On Monday, I wrote about the three methods of making money. Tuesday, I talked about three reasons why Christians should not think about earning more money. And today, we’re continuing the discussion by looking at two reasons why Christians should think about earning more money.
While I had three reasons why we shouldn’t think about making more money, I’ve only thought of two reasons why we should be thinking about how we can earn more. The lack of a third reason does not mean much though. I think these are two powerful reasons why Christians should be looking for ways to make more money.
1. You Want to Meet Your Needs and Your Family’s Needs
As I wrote in my Bible study on work, God uses the results of diligent work to bless us and meet our needs. I recommend you read the article in that last link to learn more about this aspect of work.
God is certainly able to meet our needs by any means He chooses, but we have a clear call in the Bible to work diligently. God uses our work as a means of blessing us and meeting our needs. The fact that this requires action on our part does not take away from the divine blessings that follow – for everything was created by God and all that we have comes from Him. Our working is simply a fulfillment of our responsibility.
If you’re doing what you can to lower your expenses but still find yourself lacking what is needed to care for yourself or your family, then thinking about ways you can earn more money can certainly honor God. However, if you simply desire to spend more on your wants and desires, please go back and read my post about reasons why Christians shouldn’t think about earning more.
2. You Want to Be More Generous
One of the ways we can witness to the power of God’s love working in us is through irrational generosity. God can give us such a heart for the poor that we give far more than anyone could reasonably expect. When extreme generosity is evident in our lives (not through our boasting, but through our choices), non-Christians have no easy way to explain it. This gives us an opportunity to testify to the love of God and the teachings Jesus gave us.
If you want to be more generous, I commend you! There are two ways you can give more. You can either spend less on yourself, or you can earn more and give it away. Spending less works up to a point, but you can’t spend less than $0. And getting to that point would be extremely difficult!
On the other hand, you can always look for ways to earn more money. And theoretically, there’s no limit on how much you can make. That also means there’s no limit on how much you can give away either. For someone who wants to be more generous, that’s great news!
Paul wrote in Ephesians 4:28:
Let him who stole steal no more; but rather let him labor, working with his hands the thing that is good, that he may have something to give to him who has need.
Ephesians 4:28 (WEB)
This isn’t just a call to a change of heart and actions for those who used to steal. It’s a call for all Christians to use their abilities to work and earn money so we may give to those in need. While we can certainly have the wrong motives for earning more money, increasing our generosity is certainly not one of them. I can’t think of any better reason for wanting to increase your income!
Your Thoughts
I really tried to come up with three reasons for this article. I thought it would be nice to have an equal number of reasons why we should or shouldn’t think about earning more money. As I said before, it doesn’t matter that I didn’t come up with a third reason because these two are quite powerful.
But maybe you can think of a third reason why Christians should think about earning more. You can let me know what you think by sharing your thoughts in the comments below!
Great blog. For #1, I think its valuable to define needs. Many lack a biblical view of “needs” in our lives in general. God will give you that piece of bread or clothing that He knows you will need to keep your faith healthy and keep you away from sin (eg stealing). Job is a great example of that. Some have a lower threshold than others. Needs are not “I need a new Porsche and those new jeans.”
For another point, I think there is a case for thinking about earning more money to meet God’s calling beyond giving. If you are called to pay off debts, save money for a mission’s trip, or something else which will magnify God…I think those are fine reasons to look to earn more money.
Thanks for taking the time to comment, Erik!
I agree with you about carefully defining needs. We’re quick to define our needs as whatever everyone else has that we feel we should have as well. It’s almost “keeping up with the Joneses”, but it goes deeper than that. We get to the point where we don’t even see it as “keeping up” any more – it’s just expected.
I see what you’re saying about following God’s will beyond giving. But I think your examples fall into these two categories. Paying off debt would be covered under caring for your family. Going on a mission trip is a form of giving. Maybe there are some examples that fall outside of those categories though.
Thanks again for commenting!
I think the third reason is to add more value to others. You cannot make more money without adding value to others… at least in the long term. This rule applies whether you have a job, a business or are an investor.
There may be a moral question of what other people consider value but you can definitely do it inline with your own conscience by adding what you define as positive value.
I think that these are two extremely important reasons to try and earn more money. You really don’t need a third one to balance the two sides.
Supporting my family and giving are the only things that motivate me to think about money. I want to be sure that I am honoring God in every area of my life, and money plays such a large part of our lives (especially in this society).
@Craig(#4): Thanks for sharing your thoughts! I think adding value could be a legitimate reason, but I’m not sure you could find it in Scripture. It does seem like a good concept though.
@Khaleef(#5): I tend to agree with you that these are two very important reasons, so they easily balance with the other article I wrote. It’s also true that money is a huge part of our lives. We make decisions about it every day, and the decisions we make can show whom we are serving (God or money). Thanks for commenting!
I Timothy 5:8 really kind of nails it. However, I do think many people need to lower their standard of living and not be so materialistic. Many people think they need more than they really do.
I agree, Tracy. Our culture gives us the mindset that we’re entitled to certain things or that certain luxuries are truly necessities. Advertising is partly to blame, but a lot of it also comes from inside of us. We compare ourselves to others or we want to impress others. (Really they’re the same thing…)
I think a key to being successful in your finances is to realize what’s a true need and what’s not. I also think this confusion is part of the reason Christians don’t give more. We confuse needs and wants and then say we can’t afford to give more.
Thanks for commenting!
Thank you…this is great.
I’ve been recently concerned with earning more money to help out with our household…and confess that I am “sitting on” gifts and talents that I’ve been given for that reason. But I was reminded of Psalm 128:1-2 which says “Blessed is everyone who fears the Lord and walks in His ways…for you shall eat the labor of your hands Happy you’ll be and it shall be well with thee” “The labor of your hands” is the part I want to point out!
Anyway, Thanks again.
You’re welcome, Cynthia. And thanks for commenting!