Are you honest about your finances? Jesus spoke more about material things and how we handle them than anything else. Why? Because how we handle material things is an indicator of how much we really trust God. We all need material things to survive—money, food, water, and clothing—all of which God promises to provide for those who seek Him. People everywhere believe the more of these things they have, the happier they will be. That is just not true. In America, we have more things than any nation in history, but we are not a happy nation.

How many coaches have lost jobs over financial issues, and how many schools have been put on probation because of recruiting violations? God does not want His children to cheat. We fall into a trap when we lie about taxes, take things that don’t belong to us, charge things to the school or organization for our personal gain, or lure a student to our school with “under the table” money. When we do these things, we are saying that God can’t take care of our needs.

In the Bible, Judas Iscariot was in charge of the ministry’s moneybag. The Bible states his motives and actions in handling the ministry’s money. “ ‘Why wasn’t this fragrant oil sold for 300 denari and given to the poor?’ He didn’t say this because he cared about the poor, but because he was a thief. He was in charge of the money-bag and would steal part of what was put in it” (Jn 12:5–6).

Remember, how we handle our budgets and personal finances reveals our trust in God.