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10 Principles from God’s Word on Managing His Money (NIV)

By CFA Gladvisor Dr. Don Calhoun

1. God Owns It All and He Has Entrusted Us to Be His Stewards of This Earth and All Its Riches

1 Cor. 10:26: The earth is the Lord’s and everything in it.
1 Peter 4:10: Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms.
Luke 14:33: … those of you who do not give up everything you have cannot be my disciples.
Matt. 6:19-20: Do not store up treasures for yourself on earth… but store up treasures in heaven.

2. Wealth Is Deceitful and We Need Self-Control to Avoid Its Temptations and Harmful Desires

Mark 4:19: The deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things choke the word.
Mark 8:36: What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul?
Luke 12:15: Guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions.
1 Tim. 6:9: Those who want to get rich fall into temptation and many foolish and harmful desires.
1 Tim. 6:10: The love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, some have wandered from the faith.
1 Tim. 6:17-18: Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment.  18: Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share.  In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life.

3. The Lord Will Bless Us Financially and Provide for All Our Needs

Deut. 8:18: Remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth.
Deut. 30:8-9: … follow His commands… God will then make you successful in everything you do.
Prov. 11:24: One man gives freely, yet gains even more; another withholds but comes to poverty.
Prov. 14:23: … hard work brings a profit, but mere talk leads only to poverty;
Psalm 34:10: … those who seek the Lord lack no good thing.
Psalm 37:4: Delight yourself in the Lord; and He will give you the desires of your heart.
1 John 2:17: The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever.
Phil. 4:19: God will meet all your needs according to His glorious riches in Christ Jesus.

4. We Should Seek the Wisdom and Counsel of Others to Make Plans that Can Grow Our Success

Eccl. 7:12: Wisdom is a shelter as money is a shelter, but wisdom preserves those who have it.
Prov. 13:10: Where there is strife, there is pride, but wisdom is found in those who take advice.
Prov. 13:16: A wise man thinks ahead; a fool doesn’t, and he even brags about it!
Prov. 13:20: He who walks with the wise grows wise, but a companion of fools suffers harm.
Prov. 15:22: Plans fail for the lack of counsel, but with many advisers they succeed.
Prov. 20:18: Plans are established by seeking advice.
Luke 14:28: Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Won’t you first sit down and estimate the cost to see if you have enough money to complete it?
James 1:5: If any of you lack wisdom… ask God, who gives generously without finding fault.

5. We Should Have Integrity, Be Diligent and Seek Profit Little by Little (i.e., thru Compound Growth)

Lev. 19:11: Do not steal. Do not lie. Do not deceive one another.
Psalm 112:5: Good will come to those who conduct their affairs with justice.
Prov. 10:4: Lazy hands make a man poor, but diligent hands bring wealth.
Prov. 13:11: Dishonest money dwindles away, but money gathered little by little grows.
Prov. 21:5: The plans of the diligent lead to profit as surely as haste leads to poverty.

6. Be Content with What You Have and Don’t Lust after More Money, Wealth and Possessions

Eccl. 5:10: Whoever loves money never has enough; whoever loves wealth is never satisfied.
Matt 6:24: No one can serve two masters … You cannot serve both God and Money.
Phil. 4:11: Paul shares that he has “learned how to be content with whatever I have.” (NLT)
Heb. 13:5: Be content with what you have, because God has said, “Never will I forsake you.”

7. Give and Serve the Needs of Others and Know that Every Gift Is Important to the Lord

Prov. 3:9: Honor the Lord with your wealth, with the first fruits of all your crops.
Prov. 3:27: Do not withhold good from those who deserve it, when it is in your power to act.
Luke 6:38: Give, and it will be given to you. With the measure you use, it will be measured to you.
Acts 20:35: We must help the weak, knowing that “It is more blessed to give than to receive.”
Phil. 2:3-4: Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of others.
2 Cor. 9:7-8 (NLT): You must each in your heart decide how much to give… “For God loves a person who gives cheerfully.” 8: And God will generously provide all you need.
Mark 12:43-44: Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. She, out of her poverty, put in everything – the only coins she had to live on.”

8. Live in Your Means, Avoid Credit that Leads You Astray and Don’t Let Your Service Be about You

Romans 13:7: Give everyone what you owe: If you owe taxes, pay taxes; if revenue, pay revenue.
Romans 13:8: Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another.
Matt. 6:1: Be careful not to do your “acts of righteousness” before men, to be seen by them.
Matt. 6:3-4: When you give to the needy, do so in secret; then your Father will reward you.

9. Save and Invest Regularly, Diversify Your Investments and Grow Assets to Meet Your Future Goals

Prov. 13:11, NLT): Wealth from hard work grows over time … (Save, Invest and Re-invest)
Prov. 21:20: The wise store up choice food and olive oil, but fools gulp theirs down.
1 Cor. 16:2: On the first day of every week, set aside money in line with your income, saving it up.
Eccl. 11:2: Divide your portion to 7 or 8, for you do not know what misfortune may occur.
2 Cor. 9:6: Whoever sows sparingly (or generously) will also reap sparingly (or generously).
Matt. 25:14-30: In Christ’s “Parable of the Talents,” two Servants were praised for having been faithful in making wise investments with their Master’s goods that earned him a 50% profit.

10. Our Trials Test Our Faith and Produce Perseverance that Builds Our Maturity and Completes Us

God tells us He will meet our needs. If we have struggles, like debt, we often pray for gifts to meet our needs. But James 1 tells us we may need wisdom, and not just more money or possessions. Wisdom can lead us to better decisions that avoid many of our problems, from which our struggles can then be opportunities to learn and grow. If we lack wisdom, we should ask God and it will be given to us, and God assures us He’ll never forsake us. Through faith, we can grow perseverance to become mature and complete, but we must believe. As James 1:2-7 tells us: 2: Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3: because the testing of your faith produces perseverance. 4: Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking for anything. 5: If any of you lack wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you. 6: But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. 7: That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. Such a person is double-minded and unstable in all they do.

Two Additional Lessons from Scripture may well help us identify and grow our Walk:

Luke 8:14-15: The seed that fell among thorns stands for those who hear, but as they go on their way are choked by life’s worries, riches and pleasures, and they do not mature. 15: But the seed on good soil stands for those with a noble and good heart, who hear the word, retain it, and by persevering produce a crop.

1 John 2:17: The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever.