolve that as a glory-bound child of God I will give generously and faithfully to my local church. I will seek the best counsel I can get regarding financial planning. I will create a discretionary fund from which I can give to emergency needs for missionaries, humanitarian concerns (disaster relief, etc.), and other gospel ministries. I will review my standard of living for the coming year and determine where there are ways to free up more money for giving. I will commit myself to eliminating interest- bearing debt that is limiting my ability to give more. I will quit robbing God by making excuses as to why I can’t give what rightfully belongs to Him. I will figure out my pretax income and, if I am not already, begin to give at least 11 percent.

You may want to determine other resolutions regarding your giving. The most important thing, however, is to examine your heart, life, and checkbook to make sure that you are putting your money where your mouth is. There will come a time when we will stand before Jesus Christ and give an account to Him. Are you preparing for that final audit?

Dr. Howard E. Dial
Berachah Bible Church