It's not how much you make. It's how much of it you give away.

There is a lot of talk of how much money Christian's make and even some presumptions on whether a person is a so-called "true Christian" by how many zeros are on his paycheck. But I submit that it not how much one makes but how much of it one gives away that shows where their heart is. Money is not the root of all evil, but it can be held and used very selfishly.

Psalm 24:1 says, “The earth is the Lord's, and everything in it. The world and all its people belong to him.” G-d says in Job 41:11 , “Everything under heaven belongs to me.” Haggai 2:8 says, “'The silver is mine and the gold is mine,' declares the LORD Almighty.” Psalm 50:10-12, “All the animals of the forest are mine, and I own the cattle on a thousand hills. Every bird of the mountains and all the animals of the field belong to me. If I were hungry, I would not mention it to you, for all the world is mine and everything in it.”

It's pretty clear G-d is saying, He owns everything. It is all His. It's not a new thing for people to forget this, in the first chapter of Isaiah G-d says, “The ox and the donkey know their owner, but my people do not know who owns them.” Obviously as Christians we believe that G-d created us, and if that's not proof enough of His ownership then, think of Jesus and the price He paid for us, 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 says “You are not your own. You were bought at a price”

So G-d owns everything, including us, but we're only expected to give a tenth and then we're good right? Wrong. G-d owes us nothing. As a matter of fact we owe G-d a debt we can never repay. The Bible says we are to pay a tithe (10% of our income) This is to be a representation of our submission that all we have is G-d's. When we make money, it is a blessing, a gift from G-d. He blessed us with the job and the ability to do it, then He blessed our employer with the money to pay us. We are to be stewards of G-d's money that He bestows upon us and be in constant prayer over what He wants us to do with it.

G-d could bless a person with a million dollars and that person could give it all away, wisely praying about where to give it. He could then give another person twenty dollars and that person could go buy beer, cigarettes and gamble the rest away, without a thought or prayer of what G-d wants. Who do you think is in the right? The Christian who brought home a million or the one who brought home twenty dollars? 1 Corinthians 10:31 says “Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God” I believe this means, we should always be prayful about what we do with all our resources, dying to ourselves and our desires. For everything we do, we should do for G-d by His good and perfect will.

I leave you with a passage in Mark, where the opposite side of the story is seen, but the same lesson is taught. It's not how much you make. It's how much of it you give away.

Mark 12:41 And He sat down opposite the treasury, and began observing how the people were putting money into the treasury; and many rich people were putting in large sums. 42 A poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which amount to a cent. 43 Calling His disciples to Him, He said to them, “Truly I say to you, this poor widow put in more than all the contributors to the treasury; 44 for they all put in out of their surplus, but she, out of her poverty, put in all she owned, all she had to live on.”