One of the reasons I wanted to do this post is because I’ve been challenged by this type of thinking lately – that is, about viewing our money and how we handle it as part of a larger mission.
Viewing my work, my blog, my activities all through one common lens – missions.
So, I figured I would jot down some of my own thoughts, ideas and challenges I’ve been working through lately and hopefully they resonate with you or challenge your framework as well.
What is Missional Living
First we need to define what it means to live missionally if we are to understand how to live it out with our money.
We need to understand that every Christian is a missionary, not just the ones your church sends to Africa and calls missionaries.
If we are all missionaries, then we all need to live missionally.
Missional Living means viewing our whole life through the lens of God’s mission. It means seeking the reign and the rule of Christ on earth in every facet of our lives.
We seek God’s mission at work, during play, in our neighborhoods, at the campus, in meetings, and with our families.
But what is God’s mission?
It is reconciliation, redemption and restoration.
God reconciles us back to Himself, redeems us with the precious blood of Jesus and restores us into a right relationship with Him.
That relationship was hijacked in the Garden of Eden, when sin entered the world and messed things up!
But God had a rescue plan.
God is a missional God – He sent His Son Jesus to us on a mission – “to bear our sins in His body on that tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness” (1 Pet. 2:24)
So, if we are to live missionally we must look at the life of Jesus (who perfectly lived out God’s mission) and determine what we are to do.
We live as Jesus lived, we walk and talk how Jesus talked – of course we do it imperfectly, but that’s the goal.
Why Missional Living is Radically Different
When you read what missional living is, it probably doesn’t sound all that unique – most of you will probably say, “Yeah, that makes sense”.
But here’s why it’s radically different. Most Christians are not living this way! The majority do their faith thing on Sundays and that’s about it.
Their faith has no impact on how they do their job, how they engage their neighbors, how they spend their time or money – their faith is lifeless and nothing more than a hobby.
Unfortunately, this is how I viewed my faith for many years.
I thought that as long as I put a smile on my face on Sundays when I went to church, and as long as I didn’t go out to eat on Sunday (my church’s unwritten rule because they didn’t want you to make anyone work on the Lord’s day) then I was good to go.
The rest of the week I lived how I wanted to live with no special care as to what God would have me do with my time, money, or energy.
But that is not what God has called us to.
Our faith should impact every facet of our lives!
We should be passionately engaging culture, pursuing relationships with others, living out Christ-like love and doing our best to represent God’s mission of reconciliation at work, at school, at the gym, and at home.
God’s mission permeates throughout our whole lives.
We don’t beat people over the head with the Gospel.
We don’t look at how many “souls we can win” as if it were some competition with our friends to see who can put the most notches in the front cover of our Bibles!
We view people as people, not some number, and we seek to have a relationship with them!
Why Live Missionally With Your Money?
If missional living means viewing our whole lives through the lens of God’s mission, than surely we must view our money through that lens as well!
Money is not ours – it is Gods.
We are responsible and held accountable for the way we use it, save it, give it and grow it. Money isn’t some compartmentalized portion of our lives that God ignores!
We are called to be stewards of what God gives us – so we must view our money through a missional lens always asking ourselves – “What would God have me do with my money?”
How to Live Missionally With Our Money
We’ll save this part for the next post!
What are your thoughts?
Restoring Your Financial Health When Your Physical Health is Suffering – A Guide for Christians
