Whether you love or hate it, money is a necessary part of life. If you’re anything like me, you’ve probably wondered about God’s purpose for wealth. What does the Bible say about money, and how should we steward it as Christians? 

I didn’t always think that faith and finances went together. When I first became financially free through real estate investing, I did it for all the wrong reasons. It didn’t take me long to realize there was more to building wealth than not working and sitting on the couch all day. God woke me up and showed me how money could be used to make a profound difference. 

The Church likes to shy away from conversations about money. Typically, pastors talk about money once a year during an awkward sermon series with the goal of getting congregants to tithe. However, Jesus spoke about money and possessions more than any other subject. As His followers, we better listen!  

In this blog, I share four things I’ve learned about God’s purpose for wealth. This is by no means an exhaustive list, and I encourage you to do your own research.

Biblical wealth building looks like:

1. Partnering with God

2. Being a Good Steward

3. Building the Kingdom of Heaven on the Earth

4.Blessing Others and Making a Difference

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About Money Below

1. God’s Purpose for Wealth is to Develop Our Character &

Stewardship

“Our handling of money is a litmus test of our true character. It’s an index of our spiritual life. Our stewardship of our money and possessions becomes the story of our lives.” – Randy Alcorn, Money, Possessions, and Eternity

Everything we have belongs to God. As Psalm 24:1 (NLT) says, “The earth is the LORD’s, and everything in it. The world and all its people belong to him.” When we accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior, the Holy Spirit encourages us to align our actions with that Truth. 

Our Character

One of the most straightforward ways the Bible encourages us to handle our money is through giving tithes and offerings. Through giving, we actively release control, trust God as our Provider, and eliminate pride. We also minimize greed and increase generosity. This is the first step to what I call money mastery: not being a slave to money, but having money serve you as you serve God.

Our Stewardship

As God builds our character, we develop the capacity to steward more. (Jesus illustrates this principle in The Parable of The Talents.) As we are faithful with little, God entrusts us to be faithful with much. (Matthew 25:21 & 23) The ability to steward God’s resources is a gift. As we move forward on our financial and spiritual journey, we get to partner with God in a greater capacity.

2. God’s Purpose for Wealth is to Establish

Partnership

One of God’s purposes for wealth is to build a relationship with us. How God guides you to use your money will reflect who He created you to be. 

In other words, wealth is a way to participate in the creative process with God. 1 Corinthians 3:9 (ESV) says, “For we are God’s fellow workers. You are God’s field, God’s building. As we work alongside God, he is working inside of us!

Using wealth to partner with God is a beautiful cycle. Here’s an example:

• We used our wealth to create the nonprofit, Tricord, where we distribute microfinance loans to entrepreneurs and pastors in developing countries.
• Investors can use their wealth to invest in Tricord, which provides the capital for these microfinance loans.
• The recipients of the loans use the capital to build wealth, which enables them to engage in the creative process and empower their communities.

For example, one woman in an African village completed four loan cycles. She took the first loan and started a business for herself. It was a small stand that provided dry goods. By the time she took out the fourth loan, she had a whole grocery store and employed 14 people in her village with full-time work. She put a roof on her house, paid for her kids’ schooling, and raised the economic standard of her whole village!

3. God’s Purpose for Wealth is Building the Kingdom of Heaven on

the Earth 

“I place no value on anything I possess, except in relation to the Kingdom of God.” –David Livingstone, missionary. 

At the end of our days, we will account for how we spent our lives–including our finances. What has been accomplished for eternity through how we use our money?

Jesus encouraged us to use our wealth to purchase and invest in heavenly treasures:

“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” (Matthew 6:19-21, ESV)

Material things won’t stand the test of time. They are vulnerable to decay and theft. Jesus isn’t telling us to forego money altogether. Instead, he encourages us to invest our wealth in an eternal treasury. We can do this by investing in people and using our wealth to implement Kingdom principles on the earth. Wealth allows us to enter every sphere of culture and influence the marketplace, education system, media, and government with biblical values.

Jesus commanded us to “go therefore and make disciples of all nations” (Matthew 28:19). I believe that Jesus is saying that we are called to disciple all those in the nations, as well as the nations themselves! City and nation transformation can’t take place without a kingdom economy. It starts with transforming the lives of individuals who make up those cities and nations.

Do you want to dive deeper into God’s Purpose for Wealth? Download our free Prayer Guide: “Financial Breakthrough Prayer Guide: 21 Bible Verses About Money”

4. God’s Purpose for Wealth is Blessing Others and Making a

Difference

“Riches are consistent with godliness, and the more a man hath, the more advantage he hath to do good with it, if God give him an heart to it.” –Samuel Willard, Puritan Clergyman.

Every point in this blog can be summed up in the fact that God’s purpose for wealth is to empower you to make a difference. Jesus made this clear in the parable of the rich man:

Then he spoke a parable to them saying, “The ground of a certain rich man yielded plentifully. And he thought within himself, saying, ‘What shall I do, since I have no room to store my crops?’ So he said, ‘I will do this: I will pull down my barns and build greater, and there I will store all my crops and my goods. And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years; take your ease; eat, drink, and be merry.”’ But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul will be required of you; then whose will those things be which you have provided?’ So is he who lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.” Luke 12:16-21

We don’t build wealth to eat, drink, be merry, and build bigger barns. Instead, God prospers us to further His will in our life. Without Kingdom purpose, prosperity is dangerous! You are blessed to be a blessing.

I want to be clear, though. God does want you to be blessed. He wants you to build wealth. He wants you to have some barns. But it’s not about building bigger barns. It’s about prospering in the barns you already have. When it comes time to build bigger barns, our character will be able to carry the blessing. The blueprint will come from partnering with God for a Kingdom purpose. That’s God’s purpose for wealth.

We hope this blog post helped you learn more about God’s Purpose for Wealth! For more study materials, download our free Financial Breakthrough Prayer Guide: 21 Bible Verses About Money