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Money! Money! Money! June 16, 2008 By Martin
Schmaltz When I was
a teen, there was a hit song entitled “Money.” This song opened
with the sound of a cash register ringing and began to sing of
the seeming universal desire of man--money! Money is near
and dear to the hearts of most of us. It really doesn't matter
the amount we have that determines its importance. I heard someone
say, “The main thing the millionaire wants is the next million.”
Money is such
a hot topic today. You can buy books, CDs, MP3 files, and videos
by any number of people. There are the wealth gurus like Dave
Ramsey,
the infamous Donald Trump, and many others who have all manner
of methods and resources for us to acquire more money. Everywhere
you turn, it seems money is eventually part of a conversation.
We talk about what we are doing, going to, buying or selling:
or how financially challenged we are. Stop and listen someday
at your local coffee watering hole and see how the people are
discussing money. However, as
much as we hear about money, there is one place we get upset when
it is mentioned--the church! It amazes me that we are so into
finances in the world, yet we do not want it to be a part of our
spiritual lives. Money and the Bible You know,
the Bible has more in it about money and our material possessions
than it has about prayer, heaven, hell or any other topic? It
is one of the most common themes in the Bible and yet we do not
want it mentioned in His house. Many may ask,
“Why are you on money and what does it have to do with spiritual
authority?” Recently, the Lord has shown me in His word that my
financial stewardship will directly affect my ability
to walk in Apostolic authority. The Lord states:
“If therefore you have not been faithful in unrighteous mammon,
who will commit to your trust the true riches?” (Luke 16:11).
The NASU states “unrighteous wealth.” Jesus was saying
“If you can't be trusted with money, how can you be trusted
with spiritual truths?” Jesus and Money The parable
of the talents in Matthew 25 is another example of the Lord associating
our financial stewardship with spiritual authority. In this story,
three individuals were given “talents” to use for the masters
benefit. When this master came to reclaim his resources, two individuals
had doubled what they had been given. The reward that each received
was they were to be made “ruler over many things” (Matthew
25:21, 23). The key to
the application of this story and the use of our money is in the
word translated as “talents.” According to Vine's it is
“talanton, originally "a balance," then, 'a talent in weight,'
was hence 'a sum of money' in gold or silver equivalent to a "talent."
Therefore, the literal interpretation of this is the master gave
them money to use. When he returned, he wanted to see what the
servants had done with his money. The servants
that faithfully used the money received as a reward the placement
as a ruler over many things or placed in authority. This same
principle is seen in Luke 19 and the parable of the pounds. According
to Vine's the word translated for “pounds” is “mna”
it is “a Semitic word, both 'a weight' and 'a sum of money,'
100 shekels.” The reward was the same for those that used
the money effectively; they were given authority over cities. The challenging
truth to apply to my life is this: my stewardship of material
wealth will directly affect the level of authority the
Lord issues to me. That makes me Food For Thought:
How is my stewardship? How have I used my temporal resources for
His kingdom and purposes? © 2008, Martin
Schmaltz ------ Martin Schmaltz it the author of Apostolic Authority, Every Believer's Privilege. He travels ministering the principles of apostolic authority and structure. |
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