There are so many ways to use money. There are the basic large expenses like the house, the car and the food. Then there are those smaller nonessentials that add up like the $5 coffee, ATM fees, interest, the food that we let go bad, the thrift store treasures, the impulse by, or the mistake of taking the kids shopping. There are so many ways to use money!
According to Shopify.com, here are some trending ways people are using money. On the top of their list, with sales up 147.8% in 2021, is doormats. All this time at home over the past year has caused us to use our money around the house. Household storage container orders are up 276.2% and kitchen towels are up 192.1%. Other currently trending products to use money on are bike saddles, temporary tattoos, and needlecraft patterns. There are so many ways to use money!
And how we use it really matters! Mixed in with all the wasteful spending habits are some incredibly meaningful ways to use money.
In 1 Timothy 6:17-19 we see five of the best ways to use money. The text begins, “As for the rich in this present age…” As the text continues it doesn’t condemn the rich. It gives instruction on how to use the riches well. Christianity and wealth are not incompatible! It’s not about the money it’s about how we use the money.
Have you ever though, “If I was rich like them, I would be a better rich person than they are?” Admit it, we have all thought that before. Maybe you have seen someone’s excessive spending and you think about how much good you would do with that money. We may not be able to choose how much money we have to use but we do have some choice in how we use the money we have. We can’t decide how our rich cousin will use their money but we can decide to use our money in the meaningful ways outlined in this text.
#1 Use money to set your hope on God!
1 Timothy 6:17 As for the rich in this present age, charge them not to be haughty, nor to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but on God…
Money often directs our hope away from God, but it can do the opposite. Every financial gain could be a que to praise God for his faithfulness. Every financial loss could be a reminder not to set our hopes on the uncertainty of riches.
There is an important four-word reminder on every U.S. coin and printed bill, “In God We Trust”. Consider a bit of history of these four words. These words first began appearing on currency as early as 1864 when the nation felt an increased need to trust God during the Civil War. Secretary of the Treasury, Salmon P. Chase wrote in an 1861 letter, “No nation can be strong except in the strength of God, or safe except in His defense. The trust of our people in God should be declared on our national coins.”[1] The four words have been controversial ever since. The biggest criticism is that these words are unconstitutional. To preserve a separation of church and state many Americans want to take “in God we trust” off the money, “so help me God” our oath official oaths, and “one nation under God” out of the pledge of allegiance. Others objected for different reasons. President Theodore Roosevelt said that the words did “positive harm” because they were “irreverent” and came “dangerously close to sacrilege”. Another war reaffirmed our national ties with these four words. In 1955, influenced by the struggles of the Cold War, President Eisenhower singed bill H.R. 619 requiring all printed money and coinage to include the four words. The next year “In God We Trust” became the nations motto. This was the era of the Red Scare and one thing that was far from communism was trust in God. House of Representative Charles Bennett said, “In these days when imperialistic and materialistic communism seeks to alter and destroy our freedom we should continually look for ways to strengthen the foundations of our freedom.” He added that the four words were “a constant reminder”.
We have a physical constant reminder to trust God printed on our money. What if we were to establish that reminder spiritually? What if money became to us a reminder that pointed us to trust in God?
#2 Use money for enjoyment!
1 Timothy 6:17 As for the rich in this present age, charge them not to be haughty, nor to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly provides us with everything to enjoy.
Right away we think of some cautions about using money for enjoyment. Sure, we want to avoid selfishness, wastefulness, injustice, and excessive living. But we should enjoy life! With all the appropriate humility and generosity, enjoy the wealth God gives you. Use money to celebrate people, to make memories, to fund hobbies… As you enjoy it remember the God who richly provided it and who intended you to get joy out of it.
#3 Use money to do good!
1 Timothy 6:18 They are to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share…
There are endless stories of the good done with money. On a large public scale, we see the good that is done through organizations like ADRA and the Gates Foundation. On a smaller scale, I have seen money used for good all around me. I think of an old lady in a church I once worked with. She was a retired doctor and she had a lot of money. Not many knew it, but the majority of the money that small church took in came from her. When there was a kid that wanted to go to summer camp, she quietly paid their way. When she felt the church needed to add on, she gave the money to make it happen. I think of the sacrificial giving I have seen at every church I have worked with to support the local Adventist school and the worthy student fund. I think of one dedicated man who had the skill and qualification to work at a job that paid well, but he didn’t need the additional money. Instead, he donated his time, a lot of it, to the church and school. Whenever something needed done, he was there. I think of one family who had a large, beautiful home and used it to host meaningful social gatherings. They also had a large boat and enjoyed treating people to days out on the water.
