A Christian can never
serve God AND Money, but they must learn to serve God WITH money.
Brian Kluth (1955-), Pastor and Generosity Speaker-Author
“A checkbook is a theological document,
it will tell you who and what you
worship.”
BILLY GRAHAM
“Money talks. It says
‘good-bye’. If you doubt this, answer the question, ‘How much money did I
make in the last 10 years?’ Then answer, ‘How much do I have left?” Also
ask, “And how much do I have stored in heaven?”
Brian Kluth (1955-), Pastor and Generosity Speaker-Author
People go through 3
conversions: their head, their heart and their pocketbook. Unfortunately, not
all at the same time.
Martin Luther
The
most expensive vehicle to operate, per mile, is the shopping cart.
If we belong to Christ,
it's logical that everything we have truly belongs to Him.
Your use of money shows
what you think of God.
The world asks: "What
does a man own?" God asks, “How does he use
what he’s been given?”
A “bargain” is something
you can't use at a price you can't resist.
A Christian is one who
does not have to consult his bank book to see how wealthy he really is.
Money can buy a house, but
not a home.
Money can buy a bed,
but not sleep.
Money can buy a wedding
ring, but not love. Money can buy a clock, but not time. Money can
buy an education, but not wisdom. Money can buy jewelry, but not beauty.
Money can buy insurance, but not safety. Money can buy a crucifix, but
not a Savior.
A dad is a man who has
replaced the money in his wallet with snapshots of his family.
You know what a YUPPIE is
(Young Upcoming Professional), but have you ever heard of DINK’s & WOOF’s?
D.I.N.K.s = Double Income, No Kids. W.O.O.F.’s = Well Off Older Folks
The real measure of our
wealth is how much we'd be worth if we lost all our money.
Hard work is the yeast
that raises the dough.
The best investment is in
the tools of one's own trade.
The poorest man in the
world is the man who has nothing but money.
If you want to feel rich,
just count all the things you have that money can't buy.
Money isn't
everything, but it sure keeps you in touch with the children.
Many people spend most of
their life losing their health to try and gain wealth, and then spend the end
of their life losing their wealth trying to gain their health.
When a man becomes rich,
either God gains a partner or the man loses a soul.
Life insurance is what
keeps a man poor all of this life so he can die rich.
You are only poor when you
want more than you have.
In every
insurance policy the big print giveth and the small print taketh away.
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Be sure to budget! It is
always better to know where your money is suppose to go rather than asking
where it went.
Beware of little expenses:
a small leak will sink a great ship.
When it comes to money,
always be sure to act your wage.
A
joint checking account is never overdrawn by the wife; it’s just
under-deposited by her husband.
The
trouble with most people is their earning capacity doesn't match their
yearning capacity.
The safest way
to double your money is to fold it in half and put it in your pocket.
DEFINITION: Luxury =
something that someone else has that I don’t have - - everything I have, I
need.
It's not the high cost of
living, it's the cost of living too high that gets most people in trouble.
Many people spend money on
things they don't need, with money they don't have, to try and impress people
they don't like.
If you want to feel rich,
just count all the things you have that money can't buy.
Remember: The most
important things in life aren’t things and the best things in life are always
free.
Where God guides, He
provides. What God orders, He pays for.
Use it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without.
A
good architect can improve the looks of your house merely by discussing the
cost of a new one.
When your outgo exceeds
your income, your upkeep will lead to your
downfall.
The only sure path to
financial stability and success is to spend less than you earn for a long,
long time. Ron Blue
One
man commented, “I’m a walking economy. My hairline’s in recession, my waist
is a victim of inflation, and together they’re putting me in a deep
depression!”
A recession is
a period when sales go down and staff meetings go up.
There are only two ways to
become richer: Spend less than you make OR make more than you spend.
We're living in a land of plenty—Everything costs plenty.
Twenty-five years ago
$50,000 bought a lot of house. Today it buys a lot.
