The Goehner Group

Jesus said, “You cannot serve God and mammon.” God, in His love and jealous righteousness, will not accept co-billing with anything or anyone. Listen to the Preacher in Ecclesiastes 5:10-12:

1. Money does not satisfy (v. 10). In fact, the love of money only creates a desire for more, yielding more greed and self-centeredness.

2. We never have enough (v. 11). Money, greed and possessions are not an economic issue: they’re a heart issue. As consumption increases, life gets out of control.

3. The soul is not at peace (v. 12). Dietrich Bonhoeffer exhorts us: “Our hearts have room for only one all-embracing devotion, and we can only cleave to one Lord.”

God’s antidote to greed is stewardship. The Apostle Paul instructed Timothy about stewardship so he could then teach the church. What can we learn?

In 1985, I was on assignment for World Vision as an independent consultant working with the Ethiopian Famine Project. One week after I completed this project, I flew to El Salvador and worked with Christian nationals who were involved in evangelism. During those six months, I reached some life-changing conclusions:

1. I was among the rich of the world.

2. My giving must be the result of my spiritual commitment, not my financial ability.

3. If I was going to ask people for financial resources, I had to become a sacrificial giver.

4. I needed to re-discover the biblical standard for stewardship.

For nearly 40 years, I have worked with Christians, encouraging their financial commitments to Christian ministries. For half that time I considered my work to be fund raising; then I discovered it should be challenging people to biblical stewardship.

Paul warned against greed when he wrote to Timothy: “For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.” 1 Timothy 6:10