The story was told recently of a denominational overseer, kneeling down in a pastors’ conference to beg his pastors not to steal church money again! There had been continuous report of stealing, crooked dealings and covetous practices in the denomination before that shameful scenario of overseer begging his pastors and associates to stop stealing in the church. Will they hear? That is left to everyone’s imagination! But the bitter truth is that ministers with financial integrity are a rarerity in the ministry today. When comes to money in life and ministry, who is really free?
A. FINANCIAL INTEGRITY FOUNDATION John 1:47: Proverb 11:3: Psalm 15:2-6
Integrity is the quality of being honest and having strong moral principles. The character of a Christian should embrace integrity because it is an essential trait found in godly and upright people.
- You should seek to be honest in your financial dealings
- You must be honest with yourself with others and before God
- You must seek to do what needs to be done
- You must give back to God your tithes and offerings honestly,
- You must honestly pay your debt
- You must not allow your expenditure to outshoot your income
- You must not live the life that is beyond your income
- You must not take what belongs to others or what you are not given
Integrity means you choose right over wrong and continually want to live an honest life, especially in financial matters Thes. 2:10: Heb. 13.18 Thes 4:12. 2 Cor. 4:2. Financial honesty and integrity will not give room for the enemy to blaspheme God in your life and through your ministry.
B. DISHONESTY IN MINISTRY Numbers 22:16-18: John 12:6, Acts 5:1-5
Prophet Balsam, Ananiahs and Judas Iscanot are three ministers who were dishonest in ministry They were not credible when it comes to money matters and they were severaly judged by the Lord as a lesson for those who will follow ther steps today:
- A senior pastor stole 12 million church money and use it to build personal house in his home town.
- A minister organized robbers to rob the Thanksgiving offering of the church
- A minister who was sent with church money, took part of it and doctor the books
- A minister who stole money from his bank and bold away to start a church
Too many stealing, fraud and misappropriation going on in the church of today in some cases churches have had to invest in CCTV cameras stem the tide.
Recommended Reading
PRAYER & SPIRITUAL WARFARE: DELIVERANCE IN TODAY’S CHURCH
The Mystery of Altars: Building a Prayer Altar in Your Home
PRINCIPLES OF SUPERNATURAL SPEED: Open Heaven – New!
C. PRINCIPLES OF FINANCIAL INTEGRITY IN MINISTRY-II Cor 4:2, Pro. 12:22,19, Phil. 2:15
“The honest man is the noblest work of God” – Alexander Pope
It takes pure heart, graceful determination open dealings to build financial integrity in ide and ministry. There are many influences and opportunities for corruption in ministry, but you must rebuff them and be honest. Here are principles to follow:
1. Be sure of His calling and mandate over your life Pro. 18:16. Where God guides, He provides. What God orders, He pays for God’s work, done in God’s ways never lacks supply.
2. Determine to be truthful, honest and sincere in your finances Pro. 20:7. Don’t cut-comers, don’t take what belongs 8. to others, inspite of your suffering or wants. Never allow yourself to be trapped into anything that is unethical, immoral or dishonest, no matter how inviting it seems
3. Pray and Plan to preach the gospel 9. freely to others Cor. 9:18. Don’t charge or place financial burden on people. We need money for ministry, but we must never do ministry for money Let God be your supply
4. Don’t Ever Commercialize the Ministry John 2:13-16; Acts 8:18-20. Don’t charge and don’t use money as measuring yardstick for ministry success Stop pursuing gains and business dealings in ministry Don’t be ‘money 10. monger such that you see everything in ministry as means of making money. Don’t use people to fill your pocket. You must be able to explain and justify your source of income
5. Understand the financial dealings of God in your life. While God can supply by sending people to you, He can also ask you to collect from people and he may decide to bless you through your strategic tent-making. Discover which one He is using for you and work and pray accordingly
6. You must separate your personal money from ministry money. Stop lumping everything together. Separate what belongs to you such as salary. emolument, royalties and appreciations. Stop personalizing God’s money-tithes and givings of people.
7. Don’t keep ministry/church money with you. Let there be a record of income and expenditure right from the first day. Open an account in a bank and let it be lodge there. There should be minimum of three signatories to the church account, for accountability.
8. Don’t borrow money from members -II Tim. 2:6. Borrowing money from members have brought much shame to many ministers. Let God be your supply Pray and wait in faith for God’s supply. He is your employer, not your members.
9. Don’t ever do business with members or inside the church. Many ministers have lost credibility simply because they become businessmen and enter into business venture with church members and use members for business Forex sales cooperatives, investment club in properties, wonder banks have gone sour and it has led to crisis of confidence with ministers, breakaways, jail and assassinations.
10. Don’t put your financial future in the hand of your church-Gen. 30:30. If you make the mistake of putting your financial future in the hand of your church or denomination, you will be roundly disappointed Rather, take responsibility for your financial future and retirement and by careful planning, pray, savings. investment in properties and focusing on your personal ministry.
As you abide, imbibe and adopt these principles into your daily life and ministry, you will discover that all that truly matters is what we can do for the kingdom of God. The things we accumulate are not important: they are only tools for us to use in accomplishing God’s work.