Churches from Louisiana to Michigan this week used funds to give gas cards to those hit hard by rising prices at the pump. "That’s why we’re here, there’s been people here since 9 am this morning waiting for gas. We’re here, we’re gonna pump it for them, we’re gonna love on them," said Pastor Carlton Lynch.
More Americans are falling deeper into debt as median incomes have dropped amid the rising costs of housing, food, gas, transportation and medical care.
A plumber working at Joel Osteen's Lakewood Church was recently awarded $20,000 after he found 500 envelopes of cash, checks and money orders inside the wall of one of the church's bathrooms while doing maintenance at the church in November.
Law enforcement officials in Houston, Texas, are suggesting that hundreds of envelopes filled with money recently uncovered by a plumber at Joel Osteen’s Lakewood Church are possibly connected to a theft case from 2014.
What would happen if we thought about every dollar we spend this season as an expression of our faith? We would spend differently. Would we spend our money in ways that help create a more just local economy, in ways that begin to address the racial wealth disparity and the needs of our neighbors? From what I understand of Scripture, that seems like a more fitting way to celebrate the birth of Christ.
A free market works not because wealth is valued, but because labor is. Jesus said we can’t serve both God and money and that it’s more difficult for the wealthy to enter the kingdom of God. Jesus never said accumulating wealth itself is sinful. Exploitation of the poor is sinful. Looking to wealth for salvation and meaning is sinful. Failing to steward what we’ve been given and failing to care for those in need are sinful. When these potential downfalls are mitigated or avoided, a free market inspires people to give more.
Given the economic turmoil, social unrest, and growing misunderstanding of how economies function, what better time could there be to ensure your kids and grandkids understand the fundamentals of money and stewardship from a Biblical worldview, what money is for, how it can be properly used to bless others and advance the kingdom?
According to the New York Federal Reserve Consumer Credit Panel Borrowers, Americans owe a total of $1.5 trillion in federal student loan debt. God has so kindly written His word to confront this crippling debt. Nearly 25 percent of Jesus’ words in the New Testament deal with financial stewardship.
Mark MacArthur, the son of prominent pastor John MacArthur is facing defrauding charges brought up by the SEC after he failed to disclose personal financial gain in an investment deal.
