Money Management (Part 1)

A master copy of the indented outline in both MS Word and PDF formats and part 2 of the series can be found here: Money Management. Money Management I. Before we learn how to manage money, let's first learn what money is. 1. Money n. - 1. a. Current coin; metal stamped in pieces of portable form as a medium of exchange and measure of value. b. Applied occas. by extension to any objects, or any material, serving the same purposes as coin. c. In mod. use commonly applied indifferently to coin and to such promissory documents representing coin (esp. government and bank notes) as are currently accepted as a medium of exchange. See paper money. 2. Money is a commonly used and accepted medium of exchange. 3. Items that function as money usually have the following characteristics: A. Intrinsically valuable B. Durability C. Divisibility D. Uniformity E. Portability F. Limited supply G. Acceptability H. Noncounterfeitability 4. Because they have all these qualities, for thousands of years gold and silver have functioned as money. II. Some history of money 1. Historically, money consisted of precious metals such as gold and silver and the value of the money was according to its weight (Jer 32:9-10). 2. Shekel - 1. a. An ancient unit of weight of the Babylonians, and hence of the Phœnicians, Hebrews, and others, equal to one-sixtieth of a mina (see mina1 1). b. A coin of this weight; esp. the chief silver coin of the Hebrews. 3. The dollar used to be a unit of weight of gold and silver. A. "A dollar was first defined in the Mint Act of 1792 as 371.25 grains of fine silver, exactly the weight of the Spanish mill dollar, which was the most common coin in colonial America and which continued to circulate legally in the United States until 1857, 70 years after the signing of the Constitution." (Peter Schiff, Crash Proof 2.0) B. "No State shall enter into any Treaty, Alliance, or Confederation; grant Letters of Marque and Reprisal; coin Money; emit Bills of Credit; make any Thing but gold and silver Coin a Tender in Payment of Debts;" (US Constitution, Article I Section 10). C. The US was on a bi-metallic standard (both silver and gold) which was problematic because the ratio of gold to silver would vary and Gresham's Law would cause the higher valued metal to disappear from circulation. 4. In 1934 the US government made it illegal for US citizens to own gold. 5. In 1965 the silver was taken out of quarters and dimes. 6. In 1971 the "gold window" was closed and foreign governments were no longer able to redeem gold for dollars. A. At that point the dollar became a purely fiat currency backed by nothing. B. With gold backing gone, nothing was left to restrain the Federal Reserve from printing as much paper money as they wished and inflation exploded. 7. This wicked policy of debasing the currency is not new. A. The Jews were doing it thousands of years ago, "making the ephah small, and the shekel great, and falsifying the balances by deceit?" (Amo 8:4-5) B. Ephah - A Hebrew dry measure, identical in capacity with the bath; see bath n.3; it is variously said to have contained from 4 1/2 to 9 gallons. 8. God hates this kind of thing (Pro 20:10; Lev 19:35-36). 9. Inflation robs savers of their purchasing power and it also creates the business cycle which ultimately ends in a bust which destroys the jobs and lives of innocent people. 10. Enough talking about the government's mismanagement of money -- let's talk about yours. III. It is not wrong for a Christian to have wealth. 1. Abraham had great wealth (Gen 13:2). 2. David was rich (1Ch 29:28). 3. Solomon had great wealth (1Ki 10:23). 4. Rich believers are exhorted, not to give away all their wealth, but rather to not trust in it and be willing to give it to those in need (1Ti 6:17-19). 5. Both rich and poor must be careful to not trust in riches. A. The rich have a tendency to trust in their riches to protect them (Pro 18:11). B. The poor have a tendency to trust that riches would save them from all their problems. C. The Bible is replete with warnings to not trust in riches. D. If riches increase, set not your heart upon them (Psa 62:10). E. To make gold one's hope, or to rejoice in wealth is a sin and a denial of God (Job 31:24-25,28). F. We must never glory in riches, but only in the fact that we know and understand God (Jer 9:23-24). G. Riches don't last forever (Pro 27:24; Pro 23:5; Psa 49:10-12). H. Trusting in riches will cause one to fall (Pro 11:28). I. Trusting in riches will obstruct one's way into the kingdom of God (the local church) (Mar 10:23-25). J. Silver and gold will not save a person from the wrath of God (Eze 7:19; Zep 1:18). IV. It is wrong for the acquisition of riches to be your life's goal. 1. Labour not to be rich (Pro 23:4). 2. A man's life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth (Luk 12:15). 3. What good is having a bunch of stuff anyway? (Ecc 5:11-12). 4. They that haste to be rich will not be innocent in doing so (Pro 28:20) and they will end up poor in the long run (Pro 28:22). 5. They that will be rich fall into a snare (1Ti 6:9). 6. The love of money is the root of all evil (1Ti 6:10). 7. A man of God must especially be careful to flee these things (1Ti 6:11; 1Ti 3:3). 8. You can't serve God and money (Mat 6:24). 9. Your heart will be where your treasure is (Luk 12:33-34). 10. Lot chose wealth over righteousness (Gen 13:10-13) and ended up with neither. V. You can't take it with you. 1. We will leave this world with what we brought into it: nothing (1Ti 6:7; Ecc 5:15; Psa 49:17). 2. Steve Jobs left this world with nothing more than a homeless bum. 3. We came in naked and we will leave the same way (Job 1:21). 4. If you lay up treasure for yourself and are not rich toward God, God might take you out of this world and your wealth will become another's (Luk 12:16-21). VI. It is not necessarily a sign of a lack of spirituality or godliness for a Christian to be poor. 1. Gain does not equal godliness (1Ti 6:5-8). 2. Jesus was poor (2Co 8:9) and didn't even own a house (Luk 9:58). 3. Peter was not wealthy (Act 3:6). 4. Paul and the other apostles went without at times in their lives (1Co 4:11). 5. The saints in Jerusalem were poor (Rom 15:26). 6. The saints in Macedonia were very poor (2Co 8:1-2). 7. The church in Smyrna was poor (Rev 2:9). 8. The poor are blessed (Mat 5:3; Jam 2:5; Isa 66:2). 9. It is better to be poor than a dishonest fool (Pro 28:6; Pro 19:1; Pro 19:22). 10. If you make yourself poor for God's sake, you have great riches (Pro 13:7; 2Co 6:10).
Attachment Size
Money Management.PDF 205.6 kB
Money Management.doc 86.0 kB