Introduction — The Steward and the Master
The Bible emphatically demonstrates that how we view our money and possessions is of utmost importance. What we do with them will influence eternity. Jesus once told his disciples about a rich man whose manager was accused of wasting his possessions. The rich man called him in and said, “Give an account of your management, because you cannot be manager any longer.” This parable shows that God — who owns all things — has assigned human beings management responsibilities over his assets. One day we will stand before God and give an account of how we have managed what belongs to him.
This book won’t tell you how to achieve your financial goals, but it will provide the light in which your financial goals should be formulated. As Martin Luther put it, “There are three conversions necessary in the Christian life: the conversion of the heart, the mind, and the purse.”
Chapter 1 — Starting Right
Many who say “I have nothing to give” spend large amounts of discretionary income on cars, clothes, coffee, and entertainment. They have nothing to give when they’re done spending, precisely because they’re never done spending. The real issue is not what we would do with a million dollars — it’s what we are doing with the hundred thousand, ten thousand, or ten dollars we do have. If we are not faithful with what God has already entrusted to us, why should he trust us with any more?
Jesus said more about how we are to view and handle money and possessions than about any other topic — including both heaven and hell, and prayer and faith — because God wants us to recognize the powerful relationship between our true spiritual condition and our attitude and actions concerning money.
Jesus’ interaction with Zacchaeus shows what God thinks about money. When Zacchaeus said, “I will give half my wealth to the poor, Lord, and if I have cheated people on their taxes, I will give them back four times as much!” Jesus responded, “Salvation has come to this home today” (Luke 19:8–9). Jesus judged the reality of Zacchaeus’s salvation by his willingness to part with his money for God’s glory and the good of others.
Contrast that with the rich young man told to sell his possessions and give the money to the poor. He went away sad because he had many possessions. Jesus then said, “It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the Kingdom of God!” The principle is timeless: if Christ is not Lord over our money and possessions, he is not our Lord.
In Mark 12:41–44, Jesus deliberately watches what people put in the Temple collection box. Many rich people put in large amounts; a poor widow dropped in two small coins. Jesus said she had given more than all the others — they gave a tiny part of their surplus, but she had given everything she had. The God who knows hearts regards the poor woman as eternally wise and the rich fool of Luke 12 — who planned to tear down his barns, build bigger ones, and take it easy — as eternally foolish. God said to that man, “You fool! You will die this very night.” Yet who do most Western Christians think and live more like — the poor widow or the rich fool?
Chapter 2 — Ownership
A distraught man rode his horse up to John Wesley, shouting, “Mr. Wesley, something terrible has happened! Your house has burned to the ground!” Wesley replied, “No. The Lord’s house burned to the ground. That means one less responsibility for me.” Wesley’s reaction sprang from life’s most basic reality — that God is the owner of all things, and we are simply his stewards.
Scripture emphasizes God’s ownership of everything: “The earth is the LORD’s, and everything in it” (Psalm 24:1). “The silver is mine and the gold is mine, declares the LORD Almighty” (Haggai 2:8). And if we think “at least I own myself,” God says, “You are not your own; you were bought at a price” (1 Corinthians 6:19–20). Not only does God own everything, but he grants our money-making skills: “Remember the LORD your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth” (Deuteronomy 8:18).
A steward’s primary goal is to be “found faithful” by his master (1 Corinthians 4:2). If I’m God’s money manager, I’m not God. Money isn’t God. God is God. So God, money, and I are each put in their rightful place.
Chapter 3 — Stewardship
In the parable of the shrewd manager, Jesus says to use worldly wealth “to gain friends for yourselves, so that when it is gone, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings” (Luke 16:9). These friends are believers in heaven as a result of our ministry or whose lives we’ve touched through our material assets. Every time we give to world missions, famine relief, or Bible translation, we invest for the day we’ll meet them. One day, money will be useless. While it’s still useful, God’s money managers will use it for eternal good.
What does Jesus teach about the faithful steward? First, stewardship: servants must be aware they are only caretakers of the master’s assets. Second, accountability: they will stand before him to explain their investments. Third, faithfulness: handle the master’s estate in a way that pleases him. Fourth, industriousness: work hard and do their best. Fifth, wisdom: choose investments carefully, neither taking undue risks nor letting capital erode through idleness. Sixth, focus: all side interests brought into orbit around one consuming purpose — to serve the master well.
