Money plays a central role in our lives. We need money to make house payments, to buy gasoline, and to feed and clothe ourselves and our children. The Bible uses the word "money" approximately 150 times. Newer versions of the Bible often translate the Hebrew and Greek as "silver" instead of "money." Here are four principles that define the Christian view of money:

I. Working and Earning Money is Required by God.

This is one of God's "Ten Commandments." "Six days you shall labor and do all your work" (Exodus 20:9). This is not a suggestion. It is a commandment.

Not many of us are born into wealthy families. Most of us need to work and save if we are to have any money. God wants His people to work, and earn money, for a variety of reasons.

It is your duty to earn money to support yourself.

"For even when we were with you, we gave you this rule: If a man will not work, he shall not eat. We hear that some among you are idle. They are not busy; they are busybodies. Such people we command and urge in the Lord Jesus Christ to settle down and earn the bread they eat." 2 Thessalonians 3:10-12

It is your duty to earn money to care for your family.

"If anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for his immediate family, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever." I Timothy 5:8

It is your duty to earn money to give to the poor.

"He who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing something useful with his own hands, that he may have something to share with those in need." Ephesians 4:28

"There were no needy persons among them. For from time to time those who owned lands or houses sold them, brought the money from the sales and put it at the apostles' feet, and it was distributed to anyone as he had need." Acts 4:34-35

It is your duty to earn money to support the Church's teaching and preaching ministry.

"Don't you know that those who work in the temple get their food from the temple, and those who serve at the altar share in what is offered on the altar? In the same way, the Lord has commanded that those who preach the gospel should receive their living from the gospel." I Corinthians 9:13-14

II. Christians Will Be Prosperous, as a General Rule.

"Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers. But his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers." Psalm 1:1-3

God gives prosperity to people who live by His laws.

There are always exceptions. There ARE godly people who are poor, because they have been oppressed and persecuted. They may live in a poor nation where EVERYONE is poor. They may be widows or orphans, or abandoned by an unfaithful spouse. (Nothing makes for poverty as much as failed marriages. The single most effective thing a young person can do to insure prosperity is to marry a good spouse, and to stay faithful for a lifetime.) But, the general rule is prosperity:

III. Christians Must Not Live For Money.

The other side of the coin: You must not live for money. You must not make wealth your chief aim in life. As Jesus said, you cannot serve God AND mammon.

The Apostle Paul wrote to Timothy:

"...If we have food and clothing, we will be content with that. People who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs. But you, man of God, flee from all this, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness." I Timothy 6:8-11

It is OK for a person to drop out of the rat race. It is OK to say, "I have enough money. I don't need to attain any greater financial or business success. I don't have to be the best in my field."

You don't need to be a workaholic. You don't need to devote your life entirely to your business. There is a time for work. There must also be a time for rest, at time for thought, a time for Bible study, a time for worship, a time for building relationships with your spouse and children and parents. Time for serving God and your fellow man. Don't let an overwhelming desire for money and business success eat up your life.

Moms, it is perfectly OK for you to be a full-time, stay-at-home mom and home-maker. There is no more important job than rearing your children.

Fathers and mothers, when you come to the end of your life, and look back and evaluate, what will you say? "I wish I had spent more time working?" or "I wish I had spent more time playing with my little girl?"

Along life's path, stop and smell the roses.

The desire for wealth tempts people to cut corners. To cheat, to lie, to steal. French author Balzac commented: "Behind every great fortune lies a great crime."

Jesus said in Luke 12:15

"Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions."

IV. Christians are Stewards of God's Wealth.

In the Bible, servants who take care of their masters' possessions are called "Stewards." Abraham had a steward who managed his household for him. Joseph became the steward of Potipher. After Joseph became the ruler of Egypt, then Joseph had a steward.

Jesus taught that his followers were stewards in a parable in Matthew 25:14-28.

"Again, it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted his property to them. To one he gave five talents of money, to another two talents, and to another one talent, each according to his ability. Then he went on his journey.

"The man who had received the five talents went at once and put his money to work and gained five more. So also, the one with the two talents gained two more. But the man who had received the one talent went off, dug a hole in the ground and hid his master's money.

"After a long time the master of those servants returned and settled accounts with them. The man who had received the five talents brought the other five. Master, he said, you entrusted me with five talents. See, I have gained five more. His master replied, Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master's happiness!

"The man with the two talents also came. Master, he said, you entrusted me with two talents; see, I have gained two more. His master replied, Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master's happiness!

"Then the man who had received the one talent came. Master, he said, I knew that you are a hard man, harvesting where you have not sown and gathering where you have not scattered seed. So I was afraid and went out and hid your talent in the ground. See, here is what belongs to you.

"His master replied, You wicked, lazy servant! So you knew that I harvest where I have not sown and gather where I have not scattered seed? Well then, you should have put my money on deposit with the bankers, so that when I returned I would have received it back with interest. Take the talent from him and give it to the one who has the ten talents."

Faithfulness is our motto, like the Marine Corps: Semper Fidelis.

Some Christians are rich, some are poor. It doesn't matter. Your money is not your money; it is Jesus' money. You are just a steward of things that really belong to Him. Christ doesn't judge us on how wealthy we are, but He does judge us on how well we use whatever wealth He has put into our hands. We are required to be faithful stewards.

This principle influences how we use our money and possessions in every possible way. "What does Jesus want me to do?" becomes the lodestar and guiding light of our money management.

For example....

If I need a new car, shall I buy a $50,000 Mercedes, or a $25,000 Ford? Would Jesus rather have me use the extra money to support the Church?

If I need a house, shall I buy a $400,000 house, or a $200,000 house? What could I do for missions with that extra $200,000?

If my watch is broken, shall I buy a $4000 Rolex? If I buy a $50 Timex instead, perhaps I could really help the AAA Women's Clinic, or the Salvation Army, or some other charitable cause. Remember, it's not YOUR money, it's JESUS' money. What does it say about my Christian Faith if I'm spending plenty of money on myself, but not giving much to my Church or missions, or the poor? How does Jesus want us to spend HIS money?

Money is wonderful stuff! Money is not the root of all evil. It is the LOVE of money that is bad. It is covetousness that is the danger. Money itself is a tool to use in the Lord's work.

"Who Wants to Be A Millionaire?" We all do. Who wants to win the Powerball Lottery? Everyone. But what does God say to His children about money?

It is our duty to earn money. If you live by God's laws, you will probably prosper. You must not make money your life. Don't covet. You are only a steward. All your money is really Christ's money.

May God give us the grace to have a Christian view of money.