Originally Posted by
Char-Gar
I have always tried to follow John Wesley's counsel on the "Proper Us of Money". It is rather long, but I will hit the high points;
First of all it the love of money that is the root of evil, it is not money itself. Money is a gift of God that can do wonderful things for others in the hands of God's people. Therefore it behooves a Christian to:
1. GAIN all you can. However there are proper and moral ways by which Christians can gain money and improper and immoral ways also. In gaining money, make certain we do not hurt others in either their body, spirit or ability to make a living. He gives illustrations of all of these things not to do.
2. After you have GAINED all you can, then SAVE all you can and do not waste any of this precious gift of God on the A) the lust of the eye, B) the lust of the flesh or C) the pride of life. In this Wesley followed the teachings of John.
3. After you have SAVED all you can, then GIVE all you can. You should first provide for your family and yourself, so you will not be a burden on others. Then you should "go good to those who are the household of faith". Lastly if you have any left, you should "do good to all of mankind".
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I note, that Wesley talks about principals and priorities and not about legalism, that you must or should give a set amount. He makes no mention of tithing or even giving to a church, but when he says to good to those who are the household of faith, it is implicit that he is talking about the church. I do believe in supporting your church, but care should be taken that the money so given, is indeed doing good to those that are of the household of faith and not the perpetuation of a money sponge institution.
I belong to the "think and let think" school of Christian thought unless we are talking about "the marrow of the faith", such as the divinity of Christ, the resurrection of Christ and like items.
I do draw the line however, at folks who take the position, if you don't think as I think and do as I think you should, God is going to get you. I want to stay as far away from these modern day Pharisees as possible. The way of Christ is the way of love and grace and not the way of judgment and rules.