When we stand before our Master, it will not matter how many people knew our names, whether schools were named after us, or how large our estates were. What will matter is one thing only — what our Master thinks of us.
Chapter 4 — “Money Is Bad”
Two equally incorrect beliefs about money are that it is always evil and that it is always good. The Bible does not say money is the root of all evil. What it says is: “The love of money is the root of all kinds of evil” (1 Timothy 6:10). The distinction matters enormously.
Martin Luther compared humanity to a drunkard who falls off his horse to the right, gets back on, then falls off to the left. Asceticism is falling off one side; materialism is falling off the other. Satan doesn’t care which side we fall off, as long as we don’t stay in the saddle. We must battle materialism — not by withdrawing from society, but by serving God faithfully within it.
Chapter 5 — “It’s All about Money”
God created us to love people and use things, but materialists love things and use people. Scripture is filled with cautionary portraits: Achan stole things set apart for God (Joshua 7). Delilah betrayed Samson for a fee. Gehazi lied to gain Naaman’s payment and received Naaman’s leprosy instead (2 Kings 5). And in the ultimate act of treachery, Judas betrayed God’s own Son for money.
Greed surfaces in two forms: possessiveness — being selfish with what we own — and covetousness — longing for what God hasn’t given us. Both consume time that might otherwise be spent cultivating intimacy with God, in his Word and prayer, with family, or with people who need Christ.
Chapter 6 — Materialism
Materialism blinds us to our spiritual poverty. John Steinbeck captured the danger well: “If I wanted to destroy a nation, I would give it too much, and I would have it on its knees, miserable, greedy, sick.”
Solomon — one of history’s wealthiest men — tried to find meaning in building projects, entertainment, and possessions: “I collected great sums of silver and gold … I had everything a man could desire!” (Ecclesiastes 2:8–10). After decades as the world’s richest man, he concluded: “It was all so meaningless — like chasing the wind. There was nothing really worthwhile anywhere” (Ecclesiastes 2:11). Wealth insulates us from discerning the true depth of our need for God. He warned his people before the Promised Land that prosperity would turn them away from him (Deuteronomy 31:20). The prophet Hosea recorded the same verdict: “When you had eaten and were satisfied, you became proud and forgot me” (Hosea 13:5–6).
Chapter 7 — Battling Materialism in Christian Families
Training our children about money and possessions begins at birth (Proverbs 22:6). Giving gifts to children is often a substitute for giving them personal attention — a playhouse, then a train set, then a car, all to compensate for a parent who is not available. Anything we give our children is a poor substitute for ourselves. Our children will not remember what we did for them nearly as much as they’ll remember what we did with them.
Chapter 8 — Rethinking Prosperity Theology
Jesus spoke blessings on the poor, the hungry, and the weeping, and pronounced sorrow on the rich and well-fed (Luke 6:20–26). Prosperity theology models the ascended heavenly Lord rather than the descended earthly servant. Jesus warned his disciples not to follow a lordship model but his own servant model (Mark 10:42–45).
Paul wrote what no health-and-wealth gospel preacher would: “To keep me from becoming proud, I was given a thorn in my flesh … Three times I begged the Lord to take it away. Each time he said, ‘My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness’” (2 Corinthians 12:7–9). God may accomplish higher purposes through our sickness than through our health. When God chose not to heal Paul, Paul didn’t “name it and claim it.” Instead, he acknowledged God’s spiritual purpose in his adversity. God gives us plenty not to spend it on ourselves but to share with others: “You will be enriched in every way so that you can always be generous” (2 Corinthians 9:11).
Chapter 9 — Two Treasuries, Two Perspectives, Two Masters
In Matthew 6:19–24, Jesus presents three groups of two: two treasures — earth and heaven; two perspectives — the good eye and the bad eye; two masters — God and money. He tells us to invest in the right treasury, adopt the right perspective, and serve the right master.
Christ’s primary argument against amassing material wealth isn’t that it’s morally wrong — it’s that it’s a poor investment. Financial planners urge people to think thirty years ahead. But thinking thirty years ahead is only slightly less shortsighted than thinking thirty days ahead. Christ says: ask how your investment will be paying off in thirty million years.
