I have written a new tract on the Christian and his money, which I highly recommend that everyone read. In this tract, I examine what the Bible says the Christian’s attitude towards money should be.
This tract looks at the following topics:
TOPICS:
- The Danger of Covetousness
- Covetousness is an idol
- The requirement for Leaders
- The False Prophet and his Covetousness
- Conclusion
Good topics for this tract are: Finances, Financial advice, loans, etc.
Excerpt
The Requirement for Leaders
Exodus 18:21 Moreover thou shalt provide out of all the people able men, such as fear God, men of truth, hating covetousness; and place such over them, to be rulers of thousands, and rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens:
God makes the requirement that the leaders of God’s people be people who hate greed because this affects their ministry (Exo 23:8; Deu 16:18-19; 1 Sam 8:3; 12:3-4; Isa. 33:15; Eze 22:12). It is important to understand that God imposes the requirement of being totally clean of bribery, greed, and coveting what is not yours honestly as a minimum requirement to enter the ministry.
Note that these verses show that the true man of God is a minister who has rejected riches as the goal of his life. In other word, he so understands his heavenly riches, and he does not seek after or pursue as his life’s goal the earthly riches. Only this type of man is worthy of standing before God’s people to speak. If we applied this unilaterally to all preachers, a lot of them which are really false prophets would be excluded from the ministry. Praise God! Why don’t we obey the Bible in this?
1Tim 3:3 … not greedy of filthy lucre; … not covetous;
1Tim 3:8 not greedy of filthy lucre; Titus 1:7 …not given to filthy lucre;
1Pet 5:2… not for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind;
2Pet 2:14 Having … an heart they have exercised with covetous practices; cursed children: 15 Which have forsaken the right way, and are gone astray, following the way of Balaam the son of Bosor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness;
Isa 56:11 Yea, they are greedy dogs which can never have enough, and they are shepherds that cannot understand: they all look to their own way, every one for his gain, from his quarter.
Jer 6:13 For from the least of them even unto the greatest of them every one is given to covetousness; and from the prophet even unto the priest every one dealeth falsely. Jer 8:10
Mic 3:11 The heads thereof judge for reward, and the priests thereof teach for hire, and the prophets thereof divine for money:
We can even say that this spiritual qualification was what God worried more about repeating so that we understand that this is where men fall more frequently in the ministry. This also applies to every Christian, because the character required in the ministers of God is what is exemplary for all the people of God, and then it is obligatory for everybody.
God identifies as false prophets these men pretending to be ministers of God, because they 1Tim 6:5 that gain is godliness: Paul understood these men as having corrupt minds, destitute of the truth. Paul’s command was “from such withdraw thyself.” I cannot emphasize enough the importance of examples that influence spiritually to cause imitation of the same in others. You copy what you see. This is why every minister has to declare war against greed and covetousness. The mistake of false prophets is to place importance and priority upon possessions, wealth, and not highly esteem eternity over these things. N.T. ministers also regularly reminded their followers of this rule of God for all. They lived it. Acts 20:33 I have coveted no man’s silver, or gold, or apparel. (Num 16:15; 1Sam 12:3-5; 1Cor 9:12, 15, 18; 2Cor 7:2; 11:9; 12:14).
It is a tedious balance that a true godly minister must maintain. While he must contend with the needs of his family, he cannot be seen as pursuing (especially eagerly pursuing) money, riches, luxuries. The church has the responsibility to meet his economic needs. They must make sure he is not suffering. But he is not to put excessive time and energy into his own financial situation. He must live free from following the earthly so that he can follow the heavenly.