Not My Money!

Gods Economic Design Recently, while rummaging through some boxes filled with old files and documents, I came across an old bank book from my childhood days and smiled flipping through those printed pages as I saw the gradual growth of the balance from my initial deposit of $10 to its high near $450 before falling as I began to spend it most likely on model cars, comics, and various cool and fun things you enjoy and discover as a kid. These days I try to keep the balance going higher by spending less than what I earn and manage what resources I have within defined parameters for future expenditure when not earning an income which also means managing my expectations of what I want and need to live to enjoy the life God has blessed me with as I seek to fulfill the plans and purpose God has for my life. As many of us have or will experience as you grow older, you begin to take on more responsibility for paying for expenses that used to be covered by your parents rent, house mortgage, utility bills, transportation costs, grocery and restaurant bills and of course to do this means that you need to earn a salary by working for someone or yourself and become part of the larger systems in place where the exchange of goods or services takes place. These places of exchange or markets are facilitated by a mutually agreed upon medium of exchange commonly called money and its within these markets where the value of goods and services are determined by sellers and buyers agreeing to its final price. In Gods wisdom, He has allowed an economic system to form through which humanity is able to exchange each of our effort and creativity or work in the form of goods and services with each other to sustain our lives enjoy this world He created. Unfortunately, the economic system has been corrupted resulting in a misallocation of resources from the self-centered hoarding of resources based upon undeserved value being placed on material wealth, which in fact are transient and hold no eternal value on their own. People go to lengths to exploit their fellow human beings for money and material wealth by abusing and using them as slaves or trapping them into doing atrocious acts. Then you have those willing to sell themselves for money so they can buy luxury goods at one extreme or at another extreme those who compromise themselves because they cannot see any other alternative as they seek to better their own lives. How should we see money beyond meeting the basic daily needs we all have as human beings? What does Jesus Himself think about money and wealth as expressed in Matthew 6 and why do we find it so challenging to view the world in this way? Beyond Contentment Matthew 25:14-30 describes a scene where a boss gives three employees funds to manage each according to their abilities five talents to the first employee, two talents to the second employee and one talent to the third employee and expects a return on those funds when he returns from his journey. As slaves, their basic needs would have been taken care of and so they were able to focus on managing their masters resources. The third employee unfortunately was not focused on his masters

business and chose to just bury the money resulting in his single talent being given to the first employee who managed to double his five talents into ten talents. God gives resources unevenly, but expects the same level of stewardship from each of us in that He expects some level of return on the resources entrusted to us. Are we behaving like the third employee and out of fear does nothing with what God has given us? Do we fail to recognize that God sees in us a level of ability to handle resources in a way that generates a return for Him? Are we worrying to much about what we eat and what we wear (Matthew 6:25-34)? It requires a mindset change in how we see Gods purpose for us and how we determine value. Firstly, we need to recognize that God values each and every one of us (Psalm 139:13) and that He has a plan and purpose for us good works for us to do (Ephesians 2:10) as part of His bigger plan (Matthew 28:1820). Secondly, there needs to be a realization that to effectively fulfill His purposes for us means that we need to be good stewards of the resources He gives us status in family and society, money and material possessions, opportunities in life, relationships, and time and that true value lies not within these resources but in the eternal value that comes with human beings having a relationship with God. If we are able to drive our actions and usage of our resources for the purposes of enabling the achievement of more of Gods created people into an eternal relationship with God, then how we use not only money will fundamentally change how we live every aspect of our lives. As King Solomon begins Ecclesiastes, he states, "Vanity of vanities! All is vanity" and as we read through to the end of this book we discover that the man who had and denied himself nothing concludes that all of life is in vain without God. How are we living our lives and do we yet fully understand for ourselves the lesson that King Solomon has for us? Is God really able to meet all of our needs? Is the pursuit of abundance, wealth and feeling rich really worth our effort only to find at the end it was all in vain because we left out God? Are we fooling ourselves into believing that what we have are blessings from God yet in reality holding them in higher value in our hearts than God and His heart felt purpose and plan for you? How can we mitigate holding transient resources too close to heart? Giving Firstly, lets get it right in our mind: It is not ours. In the Parable of the Talents, the talents given were the boss talents to give. What you have been given is not yours or mine. It is on loan to us and we need to give it all back plus a return. Within this context of only being stewards of resources entrusted to us, what is a meager 10% of the first fruits of what is earned? It is Gods anyway and He can provide more, so what is the real issue? May be it is because you and I dont trust God to provide. Or is it because we believe that it was all our own effort and so are trying to replace God as the Boss. Whether you give to your local church, direct to the needy, to charities or not-for-profit organizations, giving to those who do not have the resources you have in whatever form demonstrates your recognition that what you have is not for your sole enjoyment. Giving acknowledges the blessing you have received from God and helps you become a better steward. If you dont have an issue with giving, whether a tithe or some other percentage or fixed amount, what is the question then to be a good steward in regards to giving? Does it mean that I can give and then forget?

I would argue that part of being a good steward includes both the act of giving AND the act of verifying. For what if the organization you are giving to are themselves not good stewards or prove not to be once discovered? Should you give to them and say to yourself that you are giving to God and from then on it is not your responsibility? Would you take this approach if someone you tasked with managing a lemonade stall at a school fair started to misuse funds? I think not. They would quickly be removed from handling the funds. To be clear on the priority for giving in the Christian context, priority should be given to the local church you attend to ensure they have adequate resources to complete the tasks given to them to serve those attending the services and activities supported by the local church. It is after all the community that you decided to belong to and support. Should it be the full amount to the local church of what you have determined to give? I would say that is for you to decide as a steward of those funds. If they are well resourced, why not provide or dedicate some funds to a church supported ministry or missionary or other gospel oriented organization? The point is to ask questions about what funds are needed and how they will be used Do we really need a new building? Are there other innovative ways to serve people that we could do and better use the funds we have? What really is the purpose of this ministry we want to initiate? Is it really worth spending that much money, or is there a way that we can pilot the initiative before making larger expenditures? Accountability is part of good stewardship. Making others accountable for resources usage is good stewardship. The Bigger Picture Jesus will return one day and what goods you own including what you have in the bank will become worthless. Only those treasures that pass the test of fire will last for eternity those people you have helped along the way in their journey to know and have a personal relationship with Christ. Stewardship is about what you do with what you have, not on how much you have compared to the next guy. Run your own race. Help each other along the way. You are competing against yourself, and to win the real race you need to get as many people across the finish line as possible. True value is in the journey and the people you meet along the way and not what you collect. Be diligent and responsible in managing your resources large or small, because it is the right and proper thing to do. We should spend responsibly enjoying the fruit of our labor in this world God has created, but dont value it more than it is worth. The right mindset will also govern your giving, because what you give towards has purpose and meaning if God is involved and because you have taken the time and interest to ask appropriate questions to whomever you are giving towards. God loves a cheerful giver, who both trusts and verifies.

Andrew Han is a professional derivatives trader with prior experience working for a U.S. multi-national company for 18+ years in various finance roles in Australia, Singapore and the United States. He is presently serving as the committee chairman of Togather.sg and over the years has served the local church in various capacities as a cell group leader, youth group leader and musician.