“But so that we may not offend them, go to the lake and throw out your line. Take the first fish you catch; open its mouth and you will find a four-drachma coin. Take it and give it to them for my tax and yours”
– Matthew 17:27
I have heard it said that Jesus mentions money more than any other topic in the Bible. The thinking is that if Jesus speaks of money so frequently, the topic must be of utmost importance. I suppose that is true in some ways – but it also depends on how you are looking at it.
In Luke 18 a rich young ruler asked Jesus what he must do to inherit eternal life. After the man declared that he had kept all of the commandments since he was young, Jesus told him to give all his wealth to the poor and follow him. The young man declined. I imagine that he would have been willing to keep his wealth and follow Jesus. He might have been willing to make a sizable donation to the ministry of Jesus, too. But he went away.
In Matthew 17 the collectors of the temple tax asked Peter if Jesus paid the tax. Jesus had made it clear that the disciples were not required to pay the temple tax. Rather than become indignant and protest the tax, however, they paid it – using coins that were miraculously provided by God.
Jesus seemed to treat the acquisition and spending of money as insignificant by-products of living on earth – necessary but far from utmost importance. When the Israelites needed resources before leaving Egypt, God miraculously provided their needs – through the Egyptians. When it was time to build a temple, God again provided – this time through the Israelites themselves. When there is a need God provides as he pleases.
Money and wealth can become very significant in a negative way, however. The Apostle Paul says that the love of money has caused some to wander from the faith; Jesus says that you cannot serve both God and money. But if you are talking about accomplishing God’s will on earth, I can’t think of one story in the Bible where God failed to accomplish his will due to a lack of material resources. When we are moving in God’s will, the means to accomplish it will be available. Too much money can keep us from following Jesus – but too little money will never be a reason for failing to accomplish God’s will.