God and Money: a question
of Worship
Biblical Principles to Teach your
Children
Practical Issues
Biblical Principles
• God alone is God.
– He has set his love on us.
– The first and greatest commandment: Deuteronomy 6:49 4 Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. 5 Love
the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and
with all your strength. 6 These commandments that I give you
today are to be upon your hearts. 7 Impress them on your
children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you
walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. 8
Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your
foreheads. 9 Write them on the doorframes of your houses and
on your gates.
Biblical Principles
• People make a god out of money:
17As Jesus started on his way, a man ran up to him and fell on his knees before him. "Good teacher,"
he asked, "what must I do to inherit eternal life?" 18"Why do you call me good?" Jesus answered.
"No one is good—except God alone. 19You know the commandments: 'Do not murder, do not
commit adultery, do not steal, do not give false testimony, do not defraud, honor your father and
mother.'[a]” 20"Teacher," he declared, "all these I have kept since I was a boy." 21Jesus looked at
him and loved him. "One thing you lack," he said. "Go, sell everything you have and give to the
poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me." 22At this the man's face fell.
He went away sad, because he had great wealth. 23Jesus looked around and said to his
disciples, "How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God!" 24The disciples were amazed
at his words. But Jesus said again, "Children, how hard it is[b] to enter the kingdom of God! 25It is
easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of
God." 26The disciples were even more amazed, and said to each other, "Who then can be
saved?" 27Jesus looked at them and said, "With man this is impossible, but not with God; all
things are possible with God." 28Peter said to him, "We have left everything to follow you!" 29"I
tell you the truth," Jesus replied, "no one who has left home or brothers or sisters or mother or
father or children or fields for me and the gospel 30will fail to receive a hundred times as much in
this present age (homes, brothers, sisters, mothers, children and fields—and with them,
persecutions) and in the age to come, eternal life. 31But many who are first will be last, and the
last first."
Biblical Principles
• We are easily blinded to our greed and our ability to
make money into a god:
• Luke 12:15 “Then he said to them, "Watch out! Be on
your guard against all kinds of greed; a man's life does
not consist in the abundance of his possessions.” (c.f.
Colossians 3:5, Ephesians 5:5, where Paul identifies
greed as a form of idolatry)
• “Jesus warns people far more often about greed than
about sex, yet almost no one thinks they are guilty of it.
Therefore we should all begin with a working hypothesis
that “this could easily be a problem for me.”” -T. Keller
Biblical Principles
• No one can serve two masters:
– Matthew 6: 24"No one can serve two masters. Either
he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be
devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot
serve both God and Money.
– I Timothy 6:9-10. 9People who want to get rich fall
into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and
harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and
destruction. 10For the love of money is a root of all
kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have
wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with
many griefs.
Biblical Principles
• God has saved us from our idolatry by grace through faith.
• The poverty of Christ is the means through which we experience the
richness of God’s love;
• 2 Cor 8:9For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that
though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that you
through his poverty might become rich.
• Jesus calls us his treasured people (I Peter 2:9) and commands us
to treasure treasure in heaven: Matthew 6:19"Do not store up for
yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and
where thieves break in and steal. 20But store up for yourselves
treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where
thieves do not break in and steal. 21For where your treasure is,
there your heart will be also.
Biblical Principles
• All of life is to be a living sacrifice:
• Romans 12: 1Therefore, I urge you,
brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer
your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and
pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act
of worship.
• Remember, “in view of God’s mercy.”
Biblical Principles
• Since we belong wholly to God, our money belongs
wholly to God. We are merely stewards.
• Stewardship: a lost concept.
• We are called to give faithfully to the progress of the
gospel, to give generously to those in need, to give
obediently to the civil authorities (Render to
Caesar…/Romans 13), and to provide for the needs of
our household (I Tim 5:8If anyone does not provide for
his relatives, and especially for his immediate family, he
has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.)
Biblical Principles
• What about the tithe? OT 10%
• NT? Tithe affirmed by Jesus in one place: Matthew 23:23: 23"Woe
to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give
a tenth of your spices—mint, dill and cummin. But you have
neglected the more important matters of the law—justice, mercy and
faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting
the former. Tithe is still a good baseline.
• But this misses the point.
• In the NT, we are to give all (Rom 12:1-2).
• Biblical generosity, based on biblical joy.
• We should not be limited by the tithe. Not what MUST I give but how
much can I give?
Biblical Principles
• It is not wrong to be rich, but it is wrong to trust
in riches.
– I Timothy 6:17-19 17Command 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. 18Command them to do good, to
be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing
to share. 19In 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.
Biblical Principles
• It is not a shame to be poor, but our hope is not
in material possessions or lack thereof:
– Matthew 6 28"And why do you worry about clothes? See how
the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. 29Yet I tell
you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like
one of these. 30If that is how God clothes the grass of the field,
which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he
not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? 31So do not
worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or
'What shall we wear?' 32For the pagans run after all these
things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them.
33But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these
things will be given to you as well. 34Therefore do not worry
about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day
has enough trouble of its own.
Biblical Principles
• We are called to contentment in every
circumstance.
– I Timothy 6: 6But godliness with contentment is great
gain. 7For we brought nothing into the world, and we
can take nothing out of it. 8But if we have food and
clothing, we will be content with that.
– Philippians 4:11b-13 I have learned to be content
whatever the circumstances. 12I know what it is to be
in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have
learned the secret of being content in any and every
situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in
plenty or in want. 13I can do everything through him
who gives me strength.
