Christian Finances

Jesus talked about money a great deal. He told stories about a rich fool and his barns, a steward who wasted his master's goods, a widow with two small coins, servants entrusted with talents, a merchant who sold everything for one pearl. He warned, "Ye cannot serve God and mammon" (Matthew 6:24). He said, "For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also" (Matthew 6:21).

He talked about money because money is never only about money. It is about what we trust, what we love, what we fear and what we live for. The way a person spends, saves, borrows and gives is one of the clearest windows into his heart.

What this paper is

This is a study of what the Bible teaches about money, and how a Christian can live it. It is not a get-rich plan. It does not promise that God will make you wealthy if you give, and it will argue that teaching which promises that is a serious error. It is also not a set of rules invented by financial gurus and dressed in Bible verses.

It argues from the King James Bible first, reading each text in its setting. Where the history of the church helps — on the tithe especially — the history is given with its sources. And where it speaks about debt, saving and household finances in America today, it uses named, dated figures from the Federal Reserve, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Numbers change; the date is given with each one so you can see how current it is.

Seven parts follow: God's ownership and our stewardship; money and the heart, including the prosperity error; the tithe, read honestly; New Testament giving; debt; work, budgeting and saving; and money in the home and the church.

A word about me

I was raised Roman Catholic but never really connected — I went through the motions, fell asleep in the pews, and faked being sick to skip Mass. When real life hit — a lost job, a pregnant wife, constant fights — I went looking for peace anywhere I could find it. New Age, crystals, astral projection, tarot, angel numbers. None of it held.

Eventually I gave up and called myself an atheist. I decided to read the Bible for one reason: to disprove it, so I'd have an excuse to stop going to church for good. It did the opposite. I came to faith in 2022, and my wife came to faith a month later. Today we're raising three kids in a home that was transformed — and I haven't stopped telling people since. The full story is at kylelauriano.com/about.

A lost job and constant fights is a sentence many families know. I mention it because the Bible does not speak about money from a distance. It speaks to people who are worried about the rent.

Every verse in this paper is from the King James Bible. You can read it free in the 1611 Reader at kylelauriano.com/library.

This part matters because everything else follows from it. If my money is mine, then the only questions are how to get more and how to keep it. If it is God's, then the first question is what He wants done with it.

The earth is the Lord's

The Bible begins its teaching on money with ownership. "The earth is the LORD's, and the fulness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein" (Psalm 24:1). Through Haggai He says: "The silver is mine, and the gold is mine, saith the LORD of hosts" (Haggai 2:8).

When King David gathered the materials for the temple — gold, silver, bronze, precious stones, much of it from his own treasure — he did not congratulate himself or the people. He prayed:

“Thine, O LORD, is the greatness, and the power, and the glory, and the victory, and the majesty: for all that is in the heaven and in the earth is thine; thine is the kingdom, O LORD, and thou art exalted as head above all. Both riches and honour come of thee, and thou reignest over all.” (1 Chronicles 29:11-12)

And then: "But who am I, and what is my people, that we should be able to offer so willingly after this sort? for all things come of thee, and of thine own have we given thee" (1 Chronicles 29:14). Of thine own have we given thee. When a believer gives, he is handing back part of what was never his.

Who gave you the power to get wealth?

Moses warned Israel, before they entered a land of plenty, about a particular temptation: that when they prospered they would forget where it came from. "And thou say in thine heart, My power and the might of mine hand hath gotten me this wealth. But thou shalt remember the LORD thy God: for it is he that giveth thee power to get wealth" (Deuteronomy 8:17-18).

Notice that Moses does not say Israel will not work. They will plough, build and trade. But their strength, their skill, their health, the rain on their fields — all of it is a gift. A Christian who earns a good salary has worked for it. He has also been given the mind, the body, the opportunity and the very breath to do the work.

Stewards, not owners

If God owns, then we manage. The Bible's word is "steward" — a servant entrusted with his master's household and goods. "Moreover it is required in stewards, that a man be found faithful" (1 Corinthians 4:2).

Jesus' parables make the picture vivid. In the parable of the talents (Matthew 25:14-30), a master entrusts different amounts to three servants and goes away. Two put the money to work; one buries it. When the master returns, he says to each faithful servant, "Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord" (Matthew 25:21). The amounts differ; the standard is the same. Faithfulness.

In Luke 16 Jesus tells of a steward "accused unto him that he had wasted his goods". The master's word is the word every steward will one day hear: "give an account of thy stewardship" (Luke 16:1-2). And Jesus draws the lesson:

“He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much: and he that is unjust in the least is unjust also in much. If therefore ye have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches?” (Luke 16:10-11)

Money is "that which is least". It is not the most important thing. But how we handle the least shows whether we can be trusted with the true riches.

Wesley: "not as a proprietor, but a steward"

John Wesley, the eighteenth-century evangelist, preached a sermon on this text called "The Use of Money". He put the principle sharply:

"When the Possessor of heaven and earth brought you into being, and placed you in this world, he placed you here not as a proprietor, but a steward: As such he entrusted you, for a season, with goods of various kinds; but the sole property of these still rests in him, nor can be alienated from him."¹

Wesley summed up the Christian's duty in three rules that have been quoted ever since. The first: "Gain all you can" — "by honest industry," without hurting your body, your soul or your neighbour. The second: "Save all you can" — not hoarding, but refusing to waste money on "idle expenses". The third, which he insisted gave meaning to the first two: "Having, First, gained all you can, and, Secondly saved all you can, Then 'give all you can.'"² Wesley warned that a man who only gains and saves, and stops there, has done "nothing": "You may as well throw your money into the sea, as bury it in the earth."³

What stewardship changes

Stewardship changes the questions we ask.