We store up treasures on earth by gripping them tightly. We store up treasures in heaven by holding loosely, sharing freely, and giving away earthly treasures for God’s kingdom purposes. It’s not an emotional appeal; it’s a logical one: invest in what has lasting value.
Consider this analogy: imagine you’re living in the South at the end of the Civil War, but you’re a Northerner planning to move home. You’ve accumulated lots of Confederate currency. Knowing the North will win, what do you do? You immediately cash in your Confederate currency for U.S. currency — the only money that will have value once the war is over. Kingdom currency is the only medium of exchange recognized by the Son of God, whose government will last forever. As Jim Elliot once wrote: “He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.”
Chapter 10 — God’s Steward’s Eternal Destiny
Heaven is not a vague, disembodied existence. The martyrs who enter heaven continue to look down on earth, remembering their lives and remaining fully aware of what’s happening there (Revelation 6:9–11). Heaven is a place of awareness, memory, and continuity — not a blank curtain falling on everything we were and did.
Chapter 11 — God’s Steward’s Eternal Rewards
It wasn’t our idea that God reward us. It was his. So of course reward should never be our only motivation. But it is nonetheless a biblical and important motivation. Ultimately, “whether we are here in this body or away from this body, our goal is to please him” (2 Corinthians 5:9). Pleasing the one you love is its own lofty reward.
Chapter 12 — Tithing
New Testament giving goes far beyond tithing, but the principle was ingrained in the beliefs of the early Christians, most of whom grew up in Jewish homes. The first law of tithing occurs in Leviticus 27:30: “A tithe of everything from the land … belongs to the LORD; it is holy to the LORD.” The word tithe means “a tenth part,” and the Creator warned the Israelites that presenting anything less was to “rob God,” since the first 10 percent belonged to him. The Israelites actually gave three tithes — one every third year — amounting cumulatively to 23 percent of income.
Those who say “tithing isn’t for today” need to examine their hearts. New Testament Christians model lives transformed by radical grace — making them more sacrificial and generous, not less. Jesus himself affirmed tithing even while rebuking the Pharisees: “You should tithe, yes, but do not neglect the more important things” (Matthew 23:23). When people say “I can’t afford to tithe,” a useful question is: if your income were reduced by 10 percent, would you die? They always admit they wouldn’t — somehow, they would manage. That’s proof they really can tithe.
Chapter 13 — Freewill Giving
Paul grounds all generosity in the gospel itself: “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich” (2 Corinthians 8:9). When the Israelites gave voluntary offerings for the Tabernacle, they gave so much the workers had to ask them to stop: “The people have given more than enough!” (Exodus 36:5–6). The emphasis was not on the amount but on the willingness of each person’s heart.
Think of yourself as God’s courier, not an owner. If you hand a FedEx driver a package for delivery, and he takes it home and keeps it, reasoning “if you didn’t want me to keep it, why’d you give it to me?” — the answer is clear: the package doesn’t belong to him. He’s just the middleman. Just because God puts his money in our hands doesn’t mean he intends for it to stay there.
Jesus said, “Give, and you will receive … The amount you give will determine the amount you get back” (Luke 6:38). God gives some of his children more than they need and others less than they need so that he may use his children to help one another. When those with too much give to those with too little, two problems are solved. Too often we assume God entrusts more to us to increase our standard of living, yet his stated purpose is to increase our standard of giving.
Chapter 14 — Helping the Poor and Spreading the Gospel
In the account of the final judgment, the King says to those on his right: “I was hungry, and you fed me. I was thirsty, and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger, and you invited me into your home.” When the righteous ask when they saw him in those conditions, the King replies: “When you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me” (Matthew 25:34–40). The sin held against the goats is not that they did something wrong to those in need, but that they failed to do anything right for them. We cannot wash our hands of responsibility to the poor by saying, “I’m not doing anything to hurt them.” We must actively be doing something to help them.
Scripture recognizes that poverty has different causes, and responsible help responds accordingly. Some poverty is due to laziness (Proverbs 24:30–34). Lazy people do not need financial support; they need incentives to be responsible. Acts of well-meaning provision can remove their incentive. Paul was blunt: “Those unwilling to work will not get to eat” (2 Thessalonians 3:10). God’s own model for helping the poor preserved their dignity — the corners of the fields were left uncut so the poor could gather food themselves, maintaining both dignity and responsibility.
