Wayne's World

Money has been in the news a lot over the last few weeks. Whether it is Wayne Rooney’s £250,000 a week salary or the massive spending cuts announced by George Osborne, money is in the news. And whilst it’s sometimes said it’s not polite to talk about money, we all do. Perhaps talking about the price of petrol, the price of a pint or how much our house is worth.

How people used their wealth concerned Jesus a great deal. On one occasion a rich young man asked Jesus what was needed in order for a rich person to go to heaven. Jesus told him that he needed to give away everything he had to the poor. On hearing this news the young man was very disappointed and in fact the followers of Jesus were amazed. Jesus then went on to say that it is very hard for the rich to enter the kingdom of God and in fact “It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.” Mark 10:23

Teachings like this suggest the Christian faith is against wealth and money. People quote Christianity as saying “Money is the root of all evil” which suggests that money is to be avoided at all costs. In fact St Paul, an early follower of Jesus, said “The love of money is the root of all kinds of evil.” 1 Tim 6:10

I interpret this as Paul saying Wanting to make money for money’s sake is bad but using money to help others is good.

The founder of the Methodist Church John Wesley once preached a sermon called “The right use of money”. The sermon is over 250 years old and some of the ideas in it can seem old fashioned today. For example he talks about needing to ensure that we take care of our servants and don't hang extravagant works of art on the wall! Both things I relate to as a Methodist minister naturally.

But there is a great deal of truth within in it. And one idea John Wesley put forward seems to me a good rule for the right use of money. Wesley was clear that money made should be made legally and fairly without harm to others. People should save to have enough money to live comfortably but not extravagantly and then give away the money left over to help others.

Put simply Wesley said that we should “Make all you can, save all you can and give away all you can”.

It’s a good rule. But will it apply in Wayne’s world? And will it apply in the world of George Osborne's friends in the City I wonder?