My teen years of the 70's there was a hit song entitled MONEY. This song opened with the sound of a cash register ringing and began to sing of the seeming universal desire of man - Money!

Money is near and dear to the hearts of most of us. It really doesn't matter the amount we have that determines it's importance. I heard someone once say; "The main thing the millionaire wants is the next million."
Money is such a hot topic today. You can buy books, cd's mp3 files and videos by any number of people. There are the wealth gurus like Dave Ramsey, the infamous Donald Trump, and many other who have all manner of methods and resources for us to acquire more money.

Everywhere you turn, it seems money is eventually part of a conversation. We talk about what we are doing, going to, buying or selling: Or how financially challenge we are. Stop and listen someday at your local coffee watering hole and see how the people are discussing money. However, as much as we hear about money, there is one place we get upset when it is mentioned - the church! It amazes me that we are so into finances in the world, yet we do not want it to be a part of our spiritual lives.

You know, the Bible has more in it about money and our material possessions than it has about prayer, heaven, hell or any other topic? It is one of the most common themes in the Bible and yet we do not want it mentioned in His house. Now you may ask;

"Why are you on money and what does it have to do with spiritual authority?" Glad you asked. Recently, the Lord has shown me in His word that my financial stewardship will DIRECTLY affect my ability to walk in apostolic authority. In Luke 16:11 The Lord states: "If therefore you have not been faithful in unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches?" The NASU states "unrighteous wealth." Jesus was saying "if you cant be trusted with money, how can you be trusted with spiritual truths?"

"talents" to use for the masters benefit. When this master came to reclaim his resources, two individuals had doubled what they had been given. The reward that each received was they were to be made "ruler over many things" (vs 21, 23). The key to the application of this story and the use of our money is in the word translated as "talents." According to Vine's it is "talanton, originally "a balance," then, 'a talent in weight,' was hence 'a sum of money' in gold or silver equivalent to a "talent." Therefore, the literal interpretation of this is the master gave them MONEY to use. When he returned, he wanted to see what the servants had done with his MONEY! The servants that faithfully used the MONEY, received as a reward the placement as a ruler over many things or placed in authority.

This same principle is seen in Luke 19 and the parable of the pounds. According to Vine's the word translated for

"pounds" is "mna" it is a "a Semitic word, both 'a weight' and 'a sum of money,' 100 shekels." The reward was the same for those that used the MONEY effectively; they were given authority over cities! The challenging truth to apply to my life is this: my stewardship of material wealth will DIRECTLY AFFECT the level of authority the Lord issues to me.

Food For Thought -

How is my stewardship? How have I used my temporal resources for His kingdom and purposes?