What to do with our money has been argued about by Christians for centuries. How we should we handle it? Is tithing really a New Testament practice? Should I give money to the homeless guy even though he may use it to buy drugs or alcohol? Some Christians have taught that God wants us all to be rich. Others have taught that God would prefer it if we were all poor. Many people have had money essentially stolen from them in the name of Jesus. I mean, lets face it, when it comes to money, us Christians are a strangely confused bunch.
The rise of the Evangelical movement has brought us to an interesting place when it comes to money. It has brought us to the era of the "good steward." God wants us all to be "good stewards" of our money. We should not be frivolous. We should live within our means. We should save some money for the proverbial rainy day. And these are all great things. Except that being a "good steward" has turned into so much more than just that. Lately, being a good steward has just been a tool to prop up the evangelical "Republican" ideals rather than a tool to preserve the church and the individual from financial trauma.
Now, don't get all freaky on me for throwing the words "evangelical" and "Republican" in there. I myself could be identified by both of those terms in one way or another so believe me when I say I am NOT showing any bias. But I have too often heard that people don't give money to the homeless guy because he may use it to buy drugs and that would mean that they were contributing to his sin and that's not being a good steward of their money. Somehow I think that's just an excuse to NOT give money but rather to keep it for yourself. Besides, you can't be a good "steward" of something that is yours. By definition, a steward is a caretaker of SOMEONE ELSE'S property. So being a good steward means realizing that it's not even YOUR money to begin with. I think Jesus was a great example of this, (no surprise there).
In any Biblical account when Jesus is questioned about money or talks about money, his attitude toward it is always much less arbitrary than ours seems to be. "Give it to Cesar. Give it to the poor. Pay the Temple tax. Here Judas, you be in charge of the money people give us." It seems that when it comes to money, Jesus is a horrible steward by today's "Christian" standard. But wait, He's Jesus. He's our example. He's a living, breathing, flesh and blood example of what it means to live according to God's Word. In fact He IS the word in flesh according to John 1:14. So how can we resolve this "Christian paradox" that Jesus was and is perfect and yet by our standards He was awful with money? It's simple really. We have to pick a side. Do it Jesus' way, or do it the "Christian" way.
Look, I'm not saying you shouldn't use your money wisely and I'm not saying you should just give it all away willy-nilly like. But if you REALLY want to be a "good steward" then you should emulate the ATTITUDE that Jesus had toward it. It is merely a tool. It isn't even near the top of the list of things we should "demonstrate" as Christians. Savvy investing or a high net-worth isn't one of the fruits of the spirit listed in Galatians 5. So what was Jesus' attitude? "...From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded..."(Luke 12:48) If you have been blessed with money, then God will demand that you use it in such a way that you are a blessing to others. Why? Because that is what we are ALL called to be. A blessing to others. Others. Others. Others. That is what Jesus was about. Others. That is what He died for. Others. That is who he asked us to reach out to. Others. That is who he tells us to put first. Others. And that is what being a good steward is about. Others.
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