Financial Discipleship - the Bible on OwnershipSample

1 Chronicles chapter 29 captures King David’s love for the Lord, reveals David's devotion to God's temple, and includes a declaration by God ordaining Solomon as the next king.

In the end, the king’s dedication to this cause—the House of the Lord—prompted others to give beyond fathomable measure for its construction. They also accepted David's son Solomon as their new king, and Solomon would eventually be charged to build the temple.

If there is one thing we can take away from this story, it’s King David’s demonstration of ownership.

We all may have a different calling and destiny. But we all share one common purpose: to be fruitful and multiply—characteristics of being a disciple (2 Timothy 2:2; John 15:5-8). To live out this purpose in our lives, it’s important to understand how we can become Jesus’ disciples in the 21st century.

Ownership is the first and most important step in our financial discipleship journey, but that doesn’t make it the easiest one. Think of all the times we hear questions like, “Whose is this?” “Is this yours?”. And think of all the times we responded, “Mine,” “Yes.”

Think of all the times we may have acquired expensive or prized possessions from years of hard work and said (or thought), “It’s all mine.”

But after all of King David’s galvanizing, not once did he claim any of what was accumulated as his own. That’s 5,000 tons of gold, silver, bronze and iron… and none of it he called his. Neither was the temple his own. And neither was his tenure as king his own. How many of us could say the same after such a feat?

Such power. Such influence. Such wealth. And the first thing he did was praise God for His splendor… His greatness… His glory.

David took no credit for what the leaders of Israel contributed to the building of the Lord’s temple. Instead, he gave it all to God and praised Him publicly for all to see.

David knew, even though he loved the Lord so much that he wanted to build this temple, it would be his son Solomon’s task to see it through. And still, he was obedient in doing his part by laying down an offering and stepping back for Solomon to sit on the throne God ordained for him.

This is how we should be as financial disciples. Every chance we get, we should use it to acknowledge our Father for what He has done for us and through us. Everything we accomplish… everything we achieve… everything we acquire… we should give credit to God for making it all possible. And everything about who we are should be about who He is. For we were made in His image (Genesis 1:27), and greater is He in us than he that is in the world (1 John 4:4).

Our lives are not our own. His Spirit lives in us and our lives are His. The more open we are to accepting that our God is the only reason for greatness in our lives (1 Chronicles 29:12), the more effective we can become at being a disciple for Christ and making other disciples.

(excerpt taken from The Bible on Money, Compass-finances God's way, 2022)