Integrity: The Must-Have Trait for Christian Finances

Scripture encourages holiness from God’s people. In the simplest terms, to be holy is to be set apart. Christians are called to high ideals and principles. The world is well aware of this. That is why every pastor or ministry leader accused of fraud, embezzlement, or other criminal activity makes the news. Maintaining integrity is critical.

The word “integrity” is drawn from the Latin integritas, meaning whole or complete. It is where we derive the mathematical term “integer.” When we use the word “disintegrate,” it means to weaken or come apart—to be “integrated” is to have all the pieces brought together into a seamless whole.

It is easier to talk about integrity than it is to practice it. We live in a world where the general mindset is “don’t get caught.” It takes a commitment to principle in order to swim upstream. For Christians, integrity is about doing right—it is also about avoiding any appearance of doing wrong.

Here are four tips for handling your personal and church finances with integrity:

1. Avoid maintaining private accounts.

There might be some reasonable rationalizations for having a bank account that your spouse or board does not know about, but it only sets you up for trouble. You might open such an account with completely innocent motives, but once you have a secret place to stash money, the temptation to misuse funds becomes harder to ignore. Even if you keep everything above board, it is hard to explain undisclosed accounts when they are uncovered. It is better to keep everything in the open.

How we manage God's resources is incredibly important—not only as responsible followers of Jesus but also as those who want to restore people’s trust in the church.

2. Never secretly borrow money.

When someone is caught embezzling from a church or business, they typically say that they intended to pay it all back. And maybe that is the case. The problem is that when no one knows you have borrowed money, there is not a lot of incentive to pay it back. Then the next time you find yourself in a financial bind, it is easy to justify pinching a little more.

3. Run financial decisions through the proper channels.

Whether at home or church, you probably have an accepted course for making purchases. It could be that you and your spouse talk about every purchase over $50. Your church board has a standard protocol too. It is crucial that you respect those formalities. They are not there to curtail your freedom but to protect you.

4. Pay what you owe.

In his letter to Roman Christians, Paul made a point to remind them to “pay to all what is owed to them: taxes to whom taxes are owed, revenue to whom revenue is owed, respect to whom respect is owed, honor to whom honor is owed. Owe no one anything” (Romans 13:7-8). This is important advice. We should never create an opportunity for people to accuse us of not paying back debts we have incurred, taxes we owe, or other outstanding areas of responsibility.

Our Financial Choices Matter

The Bible tells us that we are stewards of God’s resources. How we manage those resources is incredibly important—not only as responsible followers of Jesus but also as those who want to restore people’s trust in the church. Making wise decisions that will protect us from mishandling or misappropriating funds is an essential first step.

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