Expert: Thurman C. Petty, Jr. - 10/2/2008

Question
I was recently told that Jesus talked more about money than anything else.  More than he talked about heaven or hell.  Is this true. What's your thoughts?

Answer
Dear Steve,

Yes, it does appear that Jesus talked about money a lot. Many times people asked him questions about money, giving Him occasion to speak to the subject. But other times He brought up the subject Himself. Let’s look at a sample of both:

JESUS BROUGHT UP THE TOPIC OF MONEY AT TIMES:

From the Sermon on the Mount:

Mat 6:24  "No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money.

A man asked Jesus what he could do to have eternal life. Jesus said that what he did with his money and possessions would have a part in determining that question:

Mat 19:16  Now a man came up to Jesus and asked, "Teacher, what good thing must I do to get eternal life?"
Mat 19:17  "Why do you ask me about what is good?" Jesus replied. "There is only One who is good. If you want to enter life, obey the commandments."
Mat 19:18  "Which ones?" the man inquired. Jesus replied, "'Do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not give false testimony,
Mat 19:19  honor your father and mother,' and 'love your neighbor as yourself.'"
Mat 19:20  "All these I have kept," the young man said. "What do I still lack?"
Mat 19:21  Jesus answered, "If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me."

There are many more. I challenge you to read the gospels and see how many you can find.

Then there are the times when JESUS WAS LED INTO TALKING ABOUT MONEY BECAUSE OF THE QUESTIONS OF OTHER PEOPLE:

Mat 17:24  After Jesus and his disciples arrived in Capernaum, the collectors of the two-drachma tax came to Peter and asked, "Doesn't your teacher pay the temple tax?"
Mat 17:25  "Yes, he does," he replied. When Peter came into the house, Jesus was the first to speak. "What do you think, Simon?" he asked. "From whom do the kings of the earth collect duty and taxes--from their own sons or from others?"
Mat 17:26  "From others," Peter answered. "Then the sons are exempt," Jesus said to him.
Mat 17:27  "But so that we may not offend them, go to the lake and throw out your line. Take the first fish you catch; open its mouth and you will find a four-drachma coin. Take it and give it to them for my tax and yours."

On another occasion:

Luke 12:13  Someone in the crowd said to him, "Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me."
Luke 12:14  Jesus replied, "Man, who appointed me a judge or an arbiter between you?"
Luke 12:15  Then he said to them, "Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions."
Luke 12:16  And he told them this parable: "The ground of a certain rich man produced a good crop.
Luke 12:17  He thought to himself, 'What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.'
Luke 12:18  "Then he said, 'This is what I'll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods.
Luke 12:19  And I'll say to myself, "You have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry."'
Luke 12:20  "But God said to him, 'You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?'
Luke 12:21  "This is how it will be with anyone who stores up things for himself but is not rich toward God."

There are many more of these too, and while you’re looking for the other kind of what Jesus said about money, you can keep an eye out for this kind too.


I'M INTRIGUED THAT YOU TITLED YOUR QUESTION, "TITHING." That’s actually another subject, but while we’re at it, perhaps we could spare a few more lines about that subject.

Tithing teaches us at least three lessons: 1) God owns everything, and can do whatever He wants with the things He owns; 2) God claims 1/10th of our income as His own; 3) God promises to bless us if we are faithful in returning His tithes and giving Him our offerings.

1) God owns everything on Planet Earth, and can do whatever He wants with the things He owns.

God created Earth in the beginning, but Satan wrested control of it from Adam. God bought it back again with the blood of His own dear Son. So by two abiding principles, creation and salvation, God owns Planet Earth–and everything and everybody on it.

Psa 33:6-9  By the word of the LORD were the heavens made, their starry host by the breath of his mouth. He gathers the waters of the sea into jars ; he puts the deep into storehouses. Let all the earth fear the LORD; let all the people of the world revere him. For he spoke, and it came to be; he commanded, and it stood firm.

Psa 50:9-12  I have no need of a bull from your stall or of goats from your pens, for every animal of the forest is mine, and the cattle on a thousand hills. I know every bird in the mountains, and the creatures of the field are mine. If I were hungry I would not tell you, for the world is mine, and all that is in it.