A
recession is when your neighbor loses his job. A depression is when you
lose yours.
I
read something the other day that made me cry - - my quarterly investment and
pension statements.
People who
play the market are often led astray by false profits.
You know your stock
investments are in trouble when your favorite companies stop appearing in the
newspaper business section and start appearing in the political cartoons or
classified ad legal notices.
“Be charitable before
wealth makes thee covetous.”
— Sir Thomas Browne (1605-82), English writer
“Millionaires seldom
smile.”
— Andrew Carnegie (1835-1919), American industrialist and philanthropist
“I was happier when I was
doing a mechanic’s job.”
— Henry Ford (1863-1947), American industrialist
“Charity gives itself
rich; covetousness hoards itself poor.”
— German Proverb
“The principal hindrance
to the advancement of the kingdom of God is greed. It is the chief obstacle to
heaven-sent revival. It seems that when the back of greed is broken, the human
spirit soars into regions of unselfishness. I believe that it is safe to say
there can be no continuous revival without ‘hilarious’ giving. And I fear no
contradiction: wherever there is ‘hilarious’ giving there will soon be
revival!”
— O.S. Hawkins, U.S. Baptist pastor
“Take it from me. I went
down the road of ‘be all you can be, realize your dreams,’ and I’m telling you
that fame and fortune are not what they’re cracked up to be. We live in a
society that seems to value only physical things, only ephemeral things.
People will do anything to get on these reality shows and talent contests on
TV. We’re obsessed.”
— Madonna (1958-), American pop music icon
“I have made
many millions, but they have brought me no happiness.”
— John
D. Rockefeller, Sr. (1839-1937), American industrialist and philanthropist
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Credit is what keeps you
from knowing how far past broke you are.
Those who think money
grows on trees are the ones who have a hard time getting out of the woods.
Number of years it takes
to pay off an $8,000 18% credit card balance with minimal monthly payments: 54
years
People who
live beyond their means must always be given a lot of credit.
If you think
nobody cares you are alive, just miss a couple monthly payments.
Many people
have finally realized that money can't buy happiness. Now they're trying
credit cards.
Before you borrow money
from a friend, decide which you need more.
There are bigger things in life than money -- bills.
"I have to
have a raise," the man said to his boss. "Three other companies after
me." "Is that so?" asked the manager. "What other companies
are after you?" "My mortgage company, the electric company, and the
telephone company."
Sign in the
store window: Use our easy credit plan – 100% down and 0% monthly payments.
Car sickness is what some
adults suffer from every month when they have to make their car payment.
These days it’s easy to
buy a $50,000 car, just buy a $15,000 car with 48 monthly payments!
By
the time some people discover that money doesn't grow on trees, they are
already way out on a limb.
“Money is a great treasure
that only increases as you give it away.”
— Lord Francis Bacon (1561-1626), English philosopher and scientist
“We can either use our
money to serve our God or our god will be our money.”
— Denny & Leesa Bellesi, from Kingdom Assignment
“I would as soon leave to
my son a curse as the almighty dollar.”
— Andrew Carnegie (1835-1919), American industrialist and philanthropist
“What I possess, God
owns.”
— Howard Dayton, co-founder of Crown Financial Ministries
“Without a rich heart
wealth is an ugly beggar.” —
Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-82), American writer, philosopher and poet
“I find all this money a
considerable burden.”
— J. Paul Getty (1892-1976), American oil industrialist
“If a person gets his
attitude toward money straight, it will help straighten out almost every other
area in his life.”
— Billy Graham (1918-), American evangelist
“Give me five minutes with
a person’s checkbook, and I will tell you where their heart is.”
— Billy Graham (1918-), American evangelist
“I have watched hundreds
of Christians in my time become financially blessed then develop an
acquisitive streak that in turn makes their souls as metallic as the coins
they seek.”
