Money to be Given, Says TTC Professor

Saturday, Oct. 3, 2009 Posted: 1:44:41AM HKT

A Salvation Army volunteer rings the bell as a passer-by puts money in a red kettle at Harvard Square in Cambridge

What is the biblical way to handle money?

The answer is sufficiently simple: it is to be given to help those in need, says Trinity Theological College professor Roland Chia without mincing words.

Christianity is not anti-money but recognises its destructive potential, he explained in an essay published in the latest issue of TTC periodical Church and Society in Asia Today.

It is the attitude and behaviour toward money that determines if it becomes a destructive force or a force for good.

Money becomes evil if it leads people “to think that it is truly indispensable”.

It brings a greater blessing if it is used for God’s purposes.

This predominantly means identifying with the needy, and sharing their surplus – after their basic physical needs have been met – with them without expecting any repayment, according to Dr Chia.

Those who give like that blessed because they are not ‘tortured’ by the ‘need’ to accumulate ever more things and because they reflect the image of their Creator, which is love and giving.

“It is this kind of giving… that would result in… the humanisation of capitalism,” he said, writing in the context of the 2008 financial crisis (the periodical is themed money matters).

Edmond Chua
edmond@christianpost.com