IT’S GOD’S MONEY, NOT OURS. WE ARE STEWARDS.
A Christian is a steward. A steward is one who manages the belongings of another. The money that God has put into our wallets and into our bank accounts is not ours to waste. Instead of seeing our finances as a boss giving us a paycheck we must see it as a boss giving us his money, and later requiring us to return to him so that we can show him how we used it, and all of the great investments we made for Him (Matt 25).
DENY YOURSELF, LEARN CONTENTMENT
One of the best commands that anybody can give to you about finance in the Christian life is this: deny yourself. Deny yourself at least some of the pleasures you can afford, but don’t need to buy. Some worldly pleasures are okay for us to have. Accept them as an enjoyable gift from God. Jesus drank wine, for example. Wine is an enjoyable gift from God, but our Lord was not a wine-glutton and He never got drunk. So do like Jesus did and take your pleasure of this world in moderation. Don’t make it a habit to buy any and everything that your heart desires. Have the discipline to deny yourself while keeping a good attitude. “Instead of grabbing this luxury which would be nice for me to have, I can use this money to benefit somebody else’s need rather than my own pleasure, or I can save it for the needs of myself and my family later in case we need it at that time more than we do now. Or perhaps I can find a better deal in the future which will not be so wasteful.”
Strive to live simply. You can say to yourself, “Do I really need this? People have gotten by without it for the last 6000 years so I think I’ll be ok without it.” “For we brought nothing into the world, and it is clear that we can carry nothing out. But having food and clothing, we will be content” - (1Ti 6:7-8). Everything in this world that you can see with your eyes is going to perish one day. This means that the only things that last are things you can’t see. Learn to satisfy yourself with the Lord, rather than the feasting of your eyes and flesh.
Beware of greed and obsession with material things. Remember that “there’s enough in this world for every man’s need, but not enough in this world for even one man’s greed.” Learn contentment. Contentment means being happy with what you have, and not constantly chasing after more. A discontent man can never be happy. For “he that loveth silver shall not be satisfied with silver”(Eccl 5:10). A content man can be happy even being poor. The poorest content man in the world has much more joy than the richest discontent man.
“I have learned to be content in whatever state I am” - Paul
“Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.” - (Heb 13:5)
Instead of striving after pleasures which would fulfill your desire for a time, seek the Lord for the spiritual gift of contentment, which will make you permanently satisfied.
GIVE JOYFULLY AND EAGERLY TO THE LORD’S WORK AND TO OTHERS
If we love the Lord then we will give to Him eagerly, not grudgingly. Where a persons’ heart lies, their pocketbook will lie also. Here is a test to see what someone cares about: ask them this question - where does all of your money go? I once knew a man who spent every last cent of his paycheck on fixing up his old sports car. Nobody doubted where his heart was. It was tied tightly into his car. This was obviously not a Christian man. A Christian’s outlook is much different. Recently I saw a video taken in Africa documenting a missionary running a Christian church. One day after the sermon was over the congregation of about fifty people eagerly leapt forward to the front to offer up fruits, vegetables and animals on the table. One woman was distraught because she didn't have anything to give to the Lord (she happened to be a childless widow who had lost her husband and children similar to the woman in Mark 12:42). So she went out and sold herself as a slave for life on a plantation! In exchange for this she got a single silver dollar coin. The next time church service ended she joyfully went forward and placed that one dollar silver coin onto the table, and now her joy was complete. The Lord gave His life for her, so she happily gave her life for the Lord. This woman’s example is the way that giving should be. We should be eager to give our money to the Lord as this poor widow was. We should be eager to share with others in need. Don't look at the money you have as your own, but look at it as belonging to the Lord and to the rest of the people in your life that need it. Then it will be easier to give joyfully.
Don’t require people to pay you back when you lend them money. If they pay you back consider it a bonus. If not, consider it your gift to them. Remember that it’s more blessed to give than to receive (Acts 20:35). Whenever you give to people give with the intention that it is a gift. You’re not giving so that they can pay you back, but you’re giving it to them so that they can have it. I’m not saying this as a strict rule because it’s not in the bible, but for the ones that can afford it I’ve found it to be wise advice. Give what you can afford to give away permanently and do not be a stickler to people that cannot pay it back. After all, our Father in Heaven gave His Son’s life knowing that we can never pay that back. The cup that we fill and give to others, God will fill and give back to us. If we give a large, full cup to others, God will give a large, full cup to us… and His large cup is much larger than our large cup! A man once amassed wealth while constantly giving it away. When asked how he was blessed with such finances while giving so much he replied, “I shovel money out to others, and so God keeps shoveling it to me… but He has a bigger shovel.” God will reward the generous in one way or another - not always with money, but with His choice of reward which is best for us.
CHASING AFTER MONEY
Don't chase after money. If you have to sacrifice family time and time with the Lord when you already have an income that supports your needs, then don't go chasing after the promotion which will suck your life away in order to make a few extra bucks. Never ever chase after money like this. If your life with the Lord will be hurt by pursing a job or a promotion then stay where you are. There’s a point you hit where you have to be satisfied with the amount of money you make. How much does the bible say to make? It doesn't give a dollar amount of course but it does give us the principle. The principle is this - make enough money to support yourself, your family, and then some extra to give to others and to support the Lord's work.
STINGINESS
Don’t be stingy with your money - this means don’t always think about the cost of things. A stingy person is always thinking about the cost of things when they have plenty of money to go around. Even if they have a large amount of money it hurts them when they see their bank account dwindling even by a few dollars! Proverbs 23 says of these people not to eat of their food. For a man like this says, “Eat and drink” but in his heart he is really thinking about the cost. With his words he blesses but not with his heart… he grudgingly gives, not happily. This is a stingy person. If you’re always thinking about the cost and it hurts you to give even a little money for the benefit of other people then you need to ask the Lord for deliverance from stinginess.
BE CAREFUL OF BORROWING, PAY OFF YOUR DEBT, STAY OUT OF DEBT
The best thing is not to have any debt, for "The rich rules over the poor, and the borrower is the slave of the lender" - Prov 22:7. A mortgage and a new car loan are not sins to obtain and have. Yet their owners have much larger burdens to bear (for years to come) than a person who rents a house, and buys a cheaper used car. It is not sin to borrow of course because there are faithful examples in scripture of people who borrow and lend. But if you are capable, the best thing is to not borrow at all. “Owe no man any thing, but to love one another: for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law.” - (Rom 13:8)
If you are in debt, pay it off as quickly as you wisely are able and have opportunity.
"The wicked borrows but does not pay back" - Ps. 37:21a
" Do not say to your neighbor, 'Go, and come again, tomorrow I will give it' when you have it with you." - Prov 3:28
SAVE
Proverbs 6:6-8 says that even the ant is wise enough to store away some food for the winter. If you think of how small an ant is, how big can its brain be? Can a human eye even see it? It’s probably smaller than a grain of sand. If even an ant has enough wisdom to store away for winter, how much more should we who have the wisdom of God store away for the hard times? It’s wise to save. Be disciplined enough not to touch this savings unless you or someone else are in a dire situation and desperately need it.