I mention this to point out that we need to take the opportunity to use our money prudently to benefit others. Try to use your money to benefit others so that when it is out of use, others will do something for you.
In 16:9 the Lord says, “Make friends for yourselves by means of the mammon of unrighteousness, that when it fails, they may receive you into the eternal tabernacles.” This indicates that those who have been benefited by our proper use of money will welcome us into the eternal tabernacles. This will be in the coming age of the kingdom. When the Lord Jesus comes back and we are received into His kingdom, some of us will have a number of people welcoming us. Who will be these welcomers? They will be those who have received benefit in this age by our prudent use of money.
Let me give a simple illustration of this. Suppose you use an amount of your money to publish gospel tracts for the purpose of bringing people to the Lord. Those who have been benefited by this use of your money will welcome you in the future. They may say, “Brother, we want you to realize that we were saved through one of the tracts paid for by you.” This is an example of being welcomed into eternal habitations by those who have shared the benefit of our prudence.
In the parable in chapter sixteen the unrighteous steward took the opportunity, while he was still in the house, to help his lord’s debtors to reduce their debt (vv. 4-7). He took the opportunity to use money to benefit others. In the same principle, while we are still on the way to the kingdom, we should use our money for the benefit of others. We should not use it for ourselves, for our luxury, amusement, pleasure, or indulgence. On the contrary, we should use our money for others’ benefit. There is a great deal of need, and there is much that we can do that will be a benefit to others. This is to be prudent in serving the Lord.
We cannot serve the Lord faithfully without using our money for the right purpose and at the right time. If we claim that we are serving the Lord, but use our money in the wrong way, we are not honest. The first thing an honest steward will do is handle his money properly and prudently.
When I was studying English as a teen-ager, I read an article by Benjamin Franklin that was concerned with money. In that article Franklin said that it is easy to earn money but very difficult to spend it. I was surprised by Franklin’s word, for I thought it was difficult to make money and easy to spend it. But after reading that article I became convinced that it is easy to make money, but difficult to spend it in the right way. It is difficult to spend money in a way that will not damage ourselves, others, or society. Consider how much damage is done to society by rich people spending their money in the wrong way. If the rich would use their money properly, they would benefit themselves, others, and all of society. To be sure, in order to serve the Lord as His stewards, we must handle our money rightly.
Some of us may say, “I am not a rich person. Because I am not rich, I don’t have a problem with the way I spend my money.” However, you may still have a problem with the money you have. Even though you are not wealthy, you need to learn how to handle your income.
As one who has been serving the Lord and the churches for more than half a century, I can testify that any Christian group whose members give faithfully and consistently ten percent of their income will have money in abundance. Statistics concerning church finance prove this. Certain groups require their members to pledge ten percent of their income, and these groups always have money in abundance. The point here is not that we make a legal requirement of giving ten percent of our income. The point is that those who faithfully give a tithe of their income never lack for money.
I would encourage the young people in particular to learn to give a portion of their income to the Lord. Young people, you should begin this immediately after graduation when you begin to work. Give a portion of the first wages you receive to the Lord. I can testify that this was my practice when I was young. When I first earned money, even as a poor student, I set aside a portion to the Lord. Perhaps some of us have never considered this. Therefore, I encourage all the saints, especially the young people, to give the Lord a portion of whatever money they earn. If we do this, we shall learn to handle our money properly.
Those who give to the Lord faithfully and consistently can testify that the more they give, the more they receive. For us Christians, to be rich is to give. The way to receive is to give. The Lord Himself said, “Give, and it will be given to you; good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, they will give into your bosom; for with what measure you measure, it will be measured to you in return” (6:38). Here we see clearly that giving is the way to receive.
For a church to be in poverty is a shame to the members of that church. Such poverty may indicate that the members are not faithful in their giving. May we all learn to serve the Lord as faithful stewards in handling money.
I encourage you to keep a record of your giving. During the course of a year, keep a record of everything you give. Then at the end of the year consider what percentage you have given to the Lord of what He has given you. I urge you all to practice this.
According to the statistics I have studied and the testimonies I have heard, the more we give to the Lord, the more we shall be able to give. For example, if you give ten percent one year, the next year you may be able to give twenty percent. Then if you are faithful to give a higher amount, you may be able to give even more the following year. The point here is that the more we give, the more we shall be able to give.
When some hear this word about faithfulness and giving, they may say that they do not have enough faith to give consistently. Actually, this is not a matter of our faith; it is a matter of our practice, and our practice is based on the Lord’s faith and His faithfulness.