What is Money for?

To better understand and to accept that money = life, it is required to itemize in details the real intentions of money in our life.

The intentions of money for man are:  to glorify God; to serve fellow men; for the sustenance of needs; for man’s happiness.

To Glorify God

“Our money has not been given to us that we might honor and glorify ourselves. As faithful stewards we are to use it for the honor and glory of God.” Ellen G. White said, as written from her book “Messages to Young People”

The greatest among all the commandments is found in Matthew 22: 37-38. “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment.”

Proverbs 3: 9-10 stated crystal clear. “Honor the Lord with your wealth, with the first fruits of all your crops; then your barns will be filled to overflowing, and your vats will brim over with new wine.”

The number one intention of money is to glorify God. Let me explain how money is used to glorify God: 

First, we must believe the truth that we owe everything to God and we don’t have anything!  Psalm 24: 1 declares. “The earth is the Lord’s and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it.” Deuteronomy 8: 17-18 tells us, ‘You may say to yourself, “My power and the strength of my hands have produced this wealth for me.” But remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth, and so confirms his covenant, which he swore to your forefathers, as it is today.” These texts tell us that our life, our talents, our time, our body, our resources, our possessions, everything are owned by God. These are all lent to us by God. We are just God’s stewards. We are just God’s managers. We are just God’s workmen.

Second, to seal our conviction to the principle of absolute God’s ownership and man the steward we will return the Tithes and give Offerings. These tithes and offerings are our manifestations of direct respect and giving credit to God’s blessings and recognizing His full ownership of everything we have. Tithes and Offerings are the 10% portion of our every increase; it is the 10% of our income that must be given to religious and charitable institution. This is what Jacob had done, recorded in the book of Genesis 28: 20-22, “Then Jacob made a vow, “Saying, if God will be with me and will watch over me on this journey I am taking and will give me food to eat and clothes to wear so that I return safely to my father’s house, then the Lord will be my God and this stone that I have set up as a pillar will be God’s house, and of all that you give me I will give you a tenth.”