• Not "Can I afford it?" but "Is this a faithful use of what God has entrusted to me?"
• Not "How much should I give to God?" but "How much of God's money should I keep for my family's needs?"
• Not "What do I deserve?" but "What will I say when I give account?"

It also brings freedom. An owner carries the weight of everything he has; a steward knows that the Master is responsible for the estate. "Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you" (Matthew 6:33).

This part matters because money is not neutral. Scripture treats it as a rival god that competes for our trust. And in our own day a whole school of teaching has turned the gospel itself into a way to get money. A Christian needs to see both dangers clearly.

Mammon

Jesus personifies money as a master: "No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon" (Matthew 6:24). "Mammon" is an Aramaic word for wealth or riches. Jesus does not say it is hard to serve both. He says it cannot be done.

Money makes promises that only God can keep: security, freedom, significance, rest. That is why it so easily becomes an idol. The rich fool in Luke 12 believed his barns could give his soul rest:

“And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry. But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided? So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.” (Luke 12:19-21)

Jesus introduced that parable with a warning: "Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man's life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth" (Luke 12:15).

The love of money

Paul's most famous words on the subject are often misquoted as "money is the root of all evil". What he wrote was this:

“But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. And having food and raiment let us be therewith content. But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition. For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.” (1 Timothy 6:6-10)

The danger is not money but the love of it, and the will to be rich. Paul says it has made some believers "err from the faith". That is not a small warning.

The Preacher adds that money never satisfies: "He that loveth silver shall not be satisfied with silver; nor he that loveth abundance with increase: this is also vanity" (Ecclesiastes 5:10). Jesus said the same thing in the parable of the sower: "the cares of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts of other things entering in, choke the word, and it becometh unfruitful" (Mark 4:19).

Contentment

The Bible's answer to the love of money is contentment, and it grounds contentment in God's presence: "Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee" (Hebrews 13:5).

Paul wrote from prison:

“Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content. I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound: every where and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.” (Philippians 4:11-13)

Verse 13 is often used as a slogan for achievement. In its place it means something harder and better: Christ strengthens Paul to be content when he is hungry as well as when he is full.

Proverbs has a prayer every Christian could pray about money:

“Remove far from me vanity and lies: give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with food convenient for me: Lest I be full, and deny thee, and say, Who is the LORD? or lest I be poor, and steal, and take the name of my God in vain.” (Proverbs 30:8-9)

Neither poverty nor riches — because both carry their own temptations.

The prosperity error

There is a kind of teaching, widespread in America and exported around the world, that says God wants every believer to be financially rich, that wealth is a sign of faith and poverty a sign of unbelief, and that giving money to a ministry is a "seed" that God is bound to multiply back to the giver. The historian Kate Bowler has written a full history of this movement in America, Blessed: A History of the American Prosperity Gospel (2013).⁴ This paper does not teach it, and it is worth showing from Scripture why.

It reverses Paul's warning. Paul describes "men of corrupt minds, and destitute of the truth, supposing that gain is godliness: from such withdraw thyself" (1 Timothy 6:5). Supposing that gain is godliness is precisely the prosperity error. Paul's answer in the next verse is "godliness with contentment is great gain" (1 Timothy 6:6).

It misreads its favourite texts. Consider four.

• "Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth" (3 John 1:2). This is a greeting in a personal letter, the ordinary well-wishing of the ancient world. It is not a promise that every believer will be wealthy.
• "Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over" (Luke 6:38). Read the verse in its place. It closes a passage about loving enemies, lending "hoping for nothing again" (Luke 6:35), being merciful and not judging (Luke 6:36-37). The very next words are, "For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again." The point is generosity of heart toward others, not a financial investment strategy.
• "There is no man that hath left house, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my sake, and the gospel's, But he shall receive an hundredfold now in this time, houses, and brethren, and sisters, and mothers, and children, and lands, with persecutions; and in the world to come eternal life" (Mark 10:29-30). The hundredfold "houses... and mothers, and children" is plainly the family of God, the church, which a believer gains when he leaves all for Christ. And Jesus adds two words the prosperity preachers rarely read: "with persecutions".
• "Prove me now herewith, saith the LORD of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven" (Malachi 3:10). Part 3 sets out the whole passage. Whatever a reader concludes about the tithe today, the words were spoken to "this whole nation" about tithes brought "into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house" (Malachi 3:9-10). They are not a promise that a gift to a television ministry will return as a car.

It contradicts the lives of the apostles. Paul described his ministry as "In weariness and painfulness, in watchings often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness" (2 Corinthians 11:27). If wealth is the measure of faith, the apostle to the Gentiles failed.

It treats God's gifts as purchasable. When Simon the sorcerer offered the apostles money for the power to give the Holy Ghost, Peter answered, "Thy money perish with thee, because thou hast thought that the gift of God may be purchased with money" (Acts 8:20). Any teaching that offers spiritual or material blessing in exchange for a "seed gift" stands under that rebuke.

What God does promise His people is provision, not riches: "your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things" (Matthew 6:32). Paul echoes it: "But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus" (Philippians 4:19). Need, not greed. David could say, "I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread" (Psalm 37:25) — a testimony to God's care, not a guarantee of wealth.

Is wealth itself wrong?