2) God claims 1/10th of our income as His own;
Lev 27:30-32  "'A tithe of everything from the land, whether grain from the soil or fruit from the trees, belongs to the LORD; it is holy to the LORD. . . . The entire tithe of the herd and flock—every tenth animal that passes under the shepherd's rod—will be holy to the LORD.

In Bible times the economy of the nation was based upon crops and animals. These things were often used as currency to buy those things that the family needed. So it's only natural that God referred to the tithe within this culture by having the animals tithed. So every 10th animal—10%—belonged to God, and He designated it as holy. The word “tithe” means a 10th.

God was fair with His people. Since there were good and bad animals in the flocks and herds, God took His losses along with the people.

Lev 27:33  He must not pick out the good from the bad or make any substitution. If he does make a substitution, both the animal and its substitute become holy and cannot be redeemed.'"

If a shepherd found that the 10th animal was flawed in any way and wanted to replace it with one that was perfect, he would forfeit the perfect one, but the flawed one was also the Lord's.

3) God promises to bless us if we are faithful in returning His tithes to Him.

Since the tithe belongs to God, when we do not return it to Him we actually commit robbery. In that way we bring a curse upon ourselves. But God also promises a blessing if we're faithful in returning His tithes to Him.

Mal 3:8-10  "Will a man rob God? Yet you rob me. "But you ask, 'How do we rob you?' "In tithes and offerings. You are under a curse—the whole nation of you—because you are robbing me. Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this," says the LORD Almighty, "and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it.

Since the tithe belongs to God, where does He want us to take it and what should be done with it?

In the above text God says: “Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house.” The words “storehouse” and “my house” are written in the Hebrew style of parallelism, and refer to the same place. And God's house is His temple:

Exo 25:8  "Then have them make a sanctuary for me, and I will dwell among them.”

God meets with His people in His house, which we call the “church building.” So God's house today is His church. So if the tithes are to be brought to God's house, then we should bring them to Him via His church. But once we've brought it to His church, how will they use it?

Num 18:21-26  "I give to the Levites all the tithes in Israel as their inheritance in return for the work they do while serving at the Tent of Meeting. From now on the Israelites must not go near the Tent of Meeting, or they will bear the consequences of their sin and will die. It is the Levites who are to do the work at the Tent of Meeting and bear the responsibility for offenses against it. This is a lasting ordinance for the generations to come. They will receive no inheritance among the Israelites. Instead, I give to the Levites as their inheritance the tithes that the Israelites present as an offering to the LORD. That is why I said concerning them: 'They will have no inheritance among the Israelites.'" The LORD said to Moses, "Speak to the Levites and say to them: 'When you receive from the Israelites the tithe I give you as your inheritance, you must present a tenth of that tithe as the Lord's offering.

The Levites were the pastors and teachers, the priests and spiritual leaders of the nation. God did not give their tribe a territory because He wanted them to serve the entire nation. So God gave them the tithes as their share of the promised land. The tithes which God's people brought to His house were distributed to the Levites so that each had his share with which to care for his personal needs and those of his family.

The Apostle Paul drew attention to the use of tithe in the spiritual economy of Israel:
1 Cor 9:13, 14  Don't you know that those who work in the temple get their food from the temple, and those who serve at the altar share in what is offered on the altar? In the same way, the Lord has commanded that those who preach the gospel should receive their living from the gospel.

Paul tells us that the same system of finance that was practiced in ancient Israel should continue in the Christian church. And he makes it plain that the money is to be used for those who work full time in helping everyone on earth learn the gospel of Jesus Christ. The way that this is carried out by the church is a different subject and would have to be discussed at another time.

I suggest, after you've read this letter that you go to your knees and plead for wisdom from your divine Partner. He'll help you to know how to carry out His plan. You see, since God owns everything, we don’t give Him the 10% tithe. That already belongs to him. But He gives us 90% of our increase to meet our needs. And He looks at us as thieves when we refuse to return to Him His tithe.

There is more information about tithes, offerings, and other issues in our stewardship relationship with God, on my web site, www.PettyPress.com. Click on “Writings,” and then on “Our Relationship with God: Holistic Stewardship.” You will also find more information on tithe under “Questions and Answers”/Questions about stewardship.

Thank you for your question. Always be ready for Jesus to come,
Thurman C. Petty, Jr.
Thurman@PettyPress.com