Over the next two days, I hope to reflect upon two books that discuss money from Christian perspectives. The first book is The Treasure Principle by Randy Alcorn, and the second is The Good of Affluence by John Schneider. I found both of these books compelling and encouraging, but they address money from two different angles. Today, I’ll share a few things that I learned from The Treasure Principle. Tomorrow, I’ll do the same for The Good of Affluence, and then I’ll consider how both sets of truths fit together in the Christian life. My hope is to dialogue about how our use of money (whether we are giving it away or spending it on ourselves) can be driven by biblical, Jesus-centered truth as opposed to consumerism.
Let me make two disclaimers upfront. First, I am not remotely close to being an expert on issues like generosity, giving, finances, or consumerism. Also, I don’t mean to suggest that Randy Alcorn or John Schneider would endorse any of my comments or reflections. I’m merely a novice trying to think out loud and stir up discussion, which brings me to the first book.
Randy Alcon lays out one overarching principle, which he calls “the Treasure Principle,” along with six underlying keys to this principle. The Treasure Principle says, “You can’t take [money] with you – but you can send it on ahead.”
The six keys are as follows:
- God owns everything. I’m His money manager.
- My heart always goes where I put God’s money.
- Heaven, not earth, is my home.
- I should live not for the dot (I.E. This life) but for the line (I.E. Eternity).
- Giving is the only anecdote to materialism.
- God prospers me not to raise my standard of living, but to raise my standard of giving.
The thing I most appreciate about The Treasure Principle is that it makes me want to give money away. The book doesn’t make me feel guilty for not giving enough. Rather, it makes me feel as though I’m missing out on joy by not giving away more. The way Alcorn accomplishes this for me is by repeatedly stating that this life (AKA “the dot”) is, to paraphrase, less than 0.001% of how long we’ll ultimately live. This reality seems to have a way of making us remember what’s worth getting excited about – the 80 billion years we’ll live for eternity, not the 80 year life we’re living now.
Alcorn also frees his reader up from feeling as though giving for rewards is an ungodly motivation. He encourages his readers to reflect upon the clear promises of Jesus for material and spiritual blessings in the New Earth. An example of this motivation comes when Jesus says in Matthew 6:19 and 20, “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.” Here Jesus seems to be commanding his followers to store up wealth that will last. As Alcorn suggests, Jesus isn’t against investing so long as we’re making smart investments.
Another lesson of Alcorn’s book that inspires me is the idea that one way to resist my own apathy towards God’s Kingdom is by giving. While joyful giving is ideal, Alcorn encourages us to give as a means of making our struggling hearts more excited about the Kingdom. To make this point, he references Jesus’ statement in Matthew 6:21: “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” It seems that Jesus is saying: by giving more, we store up treasure in heaven; and by storing up treasure in heaven, our hearts are more enthralled with God’s Kingdom. As a person who struggles with spiritual apathy, I find this anecdote deeply encouraging and challenging.
This sums up the aspects of The Treasure Principle that most powerfully speak to me. I hope you find these words encouraging. Tomorrow, I’ll pick up by discussing The Good of Affluence.
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