REFLECTIONS ON HANDLING MONEY From John Darwood.
The song says, “money makes the world go around”, the Bible says, “The love of it is the root of all evil”!
It can be a great blessing if used carefully, prayerfully – think of all those charities who were making such an effort at Christmas time to be channels of blessing to so many needy people – think of the Bill Gates Foundation.
Equally it can destroy and bring misery – think of betting shops, people smugglers, fraud, over extended and overpriced personal borrowing.
Our view and use of money is most likely coloured by how little or how much we have, and how we see that in relation to the biblical concept of tithing – giving some of what God has given us back to Him. I admit there is a certain sense of sacrifice in so doing but it has been my experience from the very beginning of my working life (in 1948, first salary £130 p.a. of which £40 went on a railway season ticket!) that I have never been disadvantaged by regularly giving to some aspect or another of Christian / charitable work. Of course, there were times when this was not easy, or convenient, and discipline was required; much later when retirement loomed, with the resultant reduction in income, it seemed some pruning might be necessary, but it didn’t turn out that way at all!
So, we are deeply grateful to God for the way in which He has helped us contribute to His work over so many years, and trust that many have been blessed along the way.