We Americans are so enamored with freedom. We think
    we have the right to do what we want with “our” money.

   In this area, perhaps more than others, we need to be sure that we are not swayed by our culture—even our own Christian sub-culture. We live in a culture and economy that is market driven—it must sell more to sustain growth.

   Many would agree that we should not be strapped by funds in our ministry—yet that can create dependency on God and not our bank accounts, churches, and supporters. I’d suggest it is helpful to make a distinction between ministry funds (which can be large, when needed) and living allowance (or salary—which should be based on need). If we follow this path, and are careful in our spending, we can release more funds for Christ’s global cause.

   While we are encouraged in the West to “be ourselves,” the Scriptures teach us to be careful how we come across to others in the church, and around the world. We may not view ourselves as rich, but compared to the rest of the world, we are staggeringly wealthy.

   A few years ago, we had a conference at our modest facilities in Pasadena, with people coming from various nations. Many had received help from the conveners of the event to get there and stay there (the $30/day for food and lodging in our on-campus housing was a huge amount to them). A church leasing space on our campus had just purchased new, very nice, soft chairs and we used them for this conference. Some of these international leaders had never sat in chairs like that and questioned whether they were really needed. Most of them would consider themselves fortunate to have enough donated, used, metal chairs for their meetings.

   That day I realized afresh we need to be careful how we spend what funds we do have, recognizing we are being watched—not just by Westerners with resources—but also by non-Westerners who live every day without much of what we call “the basics.”