Does God Care How I Spend My Money?

Do you have a friend that challenges and encourages you to surrender more of your life to God’s will? For me, that friend is Timber. As a financial planner, Timber passionately prompts others to consider their finances as a gift from God that we are all called to steward well. I sat down with her to better understand what a healthy relationship with money can look like and am sharing the helpful advice she gave me.

First and foremost, Timber understands that God is the one who provides money. We are not all given the same amount, but we are all provided for by our heavenly Father. The world tells us that if we work hard, we will be rewarded with wealth. We might believe that we have earned the money we have and deserve to spend it the way we see fit.

However, the Bible teaches us to “Instruct those who are rich in the present age not to be arrogant or to set their hope on the uncertainty of wealth, but on God, who richly provides us with all things to enjoy” (1 Timothy 6:17). God is a good Father who gives good gifts, including our money (Matthew 7:11). Since our money is a gift from God (1 Chronicles 29:11–12), it is right that we ask Him to help us steward it well (James 1:5).

How Christians can steward their money well

But how do we steward our money? Timber explains that we can prayerfully consider these questions to steward our money well:

What is my relationship with money? Sometimes we view money as our savior. We believe it can erase our problems or provide us with all we need. When we view money as the source of happiness and purpose, we will likely keep it for ourselves. Instead, let us remember that our true Savior is Jesus. He died to offer us freedom, and He will provide all that we truly need. When we trust in God alone to sustain us, we can view money as a gift from God rather than the ultimate source of our happiness or security.
Do I know where my money is going? When we do not understand how we spend our money, it can be difficult to know where we can cut spending, how we can save more, or how much we can give to others. One of the most impactful things we can do to steward our money well is to create a budget. This will help us see where our money goes when it leaves our hands and could reveal where we spend too much or where we do not spend enough.
Is there anything in my budget that I can give up or anything I can add? Once you have spent time tracking your spending, you can start to make changes. Our spending habits should reflect our priorities. Does your budget reflect your goals? Are you spending in areas that you are passionate about?

We all interact with money on a daily basis. We need it to buy items for our survival, but money will never save us. We are offered salvation through the blood of Christ alone. Money cannot yield peace, kindness, generosity, patience, or self-control. The Holy Spirit alone produces good fruit in us. When we trust that it is God alone who provides, we can learn how to appropriately value and spend our money.