Giving should start with your local Bible-believing church, the spiritual community where you’re fed and to which you’re accountable. If the Bible tells us to pay taxes even when funds may be wasted or used for bad purposes, surely we can give to God through our church even when we’re not comfortable with every use of the funds.
Chapter 15 — Discipleship
When Jesus called Simon, Andrew, James, and John from their fishing nets, they left at once and followed him. But even the apostles didn’t irreversibly divest themselves of all possessions — just ten verses after leaving their nets, they went to Simon and Andrew’s home (Mark 1:29). Levi left to follow Jesus, and the very next verse records a dinner party at Levi’s house (Mark 2:14). Just as Jesus himself served God working as a carpenter and living in a house, most of his disciples served God as faithful stewards, raising their families and working in their communities.
There are two callings: one to leave behind family and possessions for full-time ministry, and another to serve Christ’s cause in a home and community, earning income to support those whose calling means they can no longer generate sufficient income on their own. How much can we safely keep? Enough to care for our basic needs and some wants, but not so much that large amounts are kept from higher kingdom causes, or that we become proud and independent of the Lord.
Chapter 16 — Debt
”Just as the rich rule the poor, so the borrower is servant to the lender” (Proverbs 22:7). God says, “You were bought with a price; do not become slaves of human masters” (1 Corinthians 7:23). God says borrowers put themselves in servitude to lenders — so detrimental was this situation that God commanded a Year of Jubilee every fifty years when debts would be canceled (Deuteronomy 15:2). If we take God’s Word seriously, we should avoid debt when possible and make every effort to get out as soon as we can.
What might be called the “debt mentality” involves a cluster of invalid assumptions: that we need more than God has given us; that God has failed to provide; and that today’s income sufficient for payments guarantees tomorrow’s will be too. Scripture counters directly: “True godliness with contentment is itself great wealth” (1 Timothy 6:6). “Those who love money will never have enough” (Ecclesiastes 5:10).
Remember: you don’t save money by spending money. If you buy an $80 sweater on sale for $30, you didn’t save anything — you spent $30. Little expenses add up to big problems. Like water from a leaky faucet, money trickles through our hands — a dollar here, ten dollars there. If a swimming pool is full of leaks, pumping in more water will never be enough until you find the leaks and fix them. Two practical steps help greatly: recording expenditures and making a budget. Financial disorder is one of the leading causes of personal and familial stress and often results in divorce.
Chapter 17 — Questions and Answers about Debt
God says there is one debt to which all our money must be committed, yet which we can never retire: “Owe nothing to anyone — except for your obligation to love one another” (Romans 13:8). In order to best fulfill that spiritual debt, we must free ourselves from the burdens of financial debt.
Practical credit card rules: never use credit cards for anything except budgeted purchases; pay the balance in full every month; and the first month you have a bill you cannot pay in full, cut the card in half. Even if you’ve come into debt legitimately, your first debt is to God: “On the first day of each week, you should each put aside a portion of the money you have earned. Don’t wait” (1 Corinthians 16:2).
Getting out of debt requires a full plan: repent and change your mind and actions regarding money. Give God the firstfruits immediately. Incur no new debts. Systematically eliminate existing debts through a realistic budget, wise financial counsel, and if necessary, liquidation of unnecessary assets. List your debts, and prioritize repayment by interest rate, paying off the highest-interest debts first.
Chapter 18 — Preparing for the Future
”Fools spend whatever they get” (Proverbs 21:20). “Take a lesson from the ants … they labor hard all summer, gathering food for the winter” (Proverbs 6:6–8). By God’s inspiration, Joseph devised a careful savings plan in anticipation of the famine in Egypt — for seven years Egyptians stored 20 percent of the harvest, and when the famine came, the nation cared for itself and provided for others (Genesis 41:25–57).
It’s wise to give first, save second, and spend last. Otherwise we will spend everything and have nothing to give or save. But not all saving is equal. Some save wisely; others save out of greed or fear — by stockpiling money, they insulate themselves from God. “A person is a fool to store up earthly wealth but not have a rich relationship with God” (Luke 12:21).
