Help With Finances

This lesson is to help Christians evaluate where they are on financial matters. It will also help to make right decision on spending money. All earthly resources are free gifts from God for our use. Therefore all we have as possession is by His grace and must be used to honour Him. God wants us to trust and rely on Him to meet various needs. Our success is not a measure of our material and financial resources but how properly our resources are managed. Matthew 6:24 - No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; for else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon. The followings are discussed: Put Money in Its Place; Make Wise Financial Choices, and Develop a Generous Spirit.

Put Money in Its Place: Right decision should be made on investments. According to Jesus the wisest decision is investing to secure the kingdom of God (Mathew 6:19-21). Earthly Investment can not last forever: anything can happen to it at any time. It can be stolen or destroyed by unforeseen circumstances. Global insecurity can also reduce its value or render it useless. The best place to keep investments for eternal dividends is heaven. By doing this we shall be focusing on building the kingdom of God rather than our earthly kingdoms which can fail at any time. Where your treasure is, there will be your heart also. Heaven is the best place to keep treasure.

Christians are to make a clear choice with money. What you do with money indicates roles it plays in your life; whether it is good or bad. Money is good if it is used to get what makes life meaningful and convenient. It is bad if it is used for evil, and if it is allowed to compete with one's loyalty to God (Mathew 6: 22-24). Our quests for money reflect our spiritual conditions. God wants us to use our resources to advance His kingdom.

Make Wise Financial Choices: We are commanded to honour God with our substance and the first fruits of our increase. This further explains the importance of tithes (Proverbs: 9&10). Tithing should not be disregarded if we want access to God's free gifts as our possession. Giving the 10% to God is to appreciate his faithfulness and acknowledge Him as the Source and Provider. It also opens the door to His blessings. Tithes and offerings are not means to pay for God's blessings: they are evidence of our faith and obedience.

Christians are taught to manage their financial resources very well and use it to invest in the future (Proverbs 13:11). In our efforts to do this we should design a plan to spend money on needs and in service to God. Christians should prepare a budget to analyse their finances. We must make tithes the first item of the list. Investing in our future means keeping part of our incomes as saving either on weekly or Monthly basis until when the total amount will be mostly needed. Failure to invest is an act of foolishness. If it is not easy to invest we must be forced to do so. We must give up some pleasures in order to invest.

Going into debt is contrary to teachings of the scripture: debt makes the borrower a servant to the lender(Proverbs 22:7), and people in debt may not have the freedom to serve God freely. The resources that could have been used to serve God are lost to charges on debt.

Develop a generous Spirit: We must use our resources to take care of the needs of others. When we do this God's blessings of increase shall be available for us (Proverbs: 11:16,24&25). People who are blessed to provide for others should not withhold if they want continual access to God's riches. In God's economy, the best way to accumulate wealth is to share it with others. God repays those who meet the needs of others, and it is more blessed to give than to receive (Acts 20:35).

We must give cheerfully, and the more we give the greater we shall receive (2 Corinthians 9:6-11). Apostle Paul illustrated giving as an act of sowing which shall be reaped according to the quantity sowed. If we expect God's blessing to continue we must sow what He has given us to lives of others and give willingly to support His work. What we can give aside the tithe has no limit. Such offerings should not be given out of feelings of guilt or obligation. We are giving to meet needs and to appreciate God for His provisions. Lesson texts: Proverbs: 3:9,10;11:16,24,25;13:11;22:7; Matthew 6:19-24; Luke 16:1-12; 2 Corinthians 9:6-11