No. Abraham, Job and Joseph of Arimathea were rich, and Scripture does not condemn them for it. Paul does not tell rich believers to stop being rich. He tells them how to be rich:

“Charge them that are rich in this world, that they be not highminded, nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God, who giveth us richly all things to enjoy; That they do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to distribute, willing to communicate; Laying up in store for themselves a good foundation against the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life.” (1 Timothy 6:17-19)

Not proud. Not trusting riches. Enjoying God's gifts with thanks. Rich in good works. Generous. That is the Bible's picture of a faithful wealthy believer. And James warns with fierce words against wealth gained by fraud: "the hire of the labourers who have reaped down your fields, which is of you kept back by fraud, crieth" (James 5:4).

This part matters because the tithe — giving a tenth — is the subject on which Christians are most often told what the Bible says by people who have not read it carefully. Some teach that every Christian must give exactly ten percent of gross income to the local church, under a curse if he does not. Others dismiss the tithe as an Old Testament law with nothing to say to us. This part does neither. It sets out what the King James texts themselves say, passage by passage, in their own words, and reports the history of the church's practice as history. Let the texts speak.

Before the Law: Abraham and Jacob

The first tithe in the Bible is Abram's, after he rescued Lot from the four kings:

“And Melchizedek king of Salem brought forth bread and wine: and he was the priest of the most high God. And he blessed him, and said, Blessed be Abram of the most high God, possessor of heaven and earth: And blessed be the most high God, which hath delivered thine enemies into thy hand. And he gave him tithes of all.” (Genesis 14:18-20)

Notice what the text records. Abram "gave him tithes of all", after a battle; Hebrews calls it "the tenth of the spoils" (Hebrews 7:4). It was given to "the priest of the most high God", who had just blessed him.

The second is Jacob's, at Bethel. After his dream of the ladder, "Jacob vowed a vow, saying, If God will be with me, and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat, and raiment to put on... then shall the LORD be my God... and of all that thou shalt give me I will surely give the tenth unto thee" (Genesis 28:20-22). The text calls it a vow, and Jacob made it in his own words.

So the tithe appears in Scripture before the Law of Moses was given, in the lives of Abram and Jacob.

Under the Law: the tithes of Israel

The Law of Moses made the tithe a standing obligation in Israel. Read together, the passages describe a system tied to the land, its harvests and the tribe of Levi.

The tithe belongs to the Lord. "And all the tithe of the land, whether of the seed of the land, or of the fruit of the tree, is the LORD's: it is holy unto the LORD" (Leviticus 27:30). It included "the tithe of the herd, or of the flock" (Leviticus 27:32). The things named in these verses are produce and livestock.

It supported the Levites. "And, behold, I have given the children of Levi all the tenth in Israel for an inheritance, for their service which they serve, even the service of the tabernacle of the congregation" (Numbers 18:21). The reason was that the Levites had no land: "Among the children of Israel they shall have no inheritance" (Numbers 18:24). The Levites in turn gave "a tenth part of the tithe" to the priests (Numbers 18:26).

There was a tithe eaten before the Lord. Deuteronomy describes a tithe that the worshipper himself ate at the sanctuary in a festival of rejoicing: "And thou shalt eat before the LORD thy God, in the place which he shall choose to place his name there, the tithe of thy corn, of thy wine, and of thine oil... that thou mayest learn to fear the LORD thy God always" (Deuteronomy 14:23). If the journey was too far, he could sell it, carry the money, and buy "whatsoever thy soul desireth" to feast with his household (Deuteronomy 14:26).

Every third year, a tithe for the poor. "At the end of three years thou shalt bring forth all the tithe of thine increase the same year, and shalt lay it up within thy gates: And the Levite... and the stranger, and the fatherless, and the widow, which are within thy gates, shall come, and shall eat and be satisfied" (Deuteronomy 14:28-29; see also 26:12).

How these fit together has been debated for a very long time. The Jewish historian Josephus, writing in the first century, understood the Law to require two tithes every year — "the one for the Levites, the other for the festivals" — and "every third year a third tithe to be distributed to those that want; to women also that are widows, and to children that are orphans."⁵ Other readers have taken the third-year tithe to be the festival tithe redirected to the poor that year. On either reading, the texts describe part of the tithe eaten by the worshipper before the Lord, and part given to the Levite, the stranger, the fatherless and the widow.

Nehemiah and Malachi

After the exile, the returned Jews renewed their covenant and promised to bring "the tithes of our ground unto the Levites" to the temple storerooms (Nehemiah 10:37-38). They failed. Nehemiah found that "the portions of the Levites had not been given them: for the Levites and the singers, that did the work, were fled every one to his field" (Nehemiah 13:10). He restored the system, "Then brought all Judah the tithe of the corn and the new wine and the oil unto the treasuries" (Nehemiah 13:12).

Malachi preached in the same era, and to the same problem:

“Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me. But ye say, Wherein have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings. Ye are cursed with a curse: for ye have robbed me, even this whole nation. Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the LORD of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.” (Malachi 3:8-10)

Notice what the passage itself says. It is addressed to "this whole nation". The tithes are brought "into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house", the same storehouse Nehemiah calls "the treasuries" (Nehemiah 13:12). The promise that follows names the land and its crops: "And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, and he shall not destroy the fruits of your ground; neither shall your vine cast her fruit before the time in the field, saith the LORD of hosts" (Malachi 3:11). The rebuke is plain: God calls the keeping back of tithes and offerings robbery of Him.

Christians read this passage in more than one way. Some take it as God's standing claim on His people's increase in every age; others take it as addressed to Israel under the covenant of Moses. The words are above; weigh them for yourself.