Nowhere in Scripture does God call healthy people to stop working. How much of what we think about retirement is based on culture rather than God’s Word? He doesn’t want us to take still-productive minds and bodies and permanently lay them on a beach or lock them in a dark room watching game shows. If we consider “our” retirement funds off limits to God, we’re pretending to be owners rather than God’s money managers.
At the conclusion of Schindler’s List, Oskar Schindler looks at his car and his gold pin and weeps, regretting that he didn’t give up more to save more lives. Christians get no second chance to live life over, this time doing more to help the needy and invest in God’s kingdom. The question worth asking now: what will you one day wish you had given away while you still had the chance? When you come up with an answer, why not give it now?
Chapter 19 — Looking for Returns
Many Christians don’t evaluate the source of their investments. Paul warns: “Don’t team up with those who are unbelievers. How can righteousness be a partner with wickedness?” (2 Corinthians 6:14). Many sincerely plan to give substantial amounts to God’s work later, reasoning that if investments do well, they’ll have more to give. But observation shows that countless good intentions are never realized. Considering the market may plummet, your heart may change, or you may die — by holding on now, are you willing to risk that the money will never end up where God wanted?
Chapter 20 — Inheritance or Heritage
In Old Testament times, it was essential to pass land to children — without inheritance, people ended up enslaved. Hence: “A good man leaves an inheritance for his children’s children” (Proverbs 13:22). But in affluent modern cultures, inheritances are usually windfalls to people who have regular income and far more than they need. The circumstances that made large family inheritance essential in the ancient Near East simply do not exist in contemporary America.
Andrew Carnegie called inherited wealth “an almighty curse.” Henry Ford stated, “Fortunes tend to self-destruction by destroying those who inherit them.” God says, “An inheritance quickly gained at the beginning will not be blessed at the end” (Proverbs 20:21). We should not transfer wealth to adult children unless we’ve successfully transferred wisdom to them. Without wisdom, wealth will not only be wasted but will damage our children by subsidizing addictions, laziness, and immorality.
Death isn’t your best opportunity to give — it’s the end of your opportunity to give. Giving is voluntarily parting with an asset. We have no choice but to leave money behind when we die, so designating where it goes, though wise, is not sacrificial. John Wesley made a great deal of money on his books and hymns — about £50,000 in all. Yet at his death his estate was worth only £28 because he had generously given it to the cause of Christ.
Chapter 21 — In the Family
One practical approach to teaching children about money: give each child three jars labeled “Giving,” “Saving,” and “Spending.” Every time they earn money, they put at least 10 percent into the giving jar first, then distribute the rest between the other two. Once money goes into the giving jar, it is dedicated to the Lord. Children can transfer money toward giving or saving, but not in the other direction.
An effective way to teach children how to spend money properly is to show them how you spend it. Few things are more valuable than teaching the discipline of saying no. Model delayed gratification. If your child wants a brand-new bicycle, offer to loan him the money at the going rate of interest — by the time he pays off the debt, he will never forget the cost of borrowing.
Chapter 22 — In the Church
Jesus told us never to give in order to be seen by others (Matthew 6:1). Yet he also said, “Let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father” (Matthew 5:16). There is a way to talk about every good deed, including giving, that does not involve self-praise but instead brings praise to God and illumination and encouragement to others.
Ask people at your church to point out giving warriors — people who chose a modest, debt-resistant lifestyle so they can give away 100 percent above that to God’s kingdom. The fact that the term “giving warrior” isn’t even in our vocabulary says it all. Better to be seen as fools now in the eyes of other people than to be seen as fools forever in the eyes of an audience of One whose judgment is the only one that will ultimately matter.
Conclusion — Money Management and an Eternal Investment Mentality
We will never manage God’s money well unless we truly believe it is God’s money. Life becomes much clearer when we abandon the false god of our ownership, which manifests itself in a deadly spirit of entitlement. A test of our stewardship is whether we ask God to show us what to do with his money. If we don’t consult him, no matter what we say, we’re behaving as if we were owners, not stewards.
Jesus said it plainly: “If you are faithful in little things, you will be faithful in large ones. But if you are dishonest in little things, you won’t be honest with greater responsibilities. And if you are untrustworthy about worldly wealth, who will trust you with the true riches of heaven? … No one can serve two masters … You cannot serve both God and money” (Luke 16:10–13).