Spending, giving and saving to the glory of God

“So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.” 1 Corinthians 10:31 

If someone asked you what this verse looked like for your financial patterns, how would you respond? I’m sure many would think of prayerful giving - perhaps to their church, a Christian mission agency or other charities. Managing your spending on life’s essentials of housing, bills and tax might come to mind next. 

For many of us, though, this question will raise further, practical ones. Is my ratio of saving to spending right? Are there areas I should reduce spending? Am I generous in my approach to money? Do I understand my financial habits? 

This leads to one big question we should be asking ourselves as Christians: Am I spending, giving and saving for His glory and not my own? 

How we treat money can expose our hearts 

“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Matthew 6:19–21 

Our financial behaviours expose the position of our hearts towards God. Some of us will tend towards a need to control and rely on financial status for security. Others will be so relaxed towards their spending that they risk not stewarding conscientiously. 

Understanding how we are approaching money helps us to identify areas that aren’t shaped for His glory. Below, I’ve listed a few areas I think are helpful as we consider our attitude to money. It is worth emphasising that the practical outworking of these things will look different between believers and there is an abundance of grace when there are things that we realise should change. 

With that being said, here we go: 

● Every pound we have is from God and remains His 

All wealth - however much or little we have - belongs to the Lord. All we have is a gift from Him. Randy Alcorn put it like this: “Faithful money-managing stewards act in the Owner’s interests, regularly consulting Him to understand and implement His investment priorities.” 

● We trust in Him, not His gifts 

There are many warnings in the Bible concerning the corrupting power of the love of money. In the Gospels, Jesus warns us directly about the challenges of wealth (Matthew 19:24) and we see first hand the stumbling block money can be (Mark 10:17). Our financial habits expose whether our trust is in the Lord or in the resources He has provided. The Bible’s wisdom points to this often being a greater challenge for the rich. But the application is universal, we can all pray that God would be our sole hope and security. 

● We should enjoy God’s good gifts to us 

God provides richly for our enjoyment. All His gifts are to be enjoyed and His provision to us is no different. Enjoyed in its proper context, we can glorify God by spending, saving and giving, ultimately giving Him praise and thanks, as we enjoy His provision. 

● We are commanded to use money in various ways 

Feeding our families (1 Timothy 5:8), paying taxes (Romans 12:13), being generous (Galatians 6:10) and caring for those in need (James 2:16) are some of the ways God commands our use of money. 

● We must invest in His kingdom 

“Remember that the one who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and the one who sows generously will also reap generously.” 2 Corinthians 9:6 

Our priority on earth should not be to grow our own wealth, but to invest in eternal things. We glorify God with money when our investments are not just for a house or retirement, but for His kingdom. 

● Knowing our financial habits helps us steward with confidence 

Understanding our financial habits is a helpful starting point to expose our heart position to money and habits we need to pray through. Our largely cashless society can be unhelpful in building this knowledge and going through your accounts can be time consuming. 

Provision is a new finance app for Christians in the UK who want to track, manage and understand their spending, giving and saving. It does the hard work for you, automatically categorising transactions across multiple accounts and credit cards, which you can customise. You can set up prayer reminders to dedicate transactions to the Lord, like when your salary hits your account or your church giving goes out. 

Visit www.provision.money to join the waitlist for priority access when we launch in September 2025. Our prayer is that Provision will support you to steward your money with wisdom and confidence for the glory of God.