Family of Families (in Finances too!)

In our Wednesday night Bible study these past few weeks we have been studying how the church is a family of families. We have been looking at how the family structure is God's blueprint for the church. I don't think there is any clearer presentation of this truth than in Ephesians 5 and 6 where Paul is describing relationships in the home and right in the middle he says: "This mystery is great; but I am speaking with reference to Christ and the church." (Ephesians 5:32) It is clear that God has provided the family as a tool to reveal His plan for the administration of the church.

In addition to seeing church concepts like leadership, submission, teaching and belonging illustrated in the home, how about expanding this truth to include financial principles? Let's look at some of the financial principles that God gives us as families and apply them to the church. I believe we can and we should.

Priorities: Matthew 6:21 tells us that our heart is revealed by how we spend our money. In our homes, we see what is important to us by looking at the family checkbook. But what about the church? In church money can be spent in many different ways. It can be spent on missions, teaching or maintaining and creating beautiful facilities, community outreach and a host of other areas. But what is the purpose of the church? I believe it is to make disciples. (Matthew 28:19-20; Ephesians 4:12; and 2 Timothy 4:2) The next time we look at a church budget, ask this question: "Does this budget reflect the purpose of the church?" (Luke 12:34)

Debt: God's Word is pretty clear that borrowing is discouraged in God's Economy. We readily apply this to our personal finances and our family budget, but what about the church? Proverbs 22:7 says that debt forms a bondage relationship. God told the Israelites in Deuteronomy 28 that blessings go with lending; and curses go with borrowing. Paul starts out many of his letters declaring that he is in bondage to no one but Jesus Christ. Should we as the bride of Christ enter into a relationship that would put us into bondage with a secular financial institution and in a position that God warned the Israelites would result in curses? Because of the society we live in today, this has become a very difficult principle to apply in our personal finances and even more so in the church. But nevertheless God strongly discourages and warns of the dangers of debt in both the home and the church.

Caring for each other: 1 Timothy 5:8 (NIV) says if we don't provide for our own family we are worse than unbelievers. I don't believe we can stop the application of this principle with our family. How much of our church budget goes to helping our brothers and sisters in Christ that are in need? How many times do we leave this responsibility to government and other various social agencies? 1 John 3:17 says: How can we say that the love of God abides in us if we don't help our brothers and sisters who need help? Our church checkbook will reflect how well we as the body of Christ are meeting these needs.

Savings: The Bible instructs us to save for the future. (Proverbs 21:20; Proverbs 6:6-8; Luke 14:28) And like other biblical financial principles the need for savings applies to the church. Just as individual families will have occasions when unforeseen circumstances and emergencies necessitate the need for emergency funds or savings, so will churches. Remember that God works on a different time frame than we do and He may literally bless our church today for a need we may have tomorrow. As we apply the principle of saving to our church, we must also apply the principle of hoarding. Hoarding robs God of His glory, because it robs us of our trust in God for providing for our needs (Luke 11:9-13; 12:24). A church needs an emergency savings account and saving for anticipated large purchases. But a church needs to be very careful to not allow a savings account to become a tool used by Satan to replace our trust in God.

Fiscal management: Of all the verses in the Bible about money and possession (over 2,000) there is none that grabs my attention more than Luke 16:11 "...So if you have not been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will trust you with true riches?" (NIV) This verse is saying if we are faithful the way we handle our money, God will bless us with the true riches mentioned in Matthew 6:19,20; Luke 12:33. As we move this principle from the home to the church, it is expanded exponentially. Paying our bills (Psalm 37:21) on time (Proverbs 3:27) and managing the funds of the church with the highest integrity (2 Corinthians 8:16-24) is critical in the church. Luke tells us that it is prerequisite of receiving true riches which is what the church is all about. I truly believe there are many ineffective churches in America today simply because they are drowning in debt or not handling church funds with the highest integrity. Luke 16:11 is clear if a church does not handle money properly, it is in danger of being ineffective.

God's Word is full of many principles on handling money...His way. But too many times we never look past our personal finances and family budget to expand these principles to the church. But Ephesians 5:32 says the mystery is great; principles from the family apply to the church. In many cases, because the church is the Bride of Christ these principles are magnified many times over. Here is a link to a pdf file that lists of some of the verses that pertain to money and possessions. I might encourage you to read and apply these verses not only to your personal family but to the family of families (the church) as well.