I find that whenever I talk about using our money to help others, Christian people become eerily silent. Money is a sensitive subject. However, if we are striving to be like Jesus, and we truly want to obey God’s Word, then we will obey all of it, even the parts that command us to use our money to help people. With that in mind, we should pray that the Holy Spirit will speak to our heart and open our eyes to any area in our life where we may be in disobedience.
Money — We earn it. We spend it. People save it, while others invest it. We often hope to get more of it. We may even pray for it. Wars have been fought over money. Marriages have ended because of money. Governments, businesses, and families all make decisions based on money. But is our money really our money?
We certainly act like it is, spending every dime we get on the latest fashion trends, gadgets, cars and trucks; giving our kids everything they want; striving to own as much as the people around us. We do all of this without ever asking if this is how God wants us to spend our money.
What Does God’s Word Say?
We need to turn to God’s Word to see what it says about money, and it has a LOT to say about it. There are 2,300 Bible verses about money, and Jesus taught about money in 11 of his 39 parables.
Most of us are aware that the Bible speaks about giving our tithe, or one-tenth of our earnings, to God. So the rest of it is all for us, right? The answer is NO!
Many people believe that their money is their money. They feel like they have earned their money and therefore deserve to keep it for themselves. They may think that the poor and needy people are in a bad financial situation because they did not work hard enough or spent their money carelessly. Therefore, they believe that not helping them is justified.
However, when we become followers of Jesus Christ, we give up control of our money. It is not up to us to spend or save it how we please. That is God’s decision, and He clearly instructs us throughout His Word to use our money to help our neighbors who need help. So who exactly is our neighbor? Here’s a clue – It’s not just the people who live beside us.
Help Our Neighbor
Our neighbor is anyone of any race, gender, background, or status in society. They may be a friend or an enemy, someone we know, or a complete stranger. Jesus explained how we are suppose to love our neighbor as ourselves. Therefore, we are suppose to help our neighbors when they need help, and we must not refuse to help anyone who needs it.
Remember the parable of the Good Samaritan in Luke 10? The Samaritan man helped the wounded Jewish man lying beside the road. What is so ironic about this story is that the Samaritans and Jews hated each other, and they avoided each other at all costs. Nevertheless, the Samaritan man used his own money to help care for the wounded man. He gave of his time and money to help his neighbor, and in doing so, he did exactly what Jesus said we should do.
In the Scripture
The following Bible verses tell us how we should use our money and other resources to help others.
- If anyone has enough money to live well and sees a brother or sister in need and refuses to help–how can God’s love be in that person? I John 3:17 NLT
- I tell you, use your worldly resources to benefit others and make friends. In this way, your generosity stores up a reward for you in heaven. Luke 16:9 NLT
- They [those who fear the Lord and delight in obeying His commands] give generously to those in need. Their good deeds will never be forgotten. Psalms 112:9 NLT
- All goes well for those who are generous, who lend freely and conduct their business fairly. Psalm 112:5 NLT
- The generous prosper and are satisfied; those who refresh others will themselves be refreshed. Proverbs 11:25 NLT
- Sell what you have and give to those in need. This will store up treasure for you in heaven. Luke 12:33 NLT
- And if you are untrustworthy about worldly wealth, who will trust you with the true riches of heaven? Luke 16:11 NLT
- So give to the needy what you greedily possess, and you will be clean all over. Luke 11:41 NLT.
- But how terrible it will be for you Pharisees! For you are careful to tithe even the tiniest part of your income, but you completely forget about justice and the love of God. You should tithe, yes, but you should not leave undone the more important things. Luke 11:42 NLT.
- In Luke 16:19-31, Jesus tells the parable of the rich man and the beggar, Lazarus. This parable shocked the Pharisees because the rich man went to hell and the poor man went to heaven. The Pharisees thought that the amount of money a person had was in direct alignment with how righteous they were. However, the rich man went to hell NOT because he had money, but because he was selfish and did not use it to help Lazarus.
Look for Opportunities to Help Others
If we are actively listening to what is going on around us, we will begin to notice many opportunities where we can help other people. However, we have to be focused on those around us and not on ourselves.
We are literally surrounded by people who need our help, in our communities, at our jobs, in our family and amongst our friends, just to name a few. Some of us may not have a penny to spare, but some of us do and can help those who need it. I am talking about giving selflessly of our money and other resources to people in need, with no judgment about their life and their spending habits. What an awesome way to show the love of Jesus to those around us.
Lean in to the Holy Spirit
We need to pray and ask God to show us people whom He wants us to help in some way. Sometimes, we may have a nagging thought about someone who is in need, and we know that we have the necessary resources to help them. Sadly, more often than not, we dismiss the thought rather than act on it. We may think, “Do they really need my help?” or “Somebody else will probably help them.” However, as with every thing else in our lives, we should pray and ask God for guidance. If God wants you to help that person, the Holy Spirit will tell you and He will show you how you can help. That nagging thought may very well be the Holy Spirit trying to get your attention.
Be Generous and Trust God
Generosity, giving generously to others in need, shows that our trust is in God and not in our money for our security. We trust that God will provide for us, even if we give part of what we have to others.
Jesus would not say, “Sorry you’re going through this, but I can’t help you right now.” While thinking to himself, “I’ve got some extra cash, but I am saving it for a new boat (car, house, clothes).”
God Will Bless You
At some point down the road, you may have a need. Something unexpected could happen in your life, something completely out of the blue, and it could drain your finances. Things happen. People get caught in situations that they never could’ve dreamed of, and they feel helpless and hopeless. However, if you do end up in a situation like that, God will remember your generosity, and He will repay you for it. I know because I have seen it firsthand.
If we love God and truly want to obey Him, then we will study what He says about using our money to help others. We will take His words to heart and make a change in how we give. Let’s ask God to align our thoughts about money with His.
I do not believe one can settle how much we ought to give. I am afraid the only safe rule is to give more than we can spare. In other words, if our expenditure on comforts, luxuries, amusements, etc, is up to the standard common among those with the same income as our own, we are probably giving away too little. If our charities do not at all pinch or hamper us, I should say they are too small. There ought to be things we should like to do and cannot do because our charitable expenditure excludes them.
C.S. Lewis