Jesus and the tithe

Jesus mentions the tithe twice. Once, in a parable, the Pharisee boasts, "I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess" (Luke 18:12) — and goes home unjustified. The other is in His woes against the scribes and Pharisees:

“Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone.” (Matthew 23:23)

The text says three things. Jesus is speaking to "scribes and Pharisees". He calls "judgment, mercy, and faith" "the weightier matters of the law", and rebukes them for omitting those. And of the tithe He says, "these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone." Many Christians take this verse as the Lord's word on the tithe for His people; others note the audience and the time, before the cross. The words are His; read them as written.

Hebrews 7

The longest New Testament passage about tithing is Hebrews 7. Its point is not to command tithing but to prove that Christ's priesthood, "after the order of Melchisedec", is greater than Levi's. The argument runs: Abraham gave a tenth to Melchizedek, and Levi, still "in the loins of his father", in a sense gave it too; the one who receives the tithe is greater than the one who gives it; so Melchizedek's order is greater than Levi's (Hebrews 7:1-10). "Now consider how great this man was, unto whom even the patriarch Abraham gave the tenth of the spoils" (Hebrews 7:4).

The chapter also says: "And here men that die receive tithes; but there he receiveth them, of whom it is witnessed that he liveth" (Hebrews 7:8). Readers differ on what that verse implies for the church; the text is given here as it stands.

What the New Testament does command

When the letters to the churches instruct Christians about giving, these are the words they use — and they are demanding.

• Regular and proportional. "Upon the first day of the week let every one of you lay by him in store, as God hath prospered him" (1 Corinthians 16:2).
• Willing and according to means. "For if there be first a willing mind, it is accepted according to that a man hath, and not according to that he hath not" (2 Corinthians 8:12).
• Generous. "He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully" (2 Corinthians 9:6).
• Cheerful and from the heart. "Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver" (2 Corinthians 9:7).
• Supporting those who teach. "Even so hath the Lord ordained that they which preach the gospel should live of the gospel" (1 Corinthians 9:14). Again: "Let him that is taught in the word communicate unto him that teacheth in all good things" (Galatians 6:6). Elders who labour in the word are "worthy of double honour" (1 Timothy 5:17-18).
• Caring for the poor. "Only they would that we should remember the poor; the same which I also was forward to do" (Galatians 2:10).

What the early church did

The earliest Christian writings after the New Testament are history, not Scripture, but they show how some early believers practised giving.

The Didache, a short church manual usually dated to the late first or early second century, tells Christians to give "every first-fruit" of their produce, flocks and dough to the prophets, "for they are your high priests", and "if you have not a prophet, give it to the poor". Of "money (silver) and clothing and every possession," they are to "take the first-fruit, as it may seem good to you, and give according to the commandment."⁶ For money and goods, the manual leaves the amount "as it may seem good to you".

Irenaeus of Lyons, writing around 180, contrasted the Law and the gospel this way: the Lord, "instead of the law enjoining the giving of tithes, [He told us] to share all our possessions with the poor."⁷ Elsewhere he wrote that the Jews "had indeed the tithes of their goods consecrated to Him, but those who have received liberty set aside all their possessions for the Lord's purposes, bestowing joyfully and freely not the less valuable portions of their property" — and he pointed to the poor widow who gave all her living.⁸ For Irenaeus, as he wrote it, Christian liberty meant giving more freely, not less.

How the tithe became law again

Over the following centuries the church in the West came to treat the tithe as an obligation. William Fanning's article on tithes in the Catholic Encyclopedia (1912) records that "the earliest positive legislation on the subject seems to be contained in the letter of the bishops assembled at Tours in 567 and the canons of the Council of Maçon in 585," and that "the earliest instance of the enforcement of the payment of ecclesiastical tithes by civil law is to be found in the capitularies of Charlemagne, at the end of the eighth century."⁹ From then on, across much of Europe, the tithe was a church tax enforced by law. That is the history of the practice, reported as history.

The texts, gathered

Here, in one place, is what the King James texts say.

1. Before the Law. Abram "gave him tithes of all" to Melchizedek (Genesis 14:20); Jacob vowed, "of all that thou shalt give me I will surely give the tenth unto thee" (Genesis 28:22). 2. Under the Law. "All the tithe of the land... is the LORD's: it is holy unto the LORD" (Leviticus 27:30); it was given to "the children of Levi" (Numbers 18:21), eaten "before the LORD thy God" (Deuteronomy 14:23), and every third year shared with "the stranger, and the fatherless, and the widow" (Deuteronomy 14:29). 3. The prophets. "Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house" (Malachi 3:10). 4. The Lord Jesus. "These ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone" (Matthew 23:23). 5. Hebrews. "Here men that die receive tithes; but there he receiveth them, of whom it is witnessed that he liveth" (Hebrews 7:8). 6. The letters on giving. "Upon the first day of the week let every one of you lay by him in store, as God hath prospered him" (1 Corinthians 16:2); "Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver" (2 Corinthians 9:7); "For if there be first a willing mind, it is accepted according to that a man hath, and not according to that he hath not" (2 Corinthians 8:12).

Sincere, Bible-believing Christians read these texts and come to different practices. Read them yourself, slowly, in the 1611, with prayer.

The tithes in these texts belong to Israel, the land and the Levites; what the letters give the church is the willing heart: "Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver" (2 Corinthians 9:7). For my part, I do not teach the tithe as a law binding on Christians; I teach the willing heart Paul describes (2 Corinthians 9:7). This is my conviction; weigh it for yourself.

Two things the texts do not say, and this paper will not say them either. Nowhere does Scripture promise that God will make a believer rich in return for a gift (Part 2). And nowhere does it give a man the right to boast of what he gives: the Pharisee who said, "I give tithes of all that I possess", went home unjustified (Luke 18:12-14).

