Resource Management

But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return.      – Luke 6:35

According to data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, in 2021, there were more than 330,300 financial advisers in the U.S., with an increasing number projected across the current decade. Banks and other financial institutions offer help in money management. Yet, the Administrative Office of U.S. Courts reported 452,990 bankruptcy filings for the year ending December 2023. Job losses, huge medical expenses, and unpayable loans were tracked as the causes of most personal bankruptcies. The Bible has much to say about lending and borrowing, particularly in the Old Testament, with rules on interest and repayment.  

In His Sermon on the Mount, Jesus turned culture upside down. Go the extra mile. Love your enemies. Don’t retaliate. Give to the poor. Lend without expecting repayment. What is He asking His followers to do? He is asking them to be a reflection of the Father—always extending Himself in mercy toward humanity even when they despise Him, showing grace to those who need it, and meeting the needs of the poor and destitute. Greatest of all, the Father gave His Son to pay a debt the debtor—the sinner, you—were unable to pay. 

Faithful stewardship should be the goal of every believer. Take stock of what you have and how you are using it for the benefit of God’s kingdom. In his book The Kingdom and the Cross, professor of theology Dr. James Bryan Smith wrote, “If our God is self-sacrificing and seeks to bless others who have done nothing to merit it, then we should be people who are self-sacrificing and who bless others who have not earned it.” That kind of resource management is a challenge. Pray for the Lord’s leading in your own life. Then, intercede for wisdom for government regulators to reconsider approaches to federal spending, borrowing, and national debt.