— Selwyn Hughes, English pastor and author
“The world asks, ‘What
does a man own?’ Christ asks, ‘How does he use it?’ ”
— Andrew Murray (1828-1917), South African evangelist and writer
“I’ve just been a machine
for making money. I seem to have spent my life in a golden tunnel looking for
the outlet which would lead to happiness. But the tunnel kept going on. After
my death there will be nothing left.”
— Aristotle Onassis (1906-75), Greek ship owner and financier
“He who is not liberal
with what he has, does but deceive himself when he thinks he would be liberal
if he had more.”
— William S. Plumer, Christian author
“I finally know what
distinguishes man from the other beasts: financial worries.”
— Jules Renard (1864-1910), French writer
“What difference does it
make how much you have? What you do not have amounts to much more.” —
Seneca (4 B.C.-65 A.D.), Roman philosopher and poet
“If a man is proud of his
wealth, he should not be praised until it is known how he employs it.” —
Socrates (469-399 B.C.), Greek philosopher
“We should travel light
and live simply. Our enemy is not possessions but excess.”
— John R.W. Stott (1921-), English pastor and evangelist
“Money never stays with
me. It would burn me if it did. I throw it out of my hands as soon as
possible, lest it should find its way into my heart.”
— John Wesley (1703-91), English evangelist and founder of Methodism
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$650,000,000,000 ($650
billion) was spent on legalized gambling in 1997 compared to $450,000,000,000
spent in grocery stores. This $650 billion represents $2300 spent annually
for every man, boy, woman and girl in America.
Source: U.S. Abstract as reported by Focus on the Family.
Lottery = A
voluntary tax for people that are bad at math.
With the
millions of dollars being wasted in Las Vegas gambling casinos, they should
change the name of Las Vegas to “Lost Wages, Nevada.”
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A lot of people are
willing to give God the credit, but not too many are willing to give Him the
cash.
“I have held many things
in my hands, and I have lost them all. But whatever I have placed in God’s
hands, that I still possess.”
— Martin Luther
(1483-1546), German reformer and theologian
“One of the greatest
missing teachings in the American church today is the reminder to men and
women that nothing we have belongs to us.” —
Gordon MacDonald, American pastor and teacher
“Stewardship is the act of
organizing your life so that God can spend you.”
— Lynn A. Miller, author
“When money is sent to me
for my own use, I pass it on to God. As much as five thousand dollars has thus
been sent at one time; but I do not regard such gifts as belonging to me; they
belong to Him, whose I am and whom I serve. Save for myself? I dare not save;
it would dishonor my loving, gracious, all bountiful Father.”
— George Mueller (1805-98), English pastor and ministry leader
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"Watch lest prosperity
destroy generosity.”
— Henry Ward Beecher (1813-87), American abolitionist and clergyman
“He who bestows his goods
upon the poor shall have as much again, and ten times more.”
— John Bunyan (1628-88), English Puritan writer and preacher
“A man there was, and they
called him mad; the more he gave, the more he had.”
— John Bunyan (1628-88), English Puritan writer and preacher
“Prosperity inebriates
men, so that they take delights in their own merits.”
— John Calvin (1509-64), French theologian and reformer
“Nothing is more dangerous
than to be blinded by prosperity.”
— John Calvin (1509-64), French theologian and reformer
“Why should men leave
great fortunes to their children? If this is done from affection, is it not
misguided affection? Observation teaches that, generally speaking, it is not
well for the children that they should be so burdened.”
— Andrew Carnegie (1835-1919), American industrialist and philanthropist
“Surplus wealth is a
sacred trust which its possessor is bound to administer in his lifetime for
the good of the community.”
— Andrew Carnegie (1835-1919), American industrialist and philanthropist
“Thousands upon thousands
are yearly brought into a state of real poverty by their great anxiety not to
be thought poor.”
— William Corbett (1680-1748), English composer
“Philanthropy is
commendable, but it must not cause the philanthropist to overlook the
circumstances ... which make philanthropy necessary.”
— Martin Luther King, Jr. (1929-68)
“I shovel [money] out, and
God shovels it back ... but God has a bigger shovel!”
