Ministerial Ethics: A Guide for Spirit-Filled Leaders by T. Burton Pierce

Author:T. Burton Pierce [Pierce, T. Burton]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: [h]
Publisher: BookMasters
Published: 2012-01-29T17:00:00+00:00

Chapter 10

The Minister and Money: Filthy Lucre in Clean Hands

The minister must maintain a right attitude toward money. Money is to be respected but not loved, appreciated but not coveted. A wrong perspective on financial matters has been the undoing of men and women of God on more than one occasion. It has been said jokingly that money isn’t everything—it just buys everything! Fortunately, the most important things in life are not for sale at any price. Nonetheless, the proper handling of dollars and cents becomes a critical matter to that person who views money too seriously or too lightly, as the case may be.

In reality, the wise handling of money leads to financial security much more readily than greater earning power. Often when income rises, we unwittingly raise our standard of living to the extent that financial pressure actually destroys the joy of living. Regardless of the level of income, we need to hold a conservative philosophy of spending and saving that will result in a reasonably comfortable lifestyle, both now and in later years.

A few years ago in working with ministers and their spouses in estate planning, I noticed an interesting phenomenon. Older couples who had accumulated relatively sizable estates over time had never been blessed in their lifetimes with good, substantial incomes. Their secret was simply careful money handling, in some cases accompanied by frugal living. By contrast, any number of families within the same denominational fellowship, having enjoyed considerably higher levels of income for years, were not prepared for the future, which tends to be marred by burdensome medical expenses or reduced family income, perhaps both. For the head of the home to jeopardize the entire family by carelessly using the resources God has provided is a serious matter.

Recognition of the fact that God is the ultimate source of all financial blessing leads us to a serious consideration of the tithing principle as it applies to the church, the minister, and the minister’s family. The term “principle” becomes appropriate here with the realization that tithing was instituted in the Book of Genesis as a response to blessing and was reiterated by Christ himself in the New Testament. Abraham, “Father of the Faithful,” was the first to return the tithe to God, via Melchizedek, as an act of gratitude for divine assistance when he was rescuing Lot, along with the spoils of war, from his pagan captors (Gen. 14:20). In similar fashion, Jacob made and kept a lifelong vow to the Almighty that he would voluntarily pay tithes of all that God would ever bless him with (Gen. 28:20–22). In neither case did it appear that giving the tithe was a moral obligation but was rather the reflection of gratitude to a gracious God in an era noted for its ingratitude and self-centered actions, even among those called of God.

Jesus made it clear that not only is it ethically sound to practice tithing but it is practical. He admonished the Pharisees to continue to tithe even as

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