Changi Chapel

Ironically, most men think money will do what it can’t and that God can’t do what He will. A man cannot love both God and money (Matthew 6:24). A man cannot love both God and the world (1 John 2:15).

Money is God’s chief competitor, and you must choose between the two.

Here are three ideas to help you think through the "theology of money and possessions."

First, don’t own things you do not use on a regular basis. For seven years we owned a weekend lake house just outside of town. Virtually every Friday afternoon we would "kidnap" our children and spend the weekend doing country things. When our daughter turned eleven, though, her in-town friends became very important to her. We only went to the lake house once that year, so we decided to sell the property. There was nothing wrong with owning the property; there was no requirement to sell the property; there was no special virtue to own or not own the property. It did, however, keep us lean and responsive to God’s leading in our lives.

Second, don’t own things just because you can. A neighbor about a mile down the shore owned a completely restored mahogany 1957 Chris Craft Sportsman inboard boat. I mentioned that I would be interested if he ever wanted to sell. Six months later he did, and we agreed upon what I considered a fair price. But a test drive revealed the boat needed several maintenance items.

It took nearly a month to have the repairs made. During that time I continued to pray about selling our boat to buy the antique Chris Craft. One day the question came to mind, "Why not deny yourself this boat?" Since I had been thinking about this boat for three years, that thought came as quite a jolt. However, I had also been wondering if I should buy it just because I could. Over several days I came to the conclusion that, for me, it would be a good lesson in self-restraint and personal discipline to forego the purchase.

Third, the more you give away the happier you will be. Over the years I have developed beautiful friendships with many donors to our ministry and have been able to observe their lives. Here is an iron law: The greater proportion of a man’s income he gives, the happier he is. I believe this is well borne out by Scripture.

God honors the proportion more than the portion of what we give – will you give much of the little of what you have?

Pat Morley
Author/Bible Teacher/Founder "Man in the Mirror" ministry.

© Pat Morley