Central Truth

This passage is uncomfortable (at best) for most people. No one likes to talk about money. But putting aside the discomfort, this passage really gets to the nitty-gritty of trusting God. Do you really trust him? Do you trust him with your money?

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Reflections

When you strip away the greed for power and status, money is really tied to our basic survival instincts. The results of not having it are frightening, even deadly. So, to totally trust God with your money is one of the deepest expressions of faith we can have.

Paul is saying that this is exactly what apostles of God should be doing: leading by example and trusting God to provide for them while proclaiming the gospel. But he’s also talking about the flip-side – the people who do the providing. God likes to use His people to bring about His will. This is clear throughout the Bible. He could have brought the walls of Jericho down without all the marching and trumpet playing, but He wanted His people to participate. Today He asks the same of us. He could easily provide for His workers in miraculous ways that don’t involve us, but He prefers that we play a role. Why? Because it increases everyone’s faith – the givers and the receivers. We learn to love and trust each other as we love and trust God.

But trust is hard. If you gave your hard-earned money to someone you believed to be in God’s service, would you be upset if they purchased a new car or a video game system? It’s in our nature to be suspicious (especially in a world of televangelism scams), but we must put aside our fleshly emotions and follow God’s lead regarding our money. After all, He’s the one who gives us the ability to work and earn the money in the first place. What if you learned that the car was used to bring homeless kids to school everyday? And the game system was used by these same kids after school allowing them to stay off the streets for a few more hours in a safe environment? God’s will is immense. We can’t know every facet of it, and we don’t have to. We just need to trust that when we follow with our wallets, the money will go where God needs it to go.

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Discussion Questions

1. Since we can’t give our money directly back to God, how do we know the best way to contribute to furthering His will?

2. What do you think when you see the salary for the pastor of a church or a missionary? Do you think it should be a low number compared with other occupations? A higher number? Why?

3. How might your opinion of who “deserves” your money differ from God’s opinion of who “deserves” your money? Who's opinion is more accurate?

4. How does a church determine who should be paid by the church and who should be a volunteer? If you are a volunteer, do you sometimes resent paid staff? If you are paid staff, do you sometimes feel guilty when dealing with volunteers?

5. How does Matthew 6:33 relate to this topic? (“Seek ye first the kingdom of God…”)

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