Does God Expect Me To Give My Money?

Life Hacks: Part 5

By Amitabh Singh

Jesus neither possessed wealth nor earned wages during his three-year ministry. When teaching the crowd to “render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s” he had to borrow a coin from a stranger’s hand to illustrate his point. To pay the temple tax in Capernaum, Jesus took a coin out of the mouth of a fish. Scriptural account shows that Jesus possessed extraordinary insight about money. Second to the Kingdom of God, it was his most prevalent topic of conversation. One out of every six verses in the Gospels and sixteen of the thirty-eight parables discuss this issue.

So does God expect me to give to the church?

Jesus taught a person’s regard for money ultimately determines their priority. Biblical generosity requires discretion. Biblical generosity acknowledges the greater value of eternity. Biblical generosity is a result of a submitted heart. Possessing money is not evil in itself, but it is a grave mistake to esteem it higher than God.

Jesus does not demand from everyone a life of poverty, but right priorities. It is unwise to think lightly of money. The attention given to finances can be the most determining factor of a life well-lived or wasted. Laying up treasures in heaven means investing less in perishable things, and more in the service of God and others. This is the source of true satisfaction, “For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also” (Matthew 6:21).