If God blesses us with riches, there is so much good we can do with them! God gives wealth, not to increase our standard of living but to increase your standard of giving.
I know that there is bit of selfishness in us that doesn’t like to share. Have you ever spent someone else’s money? Maybe you paid for the meal with the company card or went clothes shopping with your rich aunt. It feels different than spending your own money. It’s easier to spend someone else’s money. Remember that it is all God’s money and you will feel more free to use it for good. Think of it as the privilege of managing a little bit of God’s “doing good” fund.
#4 Use money to build a solid foundation for the future!
1 Timothy 6:18-19 They are to do good… thus storing up treasure for themselves as a good foundation for the future.
There is a lot to this verse. First, it is good to do those responsible things like save for retirement and to leave a legacy to our children.
Proverbs 13:22 “A good man leaves an inheritance to his children’schildren.”
1 Timothy 5:8 “But if anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for members of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.”
Be responsible. Care for your family. Build a solid financial foundation for the future.
But there is something deeper intended in the verse. “Thus” is a connection word. It connects the foundation of the stored up treasure with doing good. Doing good stores up treasure and builds a foundation. It is not just the IRA that is the foundation for the future, it is to good things we have done with our money for others that is a good foundation for the future. We are not just building savings we are building relationships. Those relationships we build in the way we use our money are a better foundation than the savings account.
Jesus actually tells us to use money to make friends!
Luke 16:9 says, “And I tell you, make friends for yourselves by means of unrighteous wealth, so that when it fails they may receive you into the eternal dwellings.”
Jesus told an interested parable (Luke 16:1-9) about a manager who was going to be fired. But before he left, he reduced the debts that people owed his boss. He did it to try to make friends so that he would have support once he became unemployed. The boss could have been upset but he commended the manager for being good with money. That is when Jesus told his listeners to use money to make friends. We can’t buy friendships. There must be more to the relationship than financial favors. But we can use our money in ways that build or destroy friendship. We can look for appropriate ways to bless our friendships with our money and build a better foundation for the future. A relational foundation is more sure than a financial one.
In 1 Timothy 6:19 Paul says, “thus storing up treasure for themselves as a good foundation for the future.” In Matthew 6:19 Jesus tells us, “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth.” What’s the difference? One is an accumulation of treasure for self the other is a building of a foundation to do good. One is about taking hold of treasure the other, as we will see in the next point, about taking hold of life.
#5 Use money to take hold of true life!
1 Timothy 6:19 “…so that they may take hold of that which is truly life.”
Verses 18 and 19 show a connected progression. We already saw the connecting word “thus” now we see the words “so that”. All the good that builds a foundation is for the purpose of taking hold of true life. The money can put us in a position or give us a platform to pursue a larger calling God has for our life.
It is not about the money. It is about life, and we can use money in a way that will help us take hold of life.
Proverbs 22:7 says, “The rich rules over the poor, and the borrower is the slave of the lender.”
When the rest of the world talks about financial freedom, they are speaking of living dept free. The Bible agrees with that and takes the freedom even further. Jesus wants to set us free in every way. The blessing of financial freedom includes being free to help others. Paul told the Ephesians, “In all things I have shown you that by working hard in this way we must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’” (Acts 20:35). The reason Paul worked hard was not to pay of credit cards or even to store up wealth but to be free to help others. Paul had financial margin in his life that made himself available to others. Paul said to the Romans, “Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law.” (Romans 13:8). Managing our money well can free our lives from financial stress and free up our time to serve others and pursue true life.
In conclusion to how we use our money, the question we should be asking of every cent we have is, “How do you want to use the money?” But we should not be asking that question of ourselves, we should be asking God. He knows all the good ways to use the money he entrusts to us.
[1] https://www.treasury.gov/about/education/Pages/in-god-we-trust.aspx