Six
days before the Passover celebration began, Jesus arrived in Bethany, the home
of Lazarus—the man he had raised from the dead. A dinner was prepared in
Jesus’ honor. Martha served, and Lazarus was among those who ate with him. Then Mary took a twelve-ounce jar of expensive perfume made from essence of
nard, and she anointed Jesus’ feet with it, wiping his feet with her hair. The
house was filled with the fragrance. But Judas Iscariot, the disciple who would soon betray him, said, “That perfume was worth a year’s
wages. It should have been sold and the money given to the poor.” Not that he cared for the poor—he was
a thief, and since he was in charge of the disciples’ money, he often stole
some for himself. Jesus replied,
“Leave her alone. She did this in preparation for my burial. You will always have the poor among
you, but you will not always have me. JOHN
12:1-8 NLT
It’s
easy to be critical of how others spend their money
Who are you to condemn someone else’s
servants? Their own master will judge whether they stand or fall. And with the
Lord’s help, they will stand and receive his approval. ROMANS 14:14
Then Jesus said to his critics… LUKE 6:9 NLT
It’s
difficult to be honest about how I spend my money
Keep me from lying to myself. PSALM 119:29 NLT
Spending
points to what I really worship
“No one can serve two masters. For you will
hate one and love the other; you will be devoted to one and despise the other.
You cannot serve both God and
money.” LUKE 16:13 NLT
God
blesses me with money to
Enjoy responsibly
Teach those who are rich in this world not to
be proud and not to trust in their money, which is so unreliable. Their trust
should be in God, who richly gives us all we need for our enjoyment. 1 TIMOTHY 6:17 NLT
After a long time their master returned from
his trip and called them to give an account of how they had used his money. MATTHEW 25:19 NLT
Yes, each of us will give a personal account
to God. ROMANS 14:12 NLT
Share generously with others
Tell them to use their money to do good. They should be rich in
good works and generous to those in need, always being ready to share with
others. 1 TIMOTHY 6:18 NLT
If someone has enough money to live well and sees a brother or
sister in need but shows no compassion—how can God’s love be in that person? 1 JOHN 3:17
To experience the joy of tithing
You must set aside a tithe of your
crops—one-tenth of all the crops you harvest each year. Bring this tithe to the designated place of
worship—the place the LORD your God chooses for his name to be honored. DEUTERONOMY 14:22 NLT
Each one must give as he has decided in his
heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. 2 CORINTHIANS 9:7 NLT