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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