Money, Money, Money

Wealth can be a profound tool or a dangerous master. Here is a practical checklist of biblical principles and verses to evaluate your relationship with money. Review these points to ensure your heart and your habits remain in the right place.

1. [ ] Examine Your Motives Wealth possesses a subtle power to deceive us, blurring the line between true needs and desires. The drive to look wealthy or accumulate endless comfort can easily capsize our lives with envy and greed. Proverbs 13:7 : One pretends to be rich, yet has nothing; another pretends to be poor, yet has great wealth. 1 Timothy 6:10 : 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. Luke 12:15 : Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions.

2. [ ] Check Your Trust Earthly wealth is a temporary test, often deceiving us into thinking it is true security. We must seek a higher kingdom first, trusting the Creator to provide exactly what we need, perfectly timed. Luke 16:11 to 13 : So if you have not been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will trust you with true riches? You cannot serve both God and money. Luke 12:27 to 31 : Consider how the wild flowers grow. They do not labor or spin... But seek his kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well.

3. [ ] Evaluate Your Work Ethic God needs honest accountants, faithful teachers, and companies with integrity. Your daily work is an open gospel to the people around you. Hard work, honesty, and avoiding quick riches are the true conditions for prosperity. Proverbs 13:4 : A sluggard's appetite is never filled, but the desires of the diligent are fully satisfied. Proverbs 13:11 : Dishonest money dwindles away, but whoever gathers money little by little makes it grow.

4. [ ] Review Your Financial Planning Faith requires practical action. We must create budgets, save, invest, buy insurance, and borrow wisely for productive long term goals. Work as if everything depends on you, but pray knowing everything depends on God. Proverbs 21:5 to 6 : The plans of the diligent lead to profit as surely as haste leads to poverty. A fortune made by a lying tongue is a fleeting vapor and a deadly snare.

5. [ ] Honor the Spirit of Tithing Historically, the tribe of Levi did not hold secular jobs because they were entirely devoted to serving God, so tithes were established to support their lives and the temple. Today, while the New Testament and the Catholic Church may not strictly mandate a rigid ten percent tithe, this is never an excuse to offer only spare change. We are called to give our absolute best, perhaps even exceeding ten percent, driven by a heart fully devoted to God.

6. [ ] Assess Your Generosity Everything we have is entrusted to us; we are simply managers of His property. Giving is the definitive proof that our love extends beyond mere words into concrete action. Give your absolute best, driven by a deeply obedient heart. Luke 12:33 to 34 : Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out... For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. Luke 21:2 to 4 : He also saw a poor widow put in two very small copper coins... she out of her poverty put in all she had to live on.

7. [ ] Measure Your Openness to Others God wants us to be a blessing. This requires sensitivity to the needs of your family, your parents, and those desperately needing a helping hand. We are called to give freely from what we have been given. Luke 6:38 : Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. Matthew 5:42 : Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you.