The below is taken from Richard Foster in his book The Challenge of a Disciplined Life: Christian Reflections on Money, Sex and Power.
How do we use mammon (all of our material resources) to serve God? How do we master mammon and serve God? How do you make your money count for the kingdom of God?
Resolve to become more intentional with at least one of these suggestions below. These suggestions come from chapter 4: “The Kingdom Use of Unrighteous Mammon.”
- Listen to and learn from the biblical witness about money.
- Consider money from a psychological and sociological perspective so that you understand yourself better. Do you fear, hate or love money? Does money produce pride or shame in us? How do you view money? As an enemy? As a master? As a friend? If we use material things rightly we will neither worship them or despise them, but use them to bring strength, beauty and comfort to our own lives and to the lives of others.
- Understand more the technical side of money: Money management. Budgeting, investing, estate planning, deferred giving. Look at our giving in light of Christ’s great missionary mandate.
- Gather around us a loving community of support that will stand with us in our struggle.
- Bring the ministry of prayer to bear directly upon money matters. Money is a spiritual issue and prayer is our chief weapon in the life of the Spirit. Pray that the Lord would bind all greed and covetousness among us and release a spirit of liberality and generosity. Pray over how to budget money. Pray for money to be provided for those who need it.
- Dethrone money. Money is too high on our list of values. Acts 19-18-20… New believers profaned something that had become sacred. Most profane act you can do with money: Give it away.
- Value people over money and things. Be willing to lose money over friendship. We can side with the ‘use’ of church facilities over the ‘preservation’ of those facilities. The child who breaks the toy is more important than the toy. Give up a major purchase in order to support a missionary.
- Root out all favored treatment of people based upon money. For believers, money can never be a bargaining tool or a way to gain status.