Wednesday, September 20, 2017

“How Should I Think About Money” by R.C. Sproul


The Bible is filled with stories, sayings, and observations about money and wealth. Jesus and the rich young ruler. The parable of the man and his barns. The Book of Proverbs. We’re reminded again and again to lay up our treasures in heaven and not on earth. And yet we continue to have to be reminded.

The trick about money and wealth is just that – a trick. We come to see ourselves as the source of our money and contentment. We come to see our wealth (especially in America) as a measure of virtue and moral superiority. It’s all a trick because it’s not really about money. A fixation on money is really a fixation on self.

As part of his Crucial Questions series, R.C. Sproul has produced How Should I Think about Money?. And he starts where he should start – with the concept and definition of stewardship. The Biblical idea of stewardship, in fact, frames the entire book, and he notes the connection between stewardship as taught in the Bible and the academic discipline of economics. How we use our resources, he says, is the concern of both. And the understanding stewardship is the foundation for understanding about money and resources.

R.C. Sproul
The author considers the reasons for poverty, the building of wealth, the theory of value, why money actually is, inflation, interest, and participating in ownership. All of these topics also fall into the province of economics, but what Sproul does is to ground his discussion in Biblical principles.

Sproul is the author of numerous books, articles, sermons, and speeches on Christianity, church history, theology, Calvinism, and related topics. He leads the teaching fellowship Ligonier Ministries, based in Sanford, Florida. The series now includes some 25 topics which are free as eBooks.

How Should I Think about Money? is a primer on the Biblical understanding of money. But it is also something more – a primer on stewardship, and how we are to use the resources God has given us.


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Top photograph by Aidan Bartos via Unsplash. Used with permission.

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