Page 29 - Cedarville Magazine Spring 2013 Volume 1 Issue 1
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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
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