— R.G. LeTourneau (1888-1969), American inventor
“The fellow that has no
money is poor. The fellow that has nothing but money is poorer still.”
— Billy Sunday (1862-1935), American revivalist
We are rich only through
what we give: and poor only through what we refuse and keep.”
— Anne Swetchine (1782-1857), Russian-French writer
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“I never would have been
able to tithe the first million dollars I ever made if I had not tithed my
first salary, which was $1.50 per week.”
— John D. Rockefeller, Sr. (1839-1937), American industrialist and
philanthropist
No church ever has a money
problem, only a faithfulness problem.
— Brian Kluth, Pastor and Generosity Speaker & Author
When you give to God, you
discover that God gives to you.
When
it comes to giving, some people stop at nothing.
Giving to God is a
grace—but not giving to God is a disgrace.
There's no good reason to
be the richest man in the cemetery.
Col. Sanders, Founder of Kentucky Fried Chicken
What I kept, I lost. What
I gave, I have.
If a pauper gives to God,
he’ll feel like a prince. If a prince doesn’t give to God, he’ll feel
like a pauper.
"I have
observed 100,000 families over my years of investment counseling. I always
saw greater prosperity and happiness among those families who tithed than
among those who didn't."
Sir John Templeton, chairman of Templeton Funds
When we give to God, we
are just taking our hands off what already belongs to Him.
Give to God what's
right--not what's left.
Some people give God a
tenth—a tenth of what they ought to give.
You should give according
to your income, lest God make your income according to your giving.
Do
yer givin’, while yer livin’, so you’ll be knowin’ where its goin’.
There are no pockets in a
shroud and no U-hauls behind a hearse.
Two things ruin a
church--loose living and tight giving.
God looks at the heart,
not the hand--the giver, not the gift.
If everyone in your church
followed your pattern of giving, would your church receive a token, a tip or
a tithe?
— Brian Kluth, Pastor and Generosity Speaker & Author
“If a thief helps a poor
man out of the spoils of his thieving, we must not call that charity.”
— Dante Alighieri (1265-1321), Italian poet
When
it comes to giving until it hurts, most people have a very low threshold of
pain.
Seek joy in what you give
not in what you get.
Some people say, “Give
till it hurts.” But God recommends that we give until it feels good. God
loves a cheerful giver!
— Brian Kluth, Pastor and Generosity Speaker & Author
With
the price of everything else going up these days, aren’t you glad the Lord
hasn’t increased the tithe to 15%?
Real charity doesn’t care
if it’s tax deductible or not.
The Dead Sea is the dead
sea because it continually receives and never gives.
Thank the Lord that you
can give instead of depending on others to give to you.
Charity begins at home and
generally dies from lack of outdoor exercise.
“Do not give, as many rich
men do, like a hen that lays her eggs ... and then cackles.”
— Henry Ward Beecher (1813-87), American abolitionist and clergyman
“Wealth shines in giving
rather than in hoarding: for the miser is hateful, whereas the generous man is
applauded.”
— [Anicius Manlius Severinus] Boethius (480-524?), Roman statesman and
philosopher and Christian martyr
“Examples are few of men
ruined by giving.” —
Christian Bovée
“Generosity lies less in
giving much than in giving at the right moment.”
— Jean de La Bruyère (1645-96), French writer
“One of the reasons
churches in North America have trouble guiding people about money is that the
church’s economy is built on consumerism. If churches see themselves as
suppliers of religious goods and services and their congregants as consumers,
then offerings are ‘payment.’ ”
— Doug Pagitt, pastor
“My take on tithing in
America is that it’s a middle-class way of robbing God. Tithing to the church
and spending the rest on your family is not a Christian goal. It’s a
diversion. The real issue is: How shall we use God’s trust fund—namely, all we
have—for His glory? In a world with so much misery, what lifestyle should we
call our people to live? What example are we setting?”
— John Piper (1946-), pastor and author
“You have not lived until
you have done something for someone who can never repay you.”
