IV. Rethinking Wealth

From Ownership to Stewardship

Money affects food, housing, education, provision for old age, choices, and responsibilities. Scripture takes these needs seriously and also asks what place money holds in our hearts. As we use wealth, we need to examine whether wealth has already begun to rule us.

1. Wealth Itself Is Not Sin

Abraham and Job both possessed substantial wealth (Genesis 13:2; Job 1:3). Having resources is not in itself sinful, nor does poverty automatically make a person holier. We need to examine where our resources come from, how we use them, and the place they hold in our hearts.

Paul warns, “For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil” (1 Timothy 6:10, excerpt). His warning concerns the love of money: it can lure people away from the faith and drive many kinds of wrongdoing.

Earning an income honestly, providing appropriately for our families, and preparing for the future can all be responsibilities. Deception, exploitation, concealment, and injustice do not become acceptable simply because they increase wealth. A biblical understanding of wealth concerns both the heart and the actual means by which wealth is acquired.

Those who have wealth need to guard against pride, while those with limited resources can also be drawn by greed. The love of money is not confined to those who already have a great deal. It may also appear in the belief that having just a little more will finally give us worth. Paul connects contentment with godliness, reminding us that we brought nothing into the world and can take nothing out of it (1 Timothy 6:6–8). This teaching helps us take provision for our needs seriously while recognising the limits of accumulation.

2. We Are Stewards Rather Than Absolute Owners

As David prepared resources for building the temple, he prayed, “For all things come from you, and we have given you of your own” (1 Chronicles 29:14, excerpt). He acknowledged that even human giving comes from God’s prior provision. Recognising this source teaches us to treat what we possess with gratitude and responsibility.

Viewing wealth as something entrusted to us means managing it as stewards: acknowledging that we have received what we possess from God and are accountable to Him for how we use it. This does not abolish ownership in everyday life. It helps us recognise that the use of property must also be guided by God’s truth. How we earn, spend, save, borrow, and give must all be examined in light of honesty, justice, and love for others.

Saving may arise from prudence, or it may be driven by fear. Spending may meet legitimate needs, or it may become a way to show off. Giving may express love, or it may become a way to win approval or control others. We need to face the actual amounts and arrangements involved, while honestly examining our motives.

Good stewardship includes planning within our means, keeping commitments, paying debts we owe, and attending to family responsibilities and others’ needs. We can learn gradually through prayer, shared discussion, and trustworthy counsel. In this way, we respond to God not only when making an offering, but also by being accountable to Him in our everyday decisions about earning, spending, saving, and giving.

The responsibilities of stewardship need to shape practical arrangements. A family can regularly review income and expenses together, first considering living needs, commitments already made, and debts owed, then discussing saving and giving. This is more than controlling the amounts involved. It also helps family members communicate honestly and prevents one person’s impulsive spending or concealment from placing avoidable pressure on others.

3. Wealth Cannot Provide Ultimate Security

Jesus told a parable about a rich man who expanded his barns after a plentiful harvest, believing that his stored possessions would guarantee years of ease. God pointed out that the man could not control his own life (Luke 12:16–21). The parable concludes by exposing the condition of someone who stores up treasure for himself but is not rich toward God.

The passage does not condemn all saving. It confronts us with the limits of relying on wealth. Resources can improve our present circumstances, but they cannot guarantee life, remove death, or reconcile us to God. The more wealth we have, the more we need to remember that we remain finite created beings. When we build our security on wealth, we often find it difficult to say, “I have enough.” The more we possess, the more we may fear losing. Jesus reminded His disciples that a person’s life does not consist in the abundance of possessions (Luke 12:15). Acknowledging this enables us to use money to meet real needs while placing our trust in the God who gives life.

Paul therefore urges those who are wealthy not to rely on uncertain riches, but on God, who richly provides everything, and to be generous and willing to share (1 Timothy 6:17–19). This affirms that we may receive what God gives, while calling those who have resources to take responsibility for sharing them.

Trusting God does not mean denying financial pressure. Those facing scarcity need provision, care, and help; they must not simply be told to stop worrying. A community in which people support one another according to their ability also bears witness to God’s grace in everyday life.

4. Wealth Can Be Used to Share and Bless Others

When Zacchaeus stood before Jesus, he declared his willingness to give half his possessions to the poor and repay four times as much to anyone he had defrauded (Luke 19:8). His response involved both giving and restitution for past harm. His changed understanding of wealth took shape in concrete action.

We cannot make the proportions in Zacchaeus’s giving and restitution a standard all believers must follow. Yet we should take seriously what his response shows us: generosity cannot replace justice, and new offerings cannot conceal past deception. If resources have been acquired by harming others, responding to God requires facing our responsibility for restitution and repair.

Wealth can provide for families, care for people in need, support gospel work, and enable appropriate services and development. When Paul encouraged believers to contribute to fellow believers in need, he explained that giving should be according to what people have, not what they do not have. He sought mutual provision, rather than ease for one group and hardship for another (2 Corinthians 8:12–14). Sharing requires love, responsibility, and wisdom.

Using wealth freely involves more than being willing to give when we have plenty. It also means acknowledging our needs and receiving help when our resources are limited. We do not need to prove ourselves by how much we possess or build a sense of superiority through how much we give. We are to manage faithfully before God what we have received.

Giving also requires respect for those receiving help. Helping others should not become an opportunity to demand their obedience, display their circumstances publicly, or demonstrate our own generosity. We can learn about their needs, discuss appropriate ways to help, and take our responsibilities seriously when we can offer continued support. Nor can a single gift take the place of addressing unjust treatment. Whether resources benefit others depends not only on how much we give, but also on how we respect and care for those receiving help.