Is Money Good Or Bad?
IS MONEY GOOD OR BAD?
The Bible?is usually?misquoted as stating that money is the root of all evil. Not so. The Bible actually states that “the love?of MONEY?is the root of all evil” that's?a crucial distinction.
Money?isn't?inherently bad. In fact, great good?is often?done with cash when it is used properly. Good people are often empowered?to try to?do better when they have money.?consider?the Good Samaritan in the Bible. The parable of the Good Samaritan is?told by Jesus in the Gospel of Luke. It is about a traveller (implicitly understood to be Jewish) who is stripped of clothing, beaten, and left half dead alongside the road. First, a Jewish priest and then a Levite come by, but both avoid the man. If he were penniless, his ability?to worry?for the man who had been mugged would have been severely diminished, because he?wouldn't?have been able to pay the innkeeper. Thousands of charitable organizations which do?an incredible?amount of good throughout the world could not exist without the generous donations of many affluent people.
On?the opposite?hand,?once we?set our hearts upon our possessions, hoard?all of them?for ourselves, or covet other people’s riches, we are headed down a dangerous road?which will?certainly lead to misery. We must learn?to like?people, not money.
Obviously,?the first?purpose of money is to provide for the basic necessities of life: food, clothing, and shelter. After?we've?met these three basic needs,?the alternatives?for what to do with our surplus are endless.
I believe that someday we will be accountable to God for how profitably we utilized our resources throughout our lives. Everything?we've?comes from the great Creator of the universe.?once we?die, we cannot take any of it with us, so is it really ours to keep? No, we are just stewards over our material possessions for the short time we?survive?on the earth, and then?they're going to?be passed on to someone else.
The rewards we receive throughout life and after we die?are going to be?based on how wisely we utilize the money, time,?and skills?we are granted. It?doesn't?matter how much or how little we have. All that matters?is whether or not?we were good stewards of what we were given and how effectively we used it to benefit others.?whether or not?you do not believe in a supreme being,?you want to?admit that you feel best about yourself when you know you are using your resources to their greatest advantage and not just for your own benefit.
What Is a good steward????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? A wise steward is?one who carefully performs his or her duty and takes good care of the things God has given?...
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I love the description the Lord gave of a good steward in his “Parable of the Talents”.?during this?parable,?a person?gave each of his three servants stewardship over a portion of his money while he was travelling to a distant land. He gave five talents?to at least one, two?to a different, and one to the last?to support?each servant’s ability. A talent was a sum?of cash.
While he was away,?the primary?servant wisely invested the five talents he was given and earned an additional five talents. Similarly, the servant with two talents earned another two talents. The last servant was?scared of?losing the one talent he was given, so he just buried it?in the?ground.
When the master returned, he asked for a report. He was?very happy?with the first two servants because they both had doubled the value of what they had been given. Hence, he gave them both?the identical?reward: “Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over?some?things,?I will be able to?make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord”.
However, the master was angry with the last servant for being lazy and not making good use of what he had been given. He took the talent he had been given and gave it to the servant with ten talents. Then he ordered, “…cast ye the unprofitable servant into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth”
I find it fascinating that he who turned two talents into four received?the identical?reward as he who turned five talents into ten.?although?the servant with two talents did not earn as much, he was considered to be?even as?profitable because he also obtained a 100% return. This was just a test?to work out?how wisely each servant would manage small stewardship so the master could determine whether they would be worthy of receiving much more.
It appears that the unprofitable servant who had received?just one?talent might have received the same reward as the other two if he had been able to obtain just one talent more than what he received.?i'm?struck by the harshness of his punishment for not doing so. What can we learn from this? Is God testing us?the identical?way right now?
The size of our annual income does not matter as much as how wisely we use what we receive.?I’ve seen people earning INR 25,00000?per annum?who are millionaires because they have always lived well below their means, saved?an outsized?percentage of their income, and invested wisely. On?the opposite?hand,?I’ve seen people earning INR 25,00000?per annum?who are just a step away from bankruptcy because they have always spent almost everything they make, incurred huge amounts of debt, and invested mainly in very risky assets, if at all.
Of course, I am not suggesting that this parable is only about investing, because it certainly also applies to?the right?use of our gifts, abilities, time, knowledge, and other resources,?also?as how well we use our money to improve the lives of other people. Indeed someone who earns $100,000 a year?and provides?10% of it away to people in need will be viewed much more favourably in the eyes of God than someone making INR 25,00000?a year who wisely invests 50% of it but gives nothing to others.
Furthermore,?I’m?not suggesting that all of our extra money after meeting basic needs should be invested or given to other people. Sometimes?pocket money?on wholesome recreational activities or for our children’s education is more important.?the purpose?is that we need to exercise a balanced approach as we carefully consider what the best use of our money might be in each circumstance. If we are good stewards,?we'll?always treat money with great respect,?instead of?buying whatever we want, whenever?we would like?it,?no matter?the consequences.
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An ISTD Certified +15 years experience in Learning and Development skills with expertise in Sales Performance Coaching
2 年Money is good for nothing unless you know the value of it by experience.” “Never spend your money before you have earned it.” “The habit of saving is itself an education; it fosters every virtue, teaches self-denial, cultivates the sense of order, trains to forethought, and so broadens the mind.”