This part matters because the question "how much must I give?" is the wrong first question. The New Testament asks a different one: what does grace do to a person's hands? The answer is that it opens them.

The pattern of the first church

The first believers in Jerusalem gave in a way that still startles us:

“And the multitude of them that believed were of one heart and of one soul: neither said any of them that ought of the things which he possessed was his own; but they had all things common... Neither was there any among them that lacked: for as many as were possessors of lands or houses sold them, and brought the prices of the things that were sold, And laid them down at the apostles’ feet: and distribution was made unto every man according as he had need.” (Acts 4:32-35)

This was voluntary, not a law of the church. When Ananias and Sapphira lied about their gift, Peter told Ananias, "Whiles it remained, was it not thine own? and after it was sold, was it not in thine own power?" (Acts 5:4). Their sin was not keeping some of the money; it was pretending to give all of it. Private property remained; what changed was the heart that held it.

The Macedonians

Paul held up the churches of Macedonia as a model:

“How that in a great trial of affliction the abundance of their joy and their deep poverty abounded unto the riches of their liberality. For to their power, I bear record, yea, and beyond their power they were willing of themselves; Praying us with much intreaty that we would receive the gift... And this they did, not as we hoped, but first gave their own selves to the Lord.” (2 Corinthians 8:2-5)

Poor people, in a great trial, begging to be allowed to give "beyond their power". The secret, Paul says, is in the last line: "first gave their own selves to the Lord." Giving follows surrender. A Christian who has given himself to the Lord will not find it strange to give his money.

And the motive is the gospel itself: "For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich" (2 Corinthians 8:9).

The widow's mites

Jesus watched the offering one day in the temple:

“And there came a certain poor widow, and she threw in two mites, which make a farthing. And he called unto him his disciples, and saith unto them, Verily I say unto you, That this poor widow hath cast more in, than all they which have cast into the treasury: For all they did cast in of their abundance; but she of her want did cast in all that she had, even all her living.” (Mark 12:42-44)

God measures a gift not by its size but by what it costs. A wealthy believer who gives a tenth and lives in luxury may have given less, in heaven's reckoning, than a poor one who gives a little and goes without.

Giving is a blessing

Paul quoted a saying of Jesus not recorded in the Gospels: "remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he said, It is more blessed to give than to receive" (Acts 20:35). Proverbs agrees: "There is that scattereth, and yet increaseth; and there is that withholdeth more than is meet, but it tendeth to poverty. The liberal soul shall be made fat: and he that watereth shall be watered also himself" (Proverbs 11:24-25).

Is that a promise of financial return? Paul's own explanation is careful:

“And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work.” (2 Corinthians 9:8)

God gives "all sufficiency" — enough — so that the giver can go on giving. The blessing of giving is real, but its purpose is more giving, not more getting. "He that hath pity upon the poor lendeth unto the LORD; and that which he hath given will he pay him again" (Proverbs 19:17) — and the Lord repays in His own coin and His own time.

How to give well

Some practical wisdom from the texts:

• Give first, not last. "Honour the LORD with thy substance, and with the firstfruits of all thine increase" (Proverbs 3:9). Firstfruits means off the top, not from what is left over. Decide your giving when you are paid, before anything else.
• Give regularly. "Upon the first day of the week" (1 Corinthians 16:2). Regular giving guards against both forgetfulness and impulse.
• Give to your local church. The New Testament's ordinary channel for the support of those who teach is the local congregation (Galatians 6:6; 1 Timothy 5:17-18).
• Give to the poor. Not only through institutions, but personally. "But whoso hath this world's good, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him?" (1 John 3:17).
• Give quietly. "But when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth: That thine alms may be in secret" (Matthew 6:3-4).
• Give wisely. Ask how a ministry uses its money. Paul himself arranged for trusted men to carry the collection, "Providing for honest things, not only in the sight of the Lord, but also in the sight of men" (2 Corinthians 8:21). Be wary of any appeal that promises a return on your gift, pressures you with deadlines, or will not say where the money goes.
• Keep records. In the United States, the IRS's guide to charitable gifts is Publication 526, Charitable Contributions. Its current edition (for 2025 returns, checked October 2026) says that you cannot deduct a cash gift "regardless of the amount" unless you keep a bank record or a written receipt from the organization showing its name, the date and the amount, and that for any single gift of $250 or more you need a "contemporaneous written acknowledgment" from the church or ministry.¹⁰ Whether a gift is deductible for you depends on your own return and on rules that change from year to year. This is general information, current as of October 2026, not tax advice; read the current edition at irs.gov, or ask a qualified tax preparer.
• Do not neglect your family to give. "But if any provide not for his own, and specially for those of his own house, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel" (1 Timothy 5:8). Generosity that leaves your children hungry is not what the Bible asks.

This part matters because debt is one of the heaviest burdens many Christian families carry, and one of the most common reasons they cannot give, save or rest. Scripture does not forbid every loan, but it treats debt as a danger and freedom from it as a blessing.

What Scripture says

Debt is a form of servitude. "The rich ruleth over the poor, and the borrower is servant to the lender" (Proverbs 22:7). That is a statement of how things work, not a command, but it is a sober one. A person in debt has handed part of his future to someone else.

Freedom from debt is a covenant blessing; debt a covenant curse. God promised obedient Israel, "thou shalt lend unto many nations, but thou shalt not borrow" (Deuteronomy 15:6; 28:12). Among the curses for disobedience: "He shall lend to thee, and thou shalt not lend to him: he shall be the head, and thou shalt be the tail" (Deuteronomy 28:44).

