Faith amidst Financial Flux
Friday, 6th September 2024
We live in a time of significant economic stress. Some of us feel this acutely, as we spend the month watching the bank balance drop until it turns red – anxiously delaying the big spend until pay day. Some of us are personally more fortunate, but can easily find ourselves captured by the desire for more, caught up in the pursuit of wealth.
Economic Unrest
Back at the Confident Faith Conference, Max Jeganathan offered some guidance for navigating a world of economic unrest. We’ve just released the recording on YouTube—the first of the films from the conference that will be published in the coming months.
In his talk, Max points to the economic uncertainty that the world is currently facing and points us to ‘the anchor beyond the storm’. In a world so worried about money, on both the macro and the personal level, this is an opportunity for Christians to be radically counter-cultural.
Jesus vs. Money
In an oft-quoted statistics, 11 of Jesus’ 40 parables mention money and he said some pretty striking things about wealth. “You can’t serve both God and money.” “Sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven.”
But Jesus wasn’t obsessed with money – in fact his answer about taxes shows that he didn’t care all that much about the coin itself (Matt 22:15-22). Instead, he used wealth to illustrate the critical choices of what it means to live for his kingdom.
In this video from Gospel Patrons, one charity leader reflects:
When I was growing up our parents would get us together and they would read to us from the Bible and worker stories. And these stories were just incredible adventures. Men and women would sacrifice everything and give up all their wealth, get on a boat travel for six months, travel across the seas to share the gospel. Entire communities and peoples and nations were transformed as a result.
Growing up I just thought, “I want to be like those people. Those people haven’t just found something worth dying for. They seem to have discovered the secret of living as well. Real incredible purposeful lives.” I thought, “That’s what I want.”
A Christian mindset about life, should have a dramatic impact on our approach to wealth.
Eternal Perspective
As we begin the new academic year here in Oxford, with new courses starting and big events coming up, we’ve taken time to remember our mission. We’re not focused on the next year or the five-year plan but on eternity. OCCA exists to see people saved forever!
Most of my friends are living for the here and now, and it comes very naturally to me to live the same way. Saving for the next holiday or topping up the pension for retirement. But Jesus said,
“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. (Matthew 5:19-21)
Martin Luther observed that a man needs to undergo three conversions: the first of his mind, the second of his heart, and the third of his purse.
Generosity
Since joining OCCA, I’ve been blown away by the astonishing generosity of people, who give so sacrificially to enable Christian mission: the financial worker who earns a massive bonus and gives it away; the teacher who increases their percentage tithe each year; the Christian missionary committed to fund training for the next generation.
The giving charity, Stewardship, recently released the findings of some research they’ve done into UK generosity.
It’s worth a proper read, but here are some highlights:
- Practising Christians in the UK give over 6% of their income away – more than double the average for UK citizens.
- Regular church attendance more than doubles the propensity to give.
- Those who discuss their giving tend to give more themselves.
- Trust is one of the key questions when it comes to deciding to give.
Read the Generosity Report here.
Most of the findings are not surprising, but they do give cause for thought. I found it very helpful in reflecting on my own giving and wondering if my bank statement reveals my spiritual priorities as I hope it should.
How would our relationship with money change if it were shaped by the counter-cultural teachings of Jesus? How might our world be transformed if we were known not by what we accumulate in this life, but by how we give and serve so that people might live forever?
Thank you for reading,
Charlie Styles, OCCA Director
Charlie Styles