— John Bunyan (1628-88), English Puritan writer and preacher
“Getters generally don’t
get happiness; givers get it.”
— Charles H. Burr
“Giving frees us from the
familiar territory of our own needs by opening our mind to the unexplained
worlds occupied by the needs of others.”
— Barbara Bush (1925-), former American first lady
“I was once young and now
I am old, but not once have I been witness to God’s failure to supply my need
when first I had given for the furtherance of His work. He has never failed in
His promise, so I cannot fail in my service to Him.”
— William Carey (1761-1834), Baptist missionary to India
“You can give without
loving. But you cannot love without giving.”
— Amy Carmichael (1867-1951), missionary to India
“It is more difficult to
give money away intelligently than it is to earn it in the first place.”
— Andrew Carnegie (1835-1919), American industrialist and philanthropist .
“We make a living by what
we get; we make a life by what we give.”
— Winston Churchill (1874-1965), British wartime prime minister and statesman
“No person was ever
honored for what he received. Honor has been the reward for what he gave.” —
Calvin Coolidge (1872-1933), 30th U.S. president
“Give naught, get same.
Give much, get same.” —
Malcolm Forbes (1919-90), American publisher
“No one has ever become
poor by giving.”
— Anne Frank (1929-45), Jewish Dutch diarist during Nazi occupation
“No one is so generous as
he who has nothing to give.”
— French Proverb
“Dearest lord, teach me to
be generous; teach me to serve you as you deserve; to give and not to count
the cost.”
— Ignatius of Loyola (1491-1556), Jesuit founder
“The only investment I
ever made which has paid consistently increasing dividends is the money I have
given to the Lord.”
— James L. Kraft (1874-1953), Kraft-Phoenix Cheese Corp. chairman
“To give without any
reward, or any notice, has a special quality of its own.”
— Anne Morrow Lindbergh (1906-2001), American aviatrix and writer
“A bone to the dog is not
charity. Charity is the bone shared with the dog, when you are just as hungry
as the dog.”
— Jack London (1876-1916), American novelist
“Give what you have. To
someone it may be better than you dare to think.”
— Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807-82), American writer and poet
“Generosity during life is
a very different thing from generosity in the hour of death; one proceeds from
genuine liberality and benevolence, the other from pride or fear.”
— Horace Mann (1796-1859), American educator and politician
“I am convinced that the
devil has caused the subject of giving to stir up resistance and resentment
among God’s people because he knows there are few ways of spiritual enrichment
like the exercise of faithful stewardship.”
— Stephen Olford, preacher and author
"Our culture values the
size of the gift, but God values the size of what we keep."
— Ed Owens, Chicago fund manager
“He that gives all, though
but little, gives much; because God looks not to the quantity of the gift, but
to the quality of the givers.”
— Francis Quarles (1592-1644), author
“I believe it is every
man’s religious duty to get all he can honestly and to give all he can.”
— John D. Rockefeller, Sr. (1839-1937), American industrialist and
philanthropist
“Think of giving not as a
duty but as a privilege.”
— John D. Rockefeller, Jr. (1874-1960), American industrialist and
philanthropist
“Generosity is to
materialism what kryptonite is to Superman.” —
Lloyd Shadrach, pastor and author
“Never measure your
generosity by what you give, but rather by what you have left.”
— Bishop Fulton J. Sheen (1895-1979), Roman Catholic bishop
“If there be any truer
measure of a man than by what he does, it must be by what he gives.”
— Robert South (1634-1716), English clergyman
“Giving is true loving.”
— Charles Haddon Spurgeon (1834-92), English Baptist preacher
“Even if I give the whole
of my worth to Him, He will find a way to give back to me much more than I
gave.”
— Charles Haddon Spurgeon (1834-92), English Baptist preacher
“We can all be stimulated
to greater generosity by the known generosity of others.”
— John R.W. Stott (1921-), English pastor and evangelist
“The measure of a life is
not its duration, but its donation.”
