John Wesley and Money

As a Methodist one of our heros is John Wesley, the founder of Methodism. During his ministry, he had a lot to say about money and its uses. John Wesley once said, "make all you can, save all you can, and give all you can." Most of us, including myself attempt to be pretty good at least one of these areas, but not usually all three. It should be our desire to strive to be good at all three as Wesley proved to be during his ministry. It is interesting to note that Brother Wesley was concerned with his fellow man and the role of money in this ministry.

He once said, "money is an excellent gift of God, answering the noblest ends. In the hands of his children it is food for the hungry drink for the thirsty raiment for the naked… a means of health to the sick, of ease to them that are in pain. It may be as eyes to the blind, as feet to the lame…… "

This sense of truth should cause us to examine our own giving life. John Wesley showed us that:

•God is a giver, He gave us all that He had by coming to earth through Jesus Christ.
•To grow as a Christian, we must also include growth in our giving as we become more like Christ.
•We are to only use what is necessary for our own consumption (Wesley may have been the first "green" tree hugger). By only consuming resources that provide for our basic needs, we allow other resources to be available to meet the basic needs of others.
•Giving is a way to recognize God’s generosity in our own life. We give to demonstrate our love for God and for our neighbor.

Let us also examine John Wesley's budget and see how his actions backed up his words. He initially earned 30 pounds, lived on 28, and gave 2. Eventually, he earned over 1,400 pounds and gave away over 98% of his income, while living on 30 pounds (he gave himself a slight raise in his lifestyle after many years).

If only I could have been so diligent that when my income increased, my giving increased by the amount of my pay raise. Do you remember your first full-time job and how much you got paid? I remember thinking that I had never been so rich, but quickly I adjusted my lifestyle to match my income. While those decisions have been made, may I begin not giving myself increases, but using the excess for ministry, to save for retirement.

This past year, I received a 3% increase in pay and increased my retirement savings by the amount of my pay increase. Try doing that this year for your giving, long-term savings, or debt retirement plan. I know you will be blessed.

I will close with Matthew 5 from the message

5"You're blessed when you're content with just who you are—no more, no less. That's the moment you find yourselves proud owners of everything that can't be bought."

I am pushing for this to be MasterCard's new slogan, but it might have a negative impact on their bottom line. This is the Bible's version of "priceless" instead of the worldly version.