Luke 16:10-13, Malachi 3:6-12
8. Management – savings and debt
Manage the Earth
Right back at the beginning, when God made the first humans, he assigned them the task of taking care of the earth. Their assignment was to manage the earth on God’s behalf and their assignment is now our assignment. Every human has this responsibility. We are to manage the earth: the land with its flora and fauna, ourselves, our families, human society – everything – including the means of production, the fruits of production and the means of exchange. There is nothing on this planet that isn’t our responsibility. In the exercise of our responsibility we are accountable to God and therefore wise people take their instructions from him. Logically our management is best done according to the principles we have laid out over these last few weeks, and the next two.
Our management
We are to manage our personal affairs, our households and human society, or that part in which we are involved, like our church. As Jesus said (Luke 16:10-13) “Whoever is faithful in small matters will be faithful in large ones; whoever is dishonest in small matters will be dishonest in large ones. If, then, you have not been faithful in handling worldly wealth, how can you be trusted with true wealth? And if you have not been faithful with what belongs to someone else, who will give you what belongs to you? No servant can be the slave of two masters; such a slave will hate one and love the other or will be loyal to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.”
We also must manage our own affairs so that we do the right thing by one another. But if any do not take care of their relatives, especially the members of their own family, they have denied the faith and are worse than an unbeliever. (1 Timothy 5:8).
Parables of Stewardship, Debts cancelled
As I said last week, Jesus was very much on about being generous and forgiving, as God is. In Matthew 18:21-35 we have what’s referred to as the Parable of the Unforgiving Servant and it started when Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, if my brother keeps on sinning against me, how many times do I have to forgive him? Seven times?”
“No, not seven times,” answered Jesus, “but seventy times seven, because” that’s how it is in the Kingdom of heaven. And he went on to tell a story about forgiving and not forgiving debt.
And Jesus concluded, “That is how my Father in heaven will treat every one of you unless you forgive your brother from your heart.” Forgiveness is to be a key value in our financial management.
Land needs rest
As also mentioned last week, resting the land must be part of our management of the earth. Continuous work is not consistent with the way God set things up. If anything works – people, animals or land – then it must rest. Work-rest balance must be part of our management of our lives and our world. The earth needs to rest as an ecological necessity, just as people need to rest as a spiritual necessity. The principle of resting helps cultivate in our hearts a trust in the Lord and confidence in his provision. Sometimes we may be tempted to think that there are times we need to work and can’t afford to rest. Well, one of the reasons God wants us to rest is to be reminded that we are dependent on him for provision, not reliant on our own strength and ability to work.
Role of a Deacon
Within the church, people were appointed early on to manage the church’s money and property. They were called deacons. This division of labour began when there was a need for good financial management. They chose seven men who were known to be full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom, and put them in charge. (Acts 6:1-4). Note the qualifications.
We have a Committee of Managers and a Treasurer to do this for our church.
And now some good practices for managing our personal and family finances.
Give 10%, Save 10%
The term Tithe means money given to God and was set in the Old Testament at 10% of income. No set figure is given in the New Testament but 10% is considered today to be a guide for Christians to aspire to. You might say, “My costs are greater than my income, I can’t spare a cent to give away.” But God says to you, “Start giving and you will see that you can live on the rest.” (See Malachi 3:10) An able budget adviser can show you how to find some money to give away and also put some away for contingencies. Again, giving makes us dependent on God. 10% may sound like a lot but it is a guide and you can build up to it. And, as I said last week, exceed it as your income level allows.
Contingencies and saving for big items.
Save for known and for unknown expenses. Put a sum away each time the money comes in. Savings for known expenses are savings; for unknown expenses is a contingency fund. So as to not get caught by the unexpected. For example, last weekend our vacuum cleaner motor burnt out. We will have to replace it so it is good that we have a contingency fund. We’ve had that for a very long time. We got budget advice very early on in our married life, when finances were very tight. They were so tight that I was amazed that we could even have a contingency fund but I found we could have savings as well.
Owe no person
Are you planning to buy big-price items? Save for them in preference to borrowing. You can even save for a house through the likes of Liberty Trust.
If you use a credit card, pay it off every month so you pay no interest. If you can’t pay it off, don’t use it – get rid of it. If you are thinking of buying something but you would have to use time payment to get it, don’t buy it – you don’t need it that much – you certainly don’t need the debt. Save up for it instead.
Debtor is servant to the lender
Poor people are slaves of the rich. Borrow money and you are the lender’s slave. Proverbs 22:7
Therefore, go out of your way to avoid borrowing.
Romans 13:8 gives us a general principle in this: Be under obligation to no one—the only obligation you have is to love one another. Whoever does this has obeyed the Law.
It’s good to help one another to avoid borrowing, as we are able to do so.
How does love shape our management practices? With forgiveness, generosity, care for self and for others. And the application of all 10 economic principles: Love & Human Worth, Creativity, Productivity, Cooperation, Work & Rest, Redistribution, Simplicity; detachment, Management, Ownership and Celebration.