Take responsibility!

When we look at personal finances there is a general principle from the Bible that if you are able, you are expected to work – I would suggest that is assumed in the story we read from Matthew 25. The responsibility is yours and no-one else’s and balancing the books at the end of the month or the end of the year is also your responsibility.


We have to recognise that it is possible to go through some life challenges that make managing money a really difficult thing to do – unemployment among other things – so I am not unaware of the real pressures that some of us face. In the current economic climate there are difficult decisions to be made for those who have been made redundant. Church leaders would want to be there to give pastoral support through that time and advise on priorities. But in the end it is each person’s responsibility before God as to the decisions made and actions followed, both with talents and money.

As in most churches, among King’s people there will be a whole range of very differing personal circumstances. Some may be in debt, some may be on benefits, some may be earning over £50,000. Some will be single, some might be students, some might have four children, and we recognise that there are differing ages and stages of life that make greater financial demands. I have three sons and in recent years my wife has been able to return to work but we have one son at university and investing in his future is costing me an arm and a leg! I am in that season. Furthermore, I am also in that season where my pension is becoming more important to me – much more than it was in my 20s. My advice is that you should prepare in your 20s for your future.

Content taken from King's Stewardship Seminar...