Debts must be paid. "The wicked borroweth, and payeth not again: but the righteous sheweth mercy, and giveth" (Psalm 37:21). A Christian who borrows is bound by his word.

Owe no man any thing. Paul writes, "Render therefore to all their dues... Owe no man any thing, but to love one another" (Romans 13:7-8). Christians differ on whether this forbids all borrowing or forbids failing to pay what is due. The setting — paying taxes, customs and honour that are owed (Romans 13:7) — suggests the second: do not leave any debt unpaid. Either way, the verse points toward freedom: the only debt that should never be settled is the debt of love.

Do not guarantee another's debts lightly. Proverbs repeatedly warns against becoming "surety" — co-signing:

“My son, if thou be surety for thy friend, if thou hast stricken thy hand with a stranger, Thou art snared with the words of thy mouth... Do this now, my son, and deliver thyself... Give not sleep to thine eyes, nor slumber to thine eyelids. Deliver thyself as a roe from the hand of the hunter.” (Proverbs 6:1-5)

"If thou hast nothing to pay, why should he take away thy bed from under thee?" (Proverbs 22:27).

Lending to the poor should not exploit them. "If thou lend money to any of my people that is poor by thee, thou shalt not be to him as an usurer, neither shalt thou lay upon him usury" (Exodus 22:25). Nehemiah was furious when wealthy Jews charged interest to poor brothers who had "mortgaged our lands, vineyards, and houses, that we might buy corn" and were selling their children into servitude to pay (Nehemiah 5:3-5).

Counting the cost

Jesus used an illustration from building:

“For which of you, intending to build a tower, sitteth not down first, and counteth the cost, whether he have sufficient to finish it? Lest haply, after he hath laid the foundation, and is not able to finish it, all that behold it begin to mock him.” (Luke 14:28-29)

His point was the cost of discipleship. But the illustration assumes ordinary financial wisdom: you do not start what you cannot finish, and you work out the cost before you commit.

The size of the problem today

Household debt in the United States is very large. According to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, total household debt stood at $18.8 trillion at the end of June 2026, up $4.6 trillion since the end of 2019. In the second quarter of 2026, credit card balances rose by $21 billion, or 1.7 percent. About 4.7 percent of all outstanding household debt was in some stage of delinquency, and 10.6 percent of student loan balances were 90 or more days past due.¹¹

Credit card debt is especially costly. The Federal Reserve reports that in the second quarter of 2026, the average interest rate on commercial bank credit card plans was 20.94 percent across all accounts, and 22.15 percent on accounts that were actually charged interest.¹² At 22 percent, a $5,000 balance costs about $1,100 a year in interest alone — before a single dollar of the balance is repaid.

Payday loans are worse. In a 2014 study the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau found that "four out of five payday loans are rolled over or renewed within 14 days," and that for 22 percent of new loans, borrowers ended up renewing six times or more; with a typical fee of 15 percent, someone who takes out a loan and renews it six times will have paid more in fees than he originally borrowed.¹³ That is precisely the kind of lending to the poor that Exodus 22 and Nehemiah 5 condemn.

Is all debt sin?

The Bible does not say so. It regulates lending in Israel rather than abolishing it, and Jesus' parables mention lending and interest without condemning them outright (Matthew 25:27). Many Christians judge that a modest mortgage on a home they can afford, or a loan for a vehicle needed for work, can be a reasonable decision. Others choose to avoid all debt. Both can be faithful.

But a Christian should treat every debt as a serious matter, and some kinds of debt as dangers to flee:

• Debt for things you do not need, especially on high-interest credit cards.
• Payday and title loans, which are designed to trap.
• Co-signing for someone else, which Proverbs warns against again and again.
• Borrowing to give, or to "sow a seed" on the promise of a return. No faithful ministry should ask you to do this.
• Debt you have no realistic plan to repay. "The wicked borroweth, and payeth not again" (Psalm 37:21).

Ask: Why am I borrowing? Is it a need or a want? Can I repay it? What will it cost in total? Have I prayed and sought counsel? "Without counsel purposes are disappointed: but in the multitude of counsellors they are established" (Proverbs 15:22).

Getting out of debt

If you are in debt, there is a way out, and it is usually slow and ordinary.

1. Stop digging. Stop adding new debt. For many people that means putting the credit cards away or closing them.

2. Tell the truth. List every debt: who you owe, how much, the interest rate and the minimum payment. Many people have never seen the whole picture. "Be thou diligent to know the state of thy flocks, and look well to thy herds" (Proverbs 27:23).

3. Build a small cushion. A little cash set aside for emergencies keeps the next car repair from going on a card.

4. Choose a method and keep at it. Two common ones:

• Smallest balance first (the "snowball"). Pay the minimum on everything, and every extra dollar on the smallest debt. When it is gone, roll that payment into the next smallest. This method was popularised by Dave Ramsey, among others, in The Total Money Makeover (2003).¹⁴ Its strength is motivation. A 2012 study in the Journal of Marketing Research by David Gal and Blakeley McShane, using data from a debt settlement firm, found that closing debt accounts was predictive of getting out of debt "regardless of the dollar balance of the closed accounts" — evidence that small, completed steps help people keep going.¹⁵
• Highest interest first (the "avalanche"). Pay the minimum on everything, and every extra dollar on the debt with the highest rate. Mathematically, this costs less in total interest.

Suppose, for illustration, a family owes $1,800 on a store card at 24 percent, $4,500 on a credit card at 18 percent, and $9,000 on a car loan at 7 percent. The snowball and the avalanche both attack the store card first, because it is both the smallest and the most expensive. After that they part ways only if a smaller debt carries a lower rate. The best method is the one you will actually keep doing.

