Money and Your Spiritual Growth

If you were asked what the most essential things to your spiritual growth are, you would likely respond with wise answers such as Bible reading, prayer, biblical community, and being part of the life of a church. Oftentimes money does not make that list. In fact, our common experience with money is often accompanied by a heavy baggage of stress, worry, or worldliness. But what if money is an essential thing that God has given to deepen our trust in him? What if it is given for the transformation of your heart? What if God wants to use our relationship with money to draw us closer to himself and to teach us what it means to practically trust him every day?  

So, when you desire to grow in your faith, I invite you to ask: What role could your relationship with money play in that growth? Now, you might challenge this idea and ask questions such as: How does my relationship with money impact my walk with Christ? Isn’t money just a thing of the world? Or isn’t it something that should be left to those in the business world?  

I want to argue that money has been given for your spiritual growth, your joy, and to bless those around you. Scripture does not pull any punches when it comes to the dangers money presents, as well as the opportunities for growing in your faith. Scripture challenges us to see money differently by describing us as stewards and recipients of all we have (Ps. 24:1, Matt. 25:14–30, 1 Cor. 4:7), commanding us to pray for our daily bread while trusting God as our provider (Matt. 6:11), grounding generosity in the fact that we serve a generous God (2 Cor. 8:9), and warning that the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil (1 Tim. 6:10). Ultimately, it is crucial to note that Scripture never condemns money in and of itself. Contrary to that, 1 Timothy 4:4–5 says: “For everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving, for it is made holy by the word of God and prayer.” Considering the gifts and threats money can pose, we ought to cry out for wisdom.   

Where will this wisdom be found? Thank God for Colossians 3:15–17, which provides key commands that we can apply to our relationship with money that we might grow.  

Colossians 3:15–17 says,  

“And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him” 

Consider what your life would look like if, when you thought about money, you dwelled on the peace of Christ, let God’s word dwell in your heart richly, and did all things in the name of the Lord Jesus. What does all of this mean for money’s role in your spiritual growth?  

First, the peace of Christ is essential to seeing money rightly. If our hearts are ruled by our own feeble attempts to control things, provide for ourselves, or by our selfish desires, we are in great danger. But thanks be to God that Jesus has given us a peace that comes from knowing he is God and we are not. A peace that is grounded in the fact that if God provided for our greatest need- atonement for our sins through Jesus Christ- how much more can he be trusted to take care of us in our day-to-day life?  

Second, note that in these three verses the apostle Paul commands the Colossians to be thankful three times. Practicing thanksgiving changes the heart’s orientation toward money. A world without thanksgiving assumes that there is nothing to give thanks for and that everything is earned. I’m thankful that instead we live in this reality, one where God owns it all. And keeping a thankful receptivity to God’s gifts – no matter how much or little you have – is central to growing your trust in God. A posture of gratitude frees one up to recognize God as their ultimate provider.   

Third, choosing to be saturated in God’s word is key to faithfully stewarding what you’ve been entrusted with. I want to encourage you that the ways of the world, your flesh, or your fear are not meant to corner on how you view money; God’s ways are. If, like me, you struggle to trust God at times with your money, here’s the good news: His grace is sufficient for all your money fears and struggles. The Christian who dwells on God’s Word is able to receive money as a steward and live a generous life reflecting a generous God.  

And finally, the command to do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus provides the ultimate purpose of money: not to build your own kingdom, but to build the kingdom of God and seek to glorify him.  

So, I want to ask you: Are you rejecting a means God has given for your growth and the blessing of those around you by not considering God’s plan for money? Now, you might think that you are only a college student who doesn’t have much to steward. Here is the good news: We do not faithfully steward our money to impress God or earn his favor; we do it from changed hearts. It’s by taking the leap, trusting God as your provider, praying that God would make you a cheerful giver, and pursuing what God has to say about money that allows you to “take hold of that which is truly life” (1 Tim. 6:19).  All of this begins with heart transformation. The good news is once again that his grace will be sufficient. God’s plan for money is not only for large donations to be made to advance his kingdom, although he certainly does work through generosity in that way. It is for his people to learn to trust him and inhabit the places where they do life with the generous heart of Christ.