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“Come all of you who are thirsty, come to the waters, and you who have no money – come and buy and eat; yes, come and buy wine and milk without cost. Why spend money on what is not bread and your labor on what does not satisfy? Listen to me and eat what is good, and your soul will delight in the richest of fare.” – Isaiah 55:1-2

One of the great mistakes of both atheists and religionists is their attitude toward money. Money is the number one cause of divorce in America. There are well-oiled machines designed to extract money from you and me. Some religious groups feel they must beg and coerce for money to do their work. Some secularists think that being rich is the only way to happiness. The fact is that the financially wealthiest people among us have not been the happiest. Here are a few biblical warnings about money.

1) MONEY CAN’T BUY EVERYTHING. The passage from Isaiah refers to what brings real happiness and satisfaction. Having a purpose in life and knowing you are fulfilling that purpose brings incredible joy. Regardless of your attitude toward money, and no matter how much you have, all the money in the world will not help when death comes.

2) MONEY CAN BE USED FOR GOOD. Luke 16:9-13 finds Jesus telling His followers that through the proper use of money, they can make friends by improving their future, helping others find their purpose in life, and building up the Church (not a human institution) to be an agent of good. Matthew 25:34-40 shows explicitly how Christians can use money. Not only does feeding the hungry, providing water for the thirsty, clothing those who are cold, taking care of the sick, taking in those who need shelter, and helping those in prison meet the needs of hurting people, but it also brings true satisfaction to those who provide it.

3) MONEY MAKES A GOOD SERVANT BUT A BAD MASTER. First Timothy 6:10 says, “For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many arrows.” Notice it is not money that is evil, but the love of money. Our attitude toward money can lead us astray. Second Corinthians 9:6-8 talks about sowing generously and tells us God loves those who give cheerfully. A casino is near our meeting place, and people have come to us in tears because they lost what money they had there. We must ask, “Who or what is your master?”

It has always been a practice of the “Does God Exist?” ministry to not ask anyone for money. If God wants this work to be successful, He will fund it, and He does that through people who love Him and cheerfully wish to use the money God has provided them to support causes that make a difference.

Religion Is a Way to Make Money I Timothy 6:4-5 “He has an elevated opinion of himself, being without knowledge, but dotes on an unhealthy love of questionings and war of words which leads only to envy, division, insults, insinuations and wranglings of men corrupted in mind and destitute of truth who think religion is a way to make money.”

The above description could be a description of some atheists I know. It also could be describing some religious figures who claim to be Christians. I think every lectureship I have ever done contained a person who dominated the question/answer session and attempted to impugn my motives. Atheists tend to believe that all religious speakers are hypocrites just in it for the money. Religious figures have desired to take over our ministry and link it to theirs so they could increase their income. Others seemed to believe that our outreach was taking paying contacts away from them.

This is not a new issue. The Bible has many accounts of this same kind of attitude. Acts 8 tells about a man named Simon who believed that religion is a way to make money. He had used sorcery “and bewitched the people of Samaria, giving out that he was a great one” (Verse 9). When he saw the power of the apostles, he tried to buy it (verses 18-19). Peter told him, “Your money will perish with you because you have thought that the gift of God may be purchased with money.” Acts 19:13-14 tells a fascinating story of the seven sons of Sceva who are called “vagabond Jewish exorcists.” They had a colossal failure when they tried to merchandise the religious tools of the apostles to help people who had serious problems.

There are con artists today who believe religion is a way to make money. I don’t know of any human enterprise where greed is not involved, including atheist and skeptic projects. However, for every religious con artist out there, there are hundreds of people who do their ministry with no pay at all. No one gets rich in running a food pantry or a day-care center or a prison ministry. For every TV evangelist making money, there are dozens of people supporting themselves with a secular job while using their resources to do what God has called them to do.

The passage in 1 Timothy 6 cited earlier ends with Paul saying: “Godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. And if we have food and shelter, let us be content with that. But they that want to 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 kinds of evil: which some have coveted, erring from the faith and pierced themselves through with many sorrows” (Verses 6-10).

Just for the record – your author does not receive a salary from this ministry and supports himself with his 41 years of teaching science in the South Bend Community Schools Corporation.

Tag: money

Attitude Toward Money

Religion Is a Way to Make Money