5. Talk to your creditors. Many lenders will discuss hardship plans if you contact them before you fall behind. Be honest and keep your word.

6. Get counsel. Talk to a mature believer who handles money well, or your pastor. Be cautious of any company that promises to make debt disappear for a fee.

7. Keep giving. Even a small, regular gift during a season of debt keeps the heart open and reminds you whose money it is. The New Testament asks for a gift "according to that a man hath" (2 Corinthians 8:12); in a hard season, that may be small, and God accepts it.

This part matters because most of what the Bible says about money is not about giving or debt. It is about the ordinary wisdom of working hard, planning ahead, spending carefully and saving for need.

Work

Work is God's design, not a punishment. Adam was put in the garden "to dress it and to keep it" before the Fall (Genesis 2:15). The New Testament is blunt about idleness: "that if any would not work, neither should he eat" (2 Thessalonians 3:10). Paul commands those who were "working not at all, but are busybodies" to "with quietness... work, and eat their own bread" (2 Thessalonians 3:11-12).

And work has a purpose beyond our own needs: "Let him that stole steal no more: but rather let him labour, working with his hands the thing which is good, that he may have to give to him that needeth" (Ephesians 4:28). We work in order to give.

The Christian works for a higher master: "And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men; Knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance: for ye serve the Lord Christ" (Colossians 3:23-24). And he is to be content with honest wages — John the Baptist told soldiers to "be content with your wages" (Luke 3:14) — while employers are warned, "the wages of him that is hired shall not abide with thee all night until the morning" (Leviticus 19:13).

Proverbs praises diligence and warns against the get-rich-quick spirit in the same breath:

• "He becometh poor that dealeth with a slack hand: but the hand of the diligent maketh rich" (Proverbs 10:4).
• "Wealth gotten by vanity shall be diminished: but he that gathereth by labour shall increase" (Proverbs 13:11).
• "A faithful man shall abound with blessings: but he that maketh haste to be rich shall not be innocent" (Proverbs 28:20).
• "Labour not to be rich: cease from thine own wisdom... for riches certainly make themselves wings; they fly away as an eagle toward heaven" (Proverbs 23:4-5).

That last group is a warning against schemes, gambling and speculation that promise quick wealth without work. "He that hasteth to be rich hath an evil eye, and considereth not that poverty shall come upon him" (Proverbs 28:22).

Budgeting

A budget is simply a plan for money before it is spent. It is the financial form of Proverbs 27:23: "Be thou diligent to know the state of thy flocks." It is also a way to obey Luke 14:28 — to count the cost.

Christians use many methods. Two are common:

• A zero-based budget. At the start of each month, give every dollar of expected income a job — giving, housing, food, transport, debt, saving and so on — until income minus planned spending equals zero. It takes effort, but it leaves nothing unaccounted for.
• A percentage framework. Elizabeth Warren and Amelia Warren Tyagi popularised a 50/30/20 split in All Your Worth (2005): about half of after-tax income for needs, about thirty percent for wants, and about twenty percent for savings and paying down debt.¹⁶ A Christian using a framework like this will want to put giving first, ahead of the "wants".

Whatever method you use, a few principles hold:

• Start with giving. Firstfruits (Proverbs 3:9).
• Plan for irregular costs. Car repairs, insurance, birthdays and Christmas come every year. Set aside a little each month.
• Spend less than you earn. "There is treasure to be desired and oil in the dwelling of the wise; but a foolish man spendeth it up" (Proverbs 21:20).
• Review it. Sit down once a month and compare what you planned with what happened.
• Do it together if you are married (see Part 7).

Saving

Is saving faithful, or is it a lack of trust? Scripture commends it, while warning against hoarding.

The ant saves. "Go to the ant, thou sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise: Which having no guide, overseer, or ruler, Provideth her meat in the summer, and gathereth her food in the harvest" (Proverbs 6:6-8).

Joseph saved a nation by saving. He advised Pharaoh to "take up the fifth part of the land of Egypt in the seven plenteous years... And that food shall be for store to the land against the seven years of famine" (Genesis 41:34-36).

Prudence spreads its risk. "Give a portion to seven, and also to eight; for thou knowest not what evil shall be upon the earth" (Ecclesiastes 11:2). Many readers take this as counsel to diversify, or to be generous to many; either way it assumes that hard times come.

Parents provide for children. "The children ought not to lay up for the parents, but the parents for the children" (2 Corinthians 12:14). And Proverbs: "A good man leaveth an inheritance to his children's children" (Proverbs 13:22).

But hoarding is folly. The rich fool's sin was not saving but trusting his barns and being "not rich toward God" (Luke 12:21). Jesus said, "Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth... But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven" (Matthew 6:19-20).

The difference is the heart. Saving for a need you can foresee is wisdom. Saving because you cannot trust God, or because more is never enough, is idolatry.

The emergency fund

The most practical form of saving is a cash reserve for emergencies. Many American households do not have one. In the Federal Reserve's survey of household finances conducted in October 2025, 63 percent of adults said that if they faced an unexpected $400 expense, they would cover it with cash or its equivalent — unchanged from the three years before, and down from 68 percent in 2021. The same survey found that 73 percent said they were doing at least okay financially, and that only 35 percent of adults not yet retired thought their retirement savings were on track.¹⁷

A small emergency fund is often the difference between a hard month and a new debt. Many families aim first for a modest amount — enough to cover a car repair or a medical bill — and then build toward several months of essential expenses. Keep it somewhere safe and easy to reach, and use it only for real emergencies.

