Why do we refuse to talk about money?

Christians talk a lot about the “10 percent” but not the other 90 percent

“The Punishment of Ananias and Sapphira” by Russian artist Alexei Harlamov, 1865.

Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. —Matthew 6:21

The body of Christ is enormously weaker because Christians don’t talk about money.

Okay, I know your first reaction might be something like this: “Christians talk about money all the time, Bruce. Have you never listened to a televangelist or noticed the offering basket go by during a church service?”

Well, yes. Before the Internet, I used to get lots of mail from dubious evangelists, promising that if I’d just rub my hands on their prayer cloth and send it back with $50 or more, they would pray over it and the miracle I needed would materialize.

And yes, my church still passes offering baskets at each service. They are virtually empty now, because almost everyone gives online, but it’s hard to break old habits.

And yes, I know churches have a reputation for talking about money all the time. I can still remember visiting the esteemed pastor and writer Stuart Briscoe’s church 40 years ago. He gave a report on the church’s financial status and then promptly added, “If you’re visiting, I want you to know that we talk about money during worship services only twice a year.”

Today’s message, consistent with my regular Friday emphasis on aspects of spirituality we don’t talk about enough, is not about our giving to the church. It’s about all our other money.

Christians frequently emphasize what we are supposed to do with 10 percent of our income and almost never talk about the other 90 percent.

I don’t like the “10 percent” reference, because it gives the impression that if we give 10 percent to God, the other 90 percent is ours to do as we please. The New Testament acknowledges the Old Testament practice of tithing (e.g., Matthew 23:23) but does not treat it as the full extent of our responsibility. Rather, Scripture calls us to sacrificial generosity. To me, 10 percent is a baseline; wealthy people should be giving much more than that to God’s work.

But what about the other 90 percent? What about how we save, budget, spend, and invest? I rarely participate in conversations on these topics. The usual practice, even in Christian circles, is to be as secretive about these matters as couples are about their sex lives.

In our early years, Nancy and I found helpful instruction from Larry Burkett, whose organization later merged into Crown Ministries. But only once have we been part of a group of Christians who discussed their money-related decisions openly. One participant in that group decided to quit her job because she discovered that after she accounted for taxes, child care, and transportation costs, her actual gain from working was minimal and she’d be better off investing her time elsewhere.

Here are some questions I almost never hear discussed:

• How big a house do you really need? Some Christians have huge, multi-million-dollar houses. We lived in 772 square feet for two years and did just fine. I won’t be legalistic on the topic—some people use their big homes for amazing outreach and hospitality—but are Christians making their housing decisions based on God’s call to ministry or based on comfort and status?

• What is a responsible, prudent entertainment budget? (I told Nancy in 1987 that I couldn’t justify big hotel bills and that if she wanted an extensive summer vacation, we’d have to learn camping. Thirty-eight years later, she still sleeps 20 nights a year on an air mattress in a tent.)

• Where and how should we invest? I have a solid investment advisor and I’ve read a lot about ethical investing, but I’d still love to trade ideas with a group of mature Christians. (Incidentally, my family has found financial guru Dave Ramsey helpful only to people who can’t control their credit card addiction and distinctly unhelpful to mature Christians capable of prudent spending and investing.)

I can work for free (including this no-cost blog) because of four factors: family inheritance, diligent work ethic, responsible investing, and frugality. Three of those four are within almost every Christian’s control. If we helped each other in these areas instead of adopting the prevailing attitude that what I do with my money is my own business—an attitude that the stories of Barnabas, Ananias, and Sapphira in Acts 4:34–5:11 appear to directly contradict—the church could be much more powerful.