Why does God need my money?

An insightful podcast about money

Our Chief Generosity Officer, Daniel Jones, was recently interviewed on UCB Radio’s Life Issues by Paul Hammond. Daniel talked about why we feel such a strong connection to our money and why giving can be a powerful declaration of gospel freedom. 

Below are just three of the questions and answers from the interview. You can access the full interview through UCB's app and website, details at the end of this blog.

PH: Someone once told me many years ago, that ‘the last part of a man to be saved is his wallet!’ We give our time, thoughts and opinions, but is giving our money the thing that we struggle with the most?

DJ: I think it can be. There is something about money that has a hold on us, particularly when we consider the sentiment behind that quote you just used.

What’s at play there is the reality that so much of our world centres around money that it’s hard to let go. As Christians, particularly at that point of conversion, we come into an ever greater understanding of the world around us and we start to explore the bigger questions of what life is all about, including how our finances fit into it all.

• What does my faith mean to the things that I believe are mine?
• What does it mean to all those financial decisions I make and how I order my life?
• If Jesus is master of all, then what other masters are currently residing in my wallet?

Money is essentially neutral; it’s the decisions that we make with our money that reveal something about us, and that can make us feel uncomfortable at times.

PH: The Bible charges us to be good stewards of all that we have. Is this essentially about being a person who, having submitted all to the Lordship of Christ, we put our hand into our pocket in order to serve his kingdom?

DJ: There is a Bible dictionary definition that I find really helpful when looking at the topic of stewardship. It talks about a steward as being someone who is God’s responsible representative. I love that idea. That there is a responsibility placed on us which means all the resources available to us are held with open hands. This means the guiding principle is that everything I have is a gift. The challenge then becomes about how I can be generous with all the things I have, my finances being one of them.

PH: Surely this very quickly rubs up against the attitude that is instinctive in most of our hearts: ‘That’s all well and good, Daniel, but I need to provide for my family and we’re in the middle of a cost of living crisis – I need to prioritise what we are doing before I give.’

DJ: How you are going to use your money to care for your family is a really important aspect of being a good steward. It doesn’t mean that we have to give everything away. What it does mean is that we are supposed to have a mindset that says, ‘I recognise where all of this money comes from and I’m happy and willing to be open handed to use it for God’s kingdom.’

This is why it’s really important to get a grip on and wrestle with the answer to the question: how do we do our financial giving well?

LISTEN TO THE PODCAST

You will need the UCB App to listen to the podcast. If you don't have the app please follow the steps below: 

1. Download the UCB App
2. Search ‘Life Issues’ in the Podcast section
3. Then find the ‘Why does God need my money?’ episode (20 Mar 2023)

We have lots of resources that can help you start to answer the questions that have been raised in the interview. In particular, we have a page on this website that is focussed on how to create a giving strategy. We also have a budgeting guide and a budget planner template to help you maximise your giving potential, even in the midst of a cost of living crisis.