Description
1. It was Martin Luther who said, “There are three conversions a person needs to experience: The conversion of the head, the conversion of the heart, and the conversion of the pocketbook.”
It is worth noting that money is such an important topic in the Bible that it is the main subject of nearly half of the parables Jesus told. In addition, one in every seven verses in the New Testament deals with this topic. The Bible offers 500 verses on prayer, fewer than 500 verses on faith, and more than 2,000 verses on money. In fact, 15 percent of everything Jesus ever taught was on the topic of money and possessions—more than His teachings on heaven and hell combined.
Why did Jesus place such an emphasis on money and possessions? In your personal life, how important are money, wealth and possessions?
2. Money seems to be at the root of many issues. Very often decisions are made purely on a financial basis. Questions like, “Should I go back to school to get a higher degree” or “Should I get married at my age?” are often based on our perception of our ability to pay for something. That is not an ungodly principle. After all, we should count the cost before we pursue certain directions in life. Here is an important question, however: Are finances, debt, and money management the source of stress in your life? If you answered no to that question, you’re in a blessed minority; whether we’re rich, poor, or somewhere in between, most of us know the anxiety of making our financial ends meet.
But beyond these everyday pressures there is a larger question: what are we called to do with our money? Does God expect more of our money management than simply paying our bills on time and saving up for school, retirement, and creature comforts? What are God’s expectations for the money with which He entrusts us?
3. Matthew 20:1-4 (NIV) For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire workers for his vineyard. He agreed to pay them a denarius for the day and sent them into his vineyard. About nine in the morning, he went out and saw others standing in the marketplace doing nothing. He told them, “You also go and work in my vineyard, and I will pay you whatever is right.”
In the parable of the workers in the vineyard, the landowner hired workers at various times of the day, but at the end of the day he paid them all the same amount. Those he hired early in the day agreed to work for a denarius and the others were told that they would be paid “whatever is right.” Because those were hired early were paid the same as those who worked less, those workers complained because they had worked more hours than the ones hired later in the day. The landowner said he was not unfair with his decision.
With your knowledge of salary and wages, why would the landowner say that he was not unfair in his decision of paying workers the same amounts?
