To the Heart of the Matter // How to Be Money Wise, Part 2

<p>One of the things that many of us are suspicious about are ministries that ask for money. Religion and money can be a toxic combination. And yet – God has a plan to involve His people in His work. So does God really need our money? Or is He after something else altogether?</p> <p> </p> <h3><span style="color: #ff9900;"><strong>God Wants our Hearts</strong></span></h3> <p>I used to wonder a lot why it is, that God in His Book, His story, His love letter to us, this thing we call <em>"the Bible"</em> – I used to wonder why is it that God talks so much about money? Why does He talk about it so much, so directly and so painfully sometimes?</p> <p>And to tell you the truth, I used to be very sceptical of Christian ministries, like the one in which I now serve, who put out their hands – that’s how I saw it – for money. Hang on, hang on, hang on, this all smells of a bit fishy. And so the picture I had in my head was quite simply this: this thing called the Bible is just a book written by a bunch of self-serving religious people who want to get their hands on my hard earned cash. That’s honestly how I was it.</p> <p>I don’t have that view anymore, although I am still a bit sceptical of the tele-evangelists who ask me for money to buy a jet, or who drives a Rolls Royce, I have to say. I believe in being a wise steward of what God’s given me and I see a whole bunch of more pressing needs in this world than those.</p> <p>And so today in this second message, in this series called, <em>“Money Matters – A Kingdom Perspective”</em> what I wanted to do is to share with you the profound teaching from God’s Word that changed my mind about this ... this money thing. The thing that helped me let go of the tight rein on my purse strings and open my heart and my wallet to the desperate needs of people – physical, emotional and spiritual – right across this world.</p> <p>Every now and then we receive a letter or an email here at Christianityworks, asking a very simple question about ministry and money. Generally the question goes s