Toward a Philosophy of Money

Developing programs for First Church in Financial Administration, and then in stewardship, has led me to try to articulate for myself some basic tenets in regard to faith and money so that I might not go astray in my writing, and so that we might be consistent in our teaching.

We are, first and foremost, the body of Christ in the world, and secondly part of the United Methodist Church. We are also a non-profit corporation in the State of Texas and the United States of America. These facts create the framework for our philosophy of money. Our rule books are the Bible, the Book of Discipline of the Methodist Church, the policy manual of First Church Austin, and the secular law.

In the nature of the recent NPR Series on "This I Believe," During this Stewardship of Gifts Quarter, I want to share with you some of the things I believe about a Christian philosophy of money.

Marilyn Good

Money is the Appropriate and Necessary Concern of the Church

Herb Miller in his book Money Is Everything makes the following statement. “Buttrick’s classic book The Parables of Jesus lists 43 parables. Twenty-seven of these (62%) refer to money and possessions. One out of every 10 verses in the four Gospels (a total of 288 verses) deals with money. The Bible includes 500 verses on prayer, fewer than 500 on faith, and more than 2,000 verses on money and what it buys.” Miller concludes that “Jesus said that money is everything – not in the usual sense of that term, but in the spiritual sense. Jesus did not divide reality into two parts, the material and the spiritual. He said that the way we think and behave with regard to money impacts us both physically and spiritually. Its use and misuse affect our relationship with God and the quality of our life. “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also, (Luke 12:34).” If the Church fails to address money, the church fails in its responsibility of leading its members in spiritual growth.

The founder of the Methodist Church, John Wesley, also spent a lot of time dealing with money. He is often quoted as saying, "Earn all you can, save all you can, give all you can". He was also practical and made it a priority not only to preach giving, but to make available to the poor the same types of financial resources that were available to the rich. He set up financial services for the poor of England. In this example we see discussions of money moving beyond our own stewardship to issues of social justice. The Methodist Church continues this tradition in its approach to mission throughout the world.