Cedarville Magazine, Spring 2013

The Bible and Stewardship The Bible has much to say about our “stewardship responsibilities” in the area of money and possessions. God is the owner of all of the world’s money and possessions, and we are his money managers. The Bible indicates that “ the love of money ” — not money — “is the root of all kinds of evil” (1 Tim. 6:10). The Bible contains 2,350 verses about handling money or possessions. Additionally, two-thirds of the parables Jesus Christ taught in some way relate to money or possessions. Why is there somuchwritten in the Bible on this topic? The answer, I believe, is that money is the number one competitor with Jesus Christ for our love and devotion. Jesus Himself said, “No one can serve twomasters; for he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money” (Matt. 6:24). There is obviously a strong relationship between how we handle money and howwe live out the Christian life. Howwe handlemoney is an external, visible indicator of the condition of our hearts and our relationship with Christ. Based on these words of Jesus Christ, I believe our financial stewardship is one of the highest measures of our spiritual maturity. Seven Critical Financial Mistakes In my 15 years of teaching personal financial management, along with my biblical financial coaching experience, I have identified seven critical financial mistakes that individuals and families make in managing God’s money: 1. Failing to live on a budget, spending more than you make 2. Neglecting to have an emergency fund 3. Taking on excessive debt 4. Making poor spending decisions, especially on major purchases 5. Having an ineffective savings plan 6. Failing to set long-termfinancial goals 7. Overlooking giving as an important part of financial stewardship These seven mistakes tend to function together. Once the first three mistakes occur, the other four are natural outcomes of a failure to establish and implement a financial plan. I believe that “proper prior planning prevents poor performance,” and this certainly applies to money management. A person can be highly educated, professionally successful, and still know little about personal financial management. Effectiveness in professional endeavors does not result in effectiveness in personal financial management. These skills are separate and distinct, and should be learned early in life for application as an adult. Preparing Students for Service Cedarville’s mission, in part, indicates that we are preparing students for lifelong Christian leadership and service. Christians are saved to serve, which means we serve Christ by serving others. If we cannot effectively steward the money and possessions God has entrusted to us, we have a diminished ability to serve others in our ministry, particularly if we “can’t afford” to be generous to our churches, to our neighbors, and to people in need. Inorder to be societal rolemodels, Christians should demonstrate high moral character in their personal and professional lives, and must practice effective financial stewardship of God’s money and possessions. Proper stewardship training, which should begin at home and continue through the educational system, prepares individuals to provide for their families, support the cause of Jesus Christ through financial giving to Christian ministries, while providing godly service to others. Effective stewardship provides the ability to both serve the body of Christ and give to the four categories identified in the New Testament — the poor, needy, widows, and orphans. The chief end of mankind is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever. It is important to understand that becoming an effective steward of God’s money and possessions enhances our ministry opportunities, personal confidence, marital relationships, family well-being, and professional stability. These benefits make training and education in personal financial management a worthy academic objective for lifelong Christian leadership and service. Once again, the demonstration of godly financial stewardship is one of the highest measures of our spiritual maturity. Patrick Oliver is an Assistant Professor of Criminal Justice and the Director of the Criminal Justice program at Cedarville. He has been a Crown Financial Ministries facilitator for 15 years. You may contact him at poliver@cedarville.edu. Cedarville Magazine | 29