Money Matters
Faith, Life, and Wealth
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- $20.99
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- $20.99
Publisher Description
A guide to investing in heaven and being "rich toward God"
Christians often hesitate to talk about money in spiritual contexts, but in the gospels Jesus talks more about money than about "religious" topics like prayer and heaven. Money Matters advocates following Jesus's lead in engaging with matters of economy and finance in a faith-driven way, in both our individual and our corporate lives. The authors draw on their contrasting life experiences to offer a well-rounded look at money in the twenty-first century. Paul Stevens, who grew up well-off in Canada and worked as a carpenter, a banker, and later a pastor and professor of theology, finds a complementary voice in Clive Lim, who grew up without money in Singapore, and now works there as an entrepreneur and head of a family investment firm. With frequent scriptural references, Stevens and Lim offer insight into navigating the economic systems of today, aiming to help individuals, churches, and societies become faithful stewards who store up "treasures in heaven" by investing in the kingdom of God.
Money Matters is a comprehensive yet accessible guide to integrating one's faith with one's approach to money. Just as the Bible variously treats money as a blessing, a sacrament, and a problem, so do Stevens and Lim approach this matter judiciously—avoiding the prosperity gospel on one side and the demonization of material wealth on the other. Capitalism is treated as what it is: a system that has created widespread opportunity and relieved poverty for millions while also exacerbating the gap between the haves and the have-nots. The authors' wisdom is at turns theological, historical, and practical—and always focused on what it means to live with faithful integrity in our contemporary global economy.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In this robust study, Lim (Chinese Entrepreneurship in Singapore) and Stevens (Work Matters), both professors of marketplace theology at Regent College, draw on Christian scripture, the history of money's use throughout world history, and their own financial and spiritual backgrounds to offer suggestions for Christians wondering about the role of money in their faith lives. With remarkable clarity, the authors summarize economists' and anthropologists' theories on how money emerged in human society and assert that the use of currency in ancient temples provides money a "canopy of sacredness" and an "insidious tendency to pull on our heart strings for security and power" that needs to be overcome. The authors suggest that the way to keep money in perspective is to have an "integration of faith and life" so that all one's activities are done with a focus on serving God and money becomes one of many gifts from God that one has responsibility to use. To that end, Lim and Stevens recommend financially supporting developing countries and underserved populations through direct mutual aid and microeconomic development projects. The authors overreach at times with claims to the universality of their perspective, and a perfunctory attempt to examine how money functions in Korean churches falls flat. Overall, though, this is a strong introduction to the social history of money from a Christian perspective.
