“Sometimes with money and Christianity, there is a negative connotation,” Alex Cook from Wealth With Purpose told Neil Johnson on Vision’s 20Twenty program. “The core Christian message is about reaching the world for Jesus Christ, so what does money have to do with that? Well, actually it has a lot to do with it.”
“Money is one of the most talked about topics in the Bible. So why does the Bible talk so much about it? Because money can take people away from a relationship with Jesus. As Christians, we have to address that issue in our lives,” Alex says.
Alex believes we are enormously blessed here in Australia. But with prosperity comes risk. We can easily fall into the trap of forgetting God and living as if we don’t need Him. Poorer nations have a far greater need for God and his provision.
“God want us to use our money and do good with it,” continues Alex. “He is calling us to be generous. We live in a hurting world, and we should be using our money to help the poor and the persecuted. We can use our money to help spread the good news. The reality is, it costs money and resources to get the message of the gospel out.”
Do well with your money, and then do good with it.
Alex believes that there is unfortunately a lot of cynicism out there about the church having its hand in our pockets.
“People often associate money with scandal. We have seen that from time to time with televangelists. But the Church offering is going towards achieving their mission. It’s true that money can be used in a negative way. We live in a fallen world and people can and do act sinfully with money. But it can also be used in a powerful and positive way.”
