Being Faithful With Money

What did Jesus mean when He said that we were to give to God what was due to God? Did He mean that we were to give Him our tithes (10% of our income). Under the old covenant, that was all that the Israelites had to give to God. That was God's due. Once they had done that, the rest was their own. But under the new covenant it is different. Jesus demonstrated by His own life that we are to give 100% to God. Jesus said to His Father, "ALL THINGS that are Mine are Thine" (Jn.17:10). He came to deliver us from the bondage of the Law (the bondage of tithing) and to bring us into the glorious freedom of grace (the freedom that comes from giving 100% to God cheerfully). We give everything to God, not because of some commandment to do so, but first of all, because we recognise that everything is lawfully His in any case. "The earth is the Lord's and all it contains (whether houses, lands, gold, silver or whatever)" (1 Cor.10:26). If we have earned much, we should not forget that "it is the Lord Who gives us power to make wealth" (Deut.8:18). So our money is not our own for us to use as we like. We cannot spend, or lend, or give our money to anyone, without asking the Lord for specific directions in each case - because all our wealth is His now.

Secondly, we give the Lord everything, because we love Him with all our hearts. Our money is now held in a joint- account with our heavenly Bridegroom. We don't keep a separate account for ourselves, and give Him 10% every month!! No. We say, "LORD, ALL THAT IS MINE IS THINE". Only such a man can say that he loves God and hates Mammon. To be faithful with money means therefore that we love the Lord so much that we spend the minimum necessary on ourselves - on food, clothes, and in decorating our houses etc., This is the meaning of "forsaking all our own possessions" (Lk.14:33). Even if we have many earthly things, we do not possess any of them any more as our own. We are detached from all material things. Thus we are delivered from worshipping Mammon in our lives. A pure heart is one that has forsaken all earthly possessions. A pure heart is different from a clean conscience. A pure heart is one that has place in it ONLY for God, and no place for Mammon or for anything else. It is through money and through earthly things that God tests a man to see if He can commit spiritual responsibility to him or not.

Jesus said, "If you have not been faithful in the use of unrighteous mammon, who will entrust the true riches to you" (Lk.16:13). God can never use any man in His service whom He has not first tested with Mammon. The reason why many churches lack the prophetic word today, is because their leaders have failed the Mammon-test. The reason why most preachers and believers never get any fresh revelation from God, year after year, is because they are not faithful in the way they use their money. They are lavish in the way they spend money on themselves - on their food, clothing and houses, and even on tourism and sightseeing etc.,

Faithfulness in using mammon also implies avoiding all wastage. After feeding the 5000, Jesus said to His disciples, "Gather up the fragments that nothing may be lost" (Jn.6:12). Jesus hates wastage of every sort. That applies not only to loaves and fishes, but also to time and money. Godliness involves being frugal in expenditure and being careful not to waste anything that God has given us. If we are not faithful in the use of money, then the only understanding we will ever get of God and His Word will be second-hand - from the preaching of others who are faithful. And such a knowledge of God's Word is NOT revelation, but only a dry knowledge of the facts of Scripture. It may be accurate knowledge, but it will lack the anointing of the Holy Spirit. This is the condition of the vast majority of believers today - in all groups.