Self-Control With Money

Self-control is something which affects all aspects of our lives as Christians. Paul thought it so important that he included it in his list of fruits of the Spirit (Gal. 5:23), and Peter considered it one of the building blocks of Christianity (2 Pet. 1:6). Our Savior taught of its necessity for all who would be His followers, saying, "If anyone wishes to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me" (Lk. 9:23).

But beyond the knowledge that being a Christian requires self-control, how does one apply such in specific areas? For instance, how is self-control applied in regard to the Christian's money?

It appears that there are two separate dimensions in practicing self-control with money as it is dealt with in scripture. First, there is the aspect of greed, which Paul equated with idolatry (Col. 3:5). The Christian whose every waking moment is spent in some attempt to acquire more and more has certainly lost his way, and an overreaching desire for money will destroy one's faith.

"But those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a snare and many foolish and harmful desires which plunge men into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all sorts of evil, and some by longing for it have wandered away from the faith, and pierced themselves with many a pang" (1 Tim. 6:9-10).

This part of Paul's letter to Timothy identifies not riches, but a desire for such as the destroyer of men's faith. How many Christians have given up their salvation because they became involved in something which caused them to pursue wealth at all cost? Ed Harrell, in his book "Emergence of the Church of Christ' Denomination", identifies what historians term the "sect-to-denomination" process, and cites money as the prime factor in motivating the grandchildren and great-grandchildren of faithful believers to abandon core beliefs of their ancestors. He says these descendants ". . . who have far exceeded their forebearers financially, educationally, and socially are not likely to want the same kind of worship, the same kind of preaching, or the same kind of gospel that their ancestors loved. So they change the church."

The point is, the pursuit of money, especially at the cost of Bible study, family time, etc., will produce first, divided Christians, and finally, no Christians whatsoever. Christians need to heed the words of Paul, who advises that we not fix our ". . . hope on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly supplies us with all things to enjoy" (1 Tim. 6:17).

The second area where self-control is required in our dealings with money lies in the ability to be judicious in our spending of the money we do have. Jesus, in the parable of the unrighteous steward, taught His followers to be wise in the use of their money (mammon of unrighteousness), "And I say to you, make friends for yourselves by means of the mammon of unrighteousness; that when it fails, they may receive you into the eternal dwellings. He who is faithful in a very little thing is faithful also in much; and he who is unrighteous in a very little thing is unrighteous also in much. If therefore you have not been faithful in the use of unrighteous mammon, who will entrust the true riches to you?" (Lk. 16:9-11).

It is here that most of us need help. Our nation has gone from one where no one bought anything on credit to one in which almost everything is bought on credit. Hundreds of thousands of Americans are so deeply in debt that there is no way they could survive a financial crisis on the order of the Depression of the 1930s. Far too many are dependent on credit cards and are forced to pay ever mounting fees, robbing themselves, their families and their God of more and more of what they earn.

This is not an indictment of the credit system, but of our dependence on it. To constantly spend money we do not have is foolish, and if it is merely to acquire more (bigger house, newer car, better luxuries), it may return us to our discussion on greed.

Money is a part of our world, but it cannot consume us. It also needs to be used wisely, particularly in respect to being able to give as much back to God as we can. Our lives need to be focused on God and His word, not on money and what it will acquire.