Making the Most of Your Money

From trying to figure out how to order the best meal from the dollar menu to deciding how to invest the funds in their retirement accounts people spend a lot of time and energy trying to make the most of their money and their possessions. What is particularly interesting is that some people who rarely pay any attention to their relationships with other people, or who rarely exercise their talents (and never for the benefit of someone other than themselves) are the same people who are obsessed with keeping an account of every dollar they make and spend.

It is important to be careful with the assets you have. John Wesley taught that economical living and responsible spending was a duty. In his sermon, “The Use of Money,” Wesley suggested three rules that every believer should follow: 1. Gain all you can. 2. Save all you can. 3. Give all you can. He went on to give an example of such a life without ever mentioning that the person being described was himself.

"[He] had thirty pounds a year. He lived on twenty-eight and gave away forty shillings. The next year receiving sixty pounds, he still lived on twenty-eight, and gave away two-and-thirty. The third year, he received ninety pounds, and gave away sixty-two. The fourth year he received a hundred and twenty pounds."

For four years, Wesley lived on the same amount, twenty-eight pounds. As his income increased, he gave the surplus away, regardless of how much it amounted to or what percentage of his income it was. For Wesley this was his way to honor Jesus command: “Don’t store up treasures here on earth, where moths eat them and rust destroys them, and where thieves break in and steal. Store your treasures in heaven, where moths and rust cannot destroy, and thieves do not break in and steal. Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be” (Matthew 6:19-21).

Wesley wasn’t opposed to his followers earning a lot of money, but he knew that making the most of your life meant having the right relationship with the assets God entrusts to you. The monetary and material assets in your life are to be invested in a way that brings the greatest return in spiritual terms. As you make those decisions, it is essential that you are committed to God’s purposes, that you understand God’s principles, and that you follow God’s plan.