Planning for the future

Beyond emergencies, wise stewardship looks further ahead:

• Retirement. Most people will one day be unable to work. Saving regularly, starting early, is the ant's wisdom applied to a lifetime.
• Insurance. Insurance spreads risk across many people. It is not a lack of faith to insure a home or a life on which a family depends.
• A will. Deciding in advance who will care for your children and how your estate will be handled is an act of love. Leaving it undone often leaves a family in confusion and conflict.
• Counsel. For major decisions, seek advice from people who are both competent and trustworthy (Proverbs 15:22).

This part matters because money is one of the most common causes of conflict in marriage, and one of the most common reasons churches lose their witness. Both the home and the church need clear, godly practices.

Money in marriage

A lost job and constant fights often go together. Financial strain puts weight on a marriage, and differences in how a husband and wife think about money can become a constant source of quarrels. "Better is little with the fear of the LORD than great treasure and trouble therewith. Better is a dinner of herbs where love is, than a stalled ox and hatred therewith" (Proverbs 15:16-17).

Some principles for a Christian marriage:

• One household, one plan. A husband and wife are "heirs together of the grace of life" (1 Peter 3:7). Their money is shared, and their plan should be shared too.
• No secrets. Hidden debts, hidden accounts and hidden spending are a form of deceit. Bring them into the light.
• Talk regularly. A short, calm monthly conversation about the budget prevents many arguments.
• Husbands, lead by serving. "Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it" (Ephesians 5:25). Leadership in money means taking responsibility, listening, and putting the family's good ahead of your own wants — not control or secrecy.
• Honour each other's strengths. Often one spouse is better with details. Use that gift, and keep both involved.
• Agree on giving. Giving should be a joint act of worship, not a source of resentment.

Teaching children

Moses told Israel to teach God's words to their children "when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way" (Deuteronomy 6:7). Money is one of the best everyday classrooms. "Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it" (Proverbs 22:6).

Children learn most from what they see. They will learn from whether their parents give gladly, speak honestly about money, avoid debt, and are content. A few practical habits help: let them earn a little and divide it into giving, saving and spending; let them see you give; talk with them about why your family does not buy everything it could.

Money in the church

Churches handle money that God's people have given to Him. Scripture holds their leaders to a high standard.

An elder must be "not greedy of filthy lucre... not covetous" (1 Timothy 3:3). He is "the steward of God", "not given to filthy lucre" (Titus 1:7). Pastors are to shepherd the flock "not for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind" (1 Peter 5:2).

When Paul carried a large gift from the Gentile churches to Jerusalem, he arranged for others to travel with him, "Avoiding this, that no man should blame us in this abundance which is administered by us: Providing for honest things, not only in the sight of the Lord, but also in the sight of men" (2 Corinthians 8:20-21). That is a principle for every church and ministry: transparency, more than one person handling money, and accounts that can bear inspection.

A believer has every right to ask his church or any ministry he supports how it handles money. Healthy ministries welcome the question. In the United States, the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability (ECFA) publishes "Seven Standards of Responsible Stewardship" and accredits churches and ministries that meet them.¹⁸

A monthly stewardship review

Here is a simple practice for a household, drawn from the principles of this paper. Once a month, sit down — together, if you are married — and ask:

1. Giving. Did we give first, regularly and cheerfully? Is there someone in need we should help? 2. Spending. Did we spend according to our plan? Where did we overspend, and why? 3. Debt. What did we pay down? Did we add any new debt? Are we on track? 4. Saving. Did we add to our emergency fund and long-term savings? 5. Contentment. Is there anything we are coveting? Is money crowding out God? 6. Prayer. Thank God for His provision, confess where we have been unfaithful, and ask for wisdom for the month ahead.

It need not take long. The point is regular, honest attention, under God.

Money is "that which is least" (Luke 16:10). It is not the most important thing in a Christian's life. But how a believer handles it reveals what is most important to him.

The Bible's teaching can be summed up simply. God owns everything; we are His stewards, and we will give account. Money is a dangerous master, and the love of it has drawn many away from the faith. God promises His people provision and contentment, not riches, and teaching that promises wealth for faith or for giving is an error. The tithe appears before the Law and is commanded under it, and the King James texts on it are gathered in Part 3 for every reader to weigh; the letters call Christians to give regularly, "as God hath prospered him", willingly and cheerfully. Debt is a form of servitude, to be entered carefully if at all and escaped patiently. Work is good, planning is wise, saving for need is prudent, and generosity is the purpose of it all.

And underneath all of it is the grace of God in Christ: "For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich" (2 Corinthians 8:9). The riches that verse means are not money. They are forgiveness, eternal life, and God Himself.

A next step

• This week, list every debt you owe and every regular expense you have. Know the state of your flocks (Proverbs 27:23).
• Decide on a regular gift, given first, and give it this Sunday.
• Start a small emergency fund, even if it begins with very little.
• If you are married, schedule the monthly review above with your spouse.
• Read Luke 12:13-34 slowly, and ask God to show you where your treasure is.

An invitation

If you are reading this under the weight of debt, or a lost job, or fights at home about money, hear the Lord's word: "Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?... for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things" (Matthew 6:31-32). He knows. And He offers you something money cannot buy: "Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest" (Matthew 11:28).

The way to that rest is the gospel the apostles preached: "repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ" (Acts 20:21). Turn from your sin to God, and trust Christ, who died for our sins and rose again the third day.

If you do not yet know Him, the free papers at kylelauriano.com will show you the way. None of them cost anything, and none of them will ask you for money.

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