NASHVILLE (BP) — This weekly Bible study appears in Baptist Press in a partnership with LifeWay Christian Resources of the Southern Baptist Convention. Through its Leadership and Adult Publishing team, LifeWay publishes Sunday School curricula and additional resources for all age groups.
This week’s Bible study is adapted from the MasterWork curriculum.
Bible Passages: Deuteronomy 8:1-20; Psalm 72:16-17; Matthew 6:9-13, 25-34; Galatians 6:1-7; 1 Timothy 6:6-8, 17-18
Discussion Questions: What is the purpose of money? Should we feel guilty for using money on ourselves for more than the bare basics of life? How much of our income belongs to us? How much belongs to God? Once we tithe, are we free to spend the rest of our income any way we wish?
Food for Thought:
Our society has a love-hate relationship with money — we love to have it and hate that we don’t have more of it. Even though we love to have it and want more of it, many people also hold a deep suspicion of it, or at least of those who have a lot more of it than they do. After all, as they believe, money is the root of all evil, and they question who knows what evil someone with that much money might be up to.
Of course, it is not money but “the love of money” that Paul identified as the “root of all kinds of evil” (1 Timothy 6:10). But with such confusion, is it any wonder that so many people fail to understand the purpose of money? Some look to money for their significance, as if their net worth and their self-worth were one in the same. As the sizes of their checking account, houses and retirement funds increase, so too, they hope, will their personal value. But when the market drops, their self-esteem follows suit.
Others wish to find their security in money and things it can purchase or opportunities it can open up. On the seas of life, they hope their stash of cash will prove an adequate life jacket when the waters turn rough. Then, when their reserves don’t preserve as they had hoped, they deem the problem to be insufficient funds and redouble their efforts to stockpile a greater trove for the next storm.
Yes, people have much confusion over the purpose of money. But in this session of MasterWork, author Ken Hemphill sets out the real purposes of money. Starting with the twin foundations that “all the resources we have come from the hand of God” and that those resources are to be used “in accordance with His design and with His purpose in our hearts,” Hemphill takes readers through a series of biblically based purposes for the greenbacks God flows in our direction.
MasterWork
MasterWork is an ongoing Bible study curriculum based on works from a variety of renowned authors and offers pertinent, practical messages that adults will find uplifting and enriching. The list of authors and their books to be studied in upcoming months can be found at www.lifeway.com/masterwork.
Other ongoing Bible study options for all ages offered by LifeWay can be found at LifeWay.com/SundaySchool.
