Saving Honors God and Serves Others
Our first biblical financial principle emphasizes the value of saving. Many Christians are familiar with the part of the Sermon on the Mount where Jesus addresses the issue of money as it relates to the heart.
“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. “ (Matthew 6:19- 20)
Out of context, these verses can make it easy to feel guilty about saving for retirement or building an emergency fund when there are so many people in need. Yet the Bible actually encourages us to set aside for expected, future needs. Proverbs 21:5 says, “The plans of the diligent lead surely to abundance, but everyone who is hasty comes only to poverty” (ESV).
Saving honors God because it values money as a gift that He has given to us. Through wise saving, we have the privilege and responsibility to steward these gifts in a way that honors Him and serves others.
In another part of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus tells us that even though we should save for the future, we should store up our true treasures in heaven. Jesus tells the crowd, “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” His point is not that wealth itself is evil but that when we choose material things over godliness, it is a reflection of our hearts.