— Peter Marshall (1902-49), former U.S. Senate chaplain
“It’s not how much we give
but how much love we put into giving.”
— Mother Teresa (1910-97), Catholic missionary to India
“What the Bible says is
really true—it’s better to give than to receive.”
— Ted Turner (1938-), media mogul and philanthropist
“Giving is more than a
responsibility—it is a privilege; more than an act of obedience—it is evidence
of our faith.”
— William Arthur Ward (1921-94), American educator
“If I cannot give
bountifully, yet will I give freely.”
— Arthur Warwick
“When I die, if I leave
behind me ten pounds ... you and all mankind [may] bear witness against me,
that I have lived and died a thief and a robber.”
— John Wesley (1703-91), English evangelist and founder of Methodism
“Earn as much as you can.
Save as much as you can. Invest as much as you can. Give as much as you can.”
— John Wesley (1703-91), English evangelist and founder of Methodism
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“Americans are especially
vulnerable to an appeal that says, ‘Give us your dollars, but not your sons
and daughters.’ If we do that, missionary vision will die within a generation,
and the dollars will also eventually stop.”
— Roger Hedlund, author
“I will place no value on
anything I have or possess except in relation to the Kingdom of Christ. If
anything I have will advance that Kingdom, it shall be given or kept whichever
will best promote the glory of Him to whom I owe all my hopes, both for time
and eternity.”
— David Livingstone (1813-73),
English missionary and explorer of Africa
“God’s work done in God’s
way will never lack God’s supply.”
— J. Hudson Taylor (1832-1905), English missionary to China
“I believe with all of my
heart that God’s people possess God’s provision to accomplish and fulfill
God’s purposes in the world.”
— Joel Vestal, founder of ServLife International
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Our real worth is what
will be ours in eternity.
“Charitable giving should
be a spiritual, rather than an economic decision. Economically, charitable
giving never pays.”
— Ron Blue (1942-), Christian financial planner
“Looking for the reward of
good works, we must wait patiently till the last day, the day of
resurrection.”
— John Calvin (1509-64), French theologian and reformer
“The return we reap from
generous actions is not always evident.”
— Francesco Guicciardini (1483-1540), Italian historian and statesman
“You only get to keep what
you give away.”
— Sheldon Kopp, author
“He who gives while he
lives, gets to know where it goes.”
— Percy Ross (1916-2001), American philanthropist
“I judge all things only
by the price they shall gain in eternity.”
— John Wesley (1703-91), English evangelist and founder of Methodism
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The “Report Card on the
Ethics of American Youth,” a study of the attitudes and habits of 8,600
students in grades 9 through 12, found:
-
7 in 10 students
admitted cheating on a test at least once within the past year.
-
92 percent had lied to
their parents in the past year.
-
78 percent had lied to
their teachers.
-
More than 1 in 4 said
they would lie to get a job.
Deception – 32% of
American’s would not report $2000 of money made on the side to the IRS.
How much better to be
honestly poor than questionably rich.
You
should file your income tax, not chisel it.
Income is a small matter to me--especially after taxes.
The IRS has
come up with a simplified 1040 form. There’s only 2 lines. Line 1: How
much did you make last year? Line 2: Send it in.
An honest
letter was sent to the Internal Revenue Service It stated: "Dear Sirs: I
cannot sleep. Last year, when I filed my income tax return, I deliberately
misrepresented my income. Now I cannot sleep. Enclosed is a check for $150 for
taxes. If I still cannot sleep, I will send you the rest!"
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Brian Kluth is a national and international speaker and writer. He is also a church pastor and the founder of
Maximum Generosity, a public ministry dedicated to advancing Biblical generosity through inspirational preaching, leadership training seminars, writing, resources and the media. Brian’s written materials have been distributed to more than 350,000 Christian leaders in more than 100 countries .For additional materials or to contact Brian, email:
bk@kluth.org or visit
:
www.kluth.org