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Wealth, Riches, & Money
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Part One:
Balance In Financial Wisdom
Pages 3, 4 & 5
In beginning a discussion on personal financial management, we had to ask the question, “Does God have anything to say about money in the Bible?” Many people consider the Bible to be a book pertaining to spirituality, but not to such mundane matters as personal management of money. As we began to study this topic in the Bible, we were amazed to discover that the New Testament contains nearly ten times as many verses regarding money and finances as it does salvation and faith. The New Testament actually contains 215 verses pertaining to faith, 218 verses pertaining to salvation, and 2084 verses dealing with the stewardship of and accountability for money and finance. Sixteen of Jesus’ thirty-eight parables deal with money.
The question comes to mind, “Why?” Was Jesus a money-grubber? Did He come to earth to collect money to support His ministry? No, of course not! Jesus was not after people’s money; He was after their hearts. He told us in Matthew 6:21, “where your treasure is there shall your heart be also.” Jesus simply found that many people considered their money a great treasure. He found that if He could capture their money, He could capture their hearts. We believe that the same is true today. Jesus is not after your money. He is after your heart. How we relate to money is simply indicative of the condition of our hearts.
Consequently, God has much to say to us about finances and has given us His Word to instruct us. In order for us to carry out world evangelism, it is going to take hundreds or millions of dollars. In fact, I (Earl) have heard an estimate of 2 ½ billion US dollars being needed to preach the Gospel throughout the whole world. Christians are waiting for Jesus to return to earth. Some were expecting the end of the world at the turn of the millennium. However, the Word is very clear about when this will happen. Jesus, Himself, told us that when the Gospel of the Kingdom is preached as a witness to every people group, every ethnos, every nation, then the end shall come (Matthew 24:14). Perhaps this is similar to the instruction a primary school teacher might have given us as children when we had to remain at school in order to complete an unfinished assignment. “When you are finished with your assignment, you may go home.” Many want to go home without finishing the assignment. The mandate, of course, is for us to go and preach the Gospel in the whole world. It is going to take finances to accomplish this task.
When we have finances, we can force the world system to do the work of the Kingdom of God. With finances we can buy television time and airplane tickets. We can print Bibles. We can go, preach, and make disciples. We can proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ. God has left us in the world after we were born again, in order to tell others about Jesus. He didn’t take us immediately to heaven. His plan is to have a vast family of men and women, boys and girls, of every eternity. He left us here and said, “Go and preach My Gospel.” It is going to take many people and much resource, which includes money, in order for that to take place.
One woman involved in full-time Christian ministry was confronted about receiving money for the ministry. She was told, “You should not be requesting money from people who are receiving your Bible teaching. Jesus said the gospel is freely given. ‘Freely you have received. Freely give.’” This wise Christian leader responded by saying, “Obviously you have never tried to take the gospel to anyone. We have not yet convinced the airlines, television stations, print ships, and car dealerships that the Master has need of their resources, and they should freely give of their goods and services to be used in proclaiming the gospel.”
When we talk about finances, it is important to distinguish between the management of personal finances and corporate finances. The scope of this book is limited to dealing with personal finances. Managing corporate or business finance in the Kingdom of God is another highly important topic to be addressed, but will not be covered in the present work. The first step toward managing a Kingdom-oriented business is to bring our personal finances into biblical order.
I (Earl) ran across a recent statistic citing the fact that
80% of North American Christian homes have some type of financial distress,
ranging from mild to serious. A primary issue cited in 50% of divorces in
America today has to do with finances. Relationships have broken because of
the mismanagement of finances, the lack of agreement over the usage of
finances, or the mishandling of debt. In reality, the life of every single
person is greatly impacted by his or her relationship to finances.
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Back Cover
“Thank God for this book. I found its message extremely helpful in my own life. Wealth, Riches & Money is no quick look at the basic principles of finance. Rather it is a deeply insightful journey through the scripture.” – John Dawson
“Wealth, Riches & Money is a must read for those who are determined to see His Kingdom Come and His Will be done on earth as it is in heaven!” – Bishop Eddie Long
“This book is right on time! It is undoubtedly the finest study I
have ever seen on the basic principles of personal Kingdom-based
finances.” – Dennis Peacocke
Wealth, Riches & Money is a one-of-a-kind reading opportunity revealing Biblical Principles of Finance through the inspiration and wisdom given to Craig Hill and Earl Pitts. Craig and his wife, Jan, live near Denver, Colorado, USA, and provide leadership to the ministry of Family Foundations International. Craig is an anointed seminar speaker and Bible teacher who has written a number of books. Earl and his wife, Dorothy, live in Cambridge, Ontario, Canada. Earl has taught finance and Christian business seminars since 1984 on every continent. Craig and Earl have been associates and friends for years, first acquainted through Youth with a Mission in the 1980s. Now the two have joined together in co-authoring this unique teaching filled with practical and spiritual insight that will forever change the way you view and relate to finances.