Thinking Thankfully About Money | Sojourners

Thinking Thankfully About Money

When you are giving thanks this week, why not give thanks for money? Sound crass? It shouldn't be, because that's what could empower a household economy based on gratitude rather than one driven by greed or guilt.

When a group of Christians in Boston began thinking thankfully about money in 2006, the economy looked very different than it does today.

2006 was a year of seeming prosperity, but amidst it, Gary VanderPol, a Boston-area pastor, and Mako Nagasawa, an InterVarsity campus minister, sensed that something was wrong.

They saw a deep forgetfulness of the Bible's teaching about money among many American Christians and much of American culture. Happiness? Yes. Generosity? Good! Stewardship? Okay. Money? No thanks.

Money is rarely discussed in polite company, even though the topic is frequently addressed in scripture, and the maldistribution of money underlies the daily tragedy of over one billion people living in extreme poverty