Biblical Principles
• We are called to sacrificial living in every
circumstance
• 2 Corinthians 87But just as you excel in
everything—in faith, in speech, in
knowledge, in complete earnestness and
in your love for us—see that you also
excel in this grace of giving.
Biblical Principles
• Thoughts? Questions? Comments?
• Principles that I failed to discuss?
Practical Issues
• More is caught than taught.
• Have the above principles transformed the
way we think about/treat money?
• What, really, are we teaching our children
through our actions?
Practical Issues
• Be aware of the spheres of cultural
influence and what values those spheres
are instilling.
– Remember, more is caught than taught.
– Spheres of culture: your immediate family
culture, extended family culture, church
culture, social culture (friends), general
culture (geographic region), pop culture
(music, tv, movies, etc.)
Practical Issues
• Spheres of culture case study:Travis McCoy “I wanna be a billionaire”
I wanna be a billionaire so fricking bad/ Buy all of the things I never had
Uh, I wanna be on the cover of Forbes magazine/ Smiling next to Oprah and the Queen
[Chorus] Oh every time I close my eyes/I see my name in shining lights
A different city every night oh/ I swear the world better prepare/ For when I’m a billionaire
Yeah I would have a show like Oprah/ I would be the host of, everyday Christmas/ Give
Travie a wish list/ I’d probably pull an Angelina and Brad Pitt/ And adopt a bunch of
babies that ain’t never had sh-t/ Give away a few Mercedes like here lady have this/ And
last but not least grant somebody their last wish/ Its been a couple months since I’ve
single so/ You can call me Travie Claus minus the Ho Ho/ Get it, hehe, I’d probably visit
where Katrina hit/ And damn sure do a lot more than FEMA did/ Yeah can’t forget about
me stupid/ Everywhere I go Imma have my own theme music
I’ll be playing basketball with the President/ Dunking on his delegates/Then I’ll compliment
him on his political etiquette/Toss a couple milli in the air just for the heck of it/ But keep
the fives, twentys completely separate// And yeah I’ll be in a whole new tax bracket/ We
in recession but let me take a crack at it/ I’ll probably take whatevers left and just split it
up/ So everybody that I love can have a couple bucks/ And not a single tummy around
me would know what hungry was/ Eating good sleeping soundly/ I know we all have a
similar dream/ Go in your pocket pull out your wallet/ And put it in the air and sing
Practical Issues
• Utilizing spheres of culture to teach your
children.
• Take the opportunity to point out the
destructive nature of the love of money
when it is displayed in movies/tv/etc. - (I.e.
workaholic who has no relationships, etc.)
Practical Issues
• Teach the difference between needs and
wants.
Practical Issues
• Teach/model the value of work.
• All honest work is good work.
• The value of earning your living: an act of
worship.
• Exceptions- those who cannot earn their
living.
Practical Issues
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What about gambling?
Is it always wrong. Not necessarily.
However, it is probably foolish.
Danger: greed. Addiction. Love of money,
which leads to foolish behavior.
Practical Issues
• Require your children to contribute to the
household in age appropriate ways
– Younger children:
• Teaching your children to work by inviting them to participate
with you in household chores.
• Teaching them to pick up their toys
– Elementary aged children:
• Chores lists or just school responsibilities? Either way, help
them see that they have a job to do.
– Older children:
• Chores? Part-time jobs?
– All ages: Don’t always give handouts.
– “If a man will not work he shall not eat.”
Practical Issue
• Don’t just follow the Joneses
• Just because your community always buys
things/experiences for your child does not
mean you have to do so as well.
Practical Issues
• How can you make Christmas to be about
more than getting presents?
– Serving as a family in some mercy ministry?
– Limiting the # of gifts that the family gets?
– Asking extended relatives to not give so
much?
– Create special family traditions that nourish
the family relationship.
– Encouraging giving to those who cannot give
in return?
Practical Issues
• Allowance or no Allowance?
Practical Issues
• Teach them not to purchase based on
impulses.
– Tell them (ahead of time) that store managers
like to put candy on kid’s eye level. Just
because its there, you don’t have to buy it.
– Teach them how to plan for making
purchases.
Practical Issues
• 5 Handy Questions for when you are
making a “big” (or any) purchase (from
Dave Ramsey):
– 1. Would you buy this product tomorrow if you
were to wait overnight and think about it?
– Is this item a need or want? Consider your
motives for buying.
– Do you understand the item?
– Is there a better use for the money?
– Have you asked anybody their opinion?
Practical Issues
• Model Proper Stewardship of Money
– Including generosity towards others
– Including constant thankfulness for God’s
provision. (More than just prayer for the food)
– Includes respect for God’s law. (I.e. - what can
you teach your children about honoring God
even through paying taxes?)
Practical Issues
• Encourage proper stewardship of money.
• What do you do when relatives give your
children money?
• How much can they spend? Do they give
proportionately to God? What are they
saving?
Practical Issues
• Stinginess can show that money has too
great a hold on you.
• Lavish spending can show that money has
too great a hold on you.
Practical Issues
• Teaching Generosity:
– Who buys Christmas/birthday/mother’s day
present? You/them?
– Model generosity before them.
– Encourage them to show generosity on their
own.
– Point them to the grace of God in Christ as
what frees us to be generous.
Practical Issues
• Teaching teens to budget. Do you do so
yourself?
– Larry Burkett resources.
– Dave Ramsey Resources.
• Teaching teens to save for the future.
• Teaching teens that they must provide
things for themselves.