On the Christian theology of money

Is That Your Money Or His?
An Introduction to the
Stewardship of Money
and Christian Prosperity
Author: George Wan Tian Soo

By JASMINE DANIELS

IF YOU were told to earn all you can, save all you can and then give away everything but the bare minimum, would you do it?


Conditioned in an acquisitive world and living in an economically fuzzy time, most of us would be reluctant. But in his book, Is that your money or His? An Introduction to the Stewardship of Money and Christian Prosperity, George Wan Tian Soo challenges us, as Christians, to do just that.


Sometimes exhortative, the Rev Dr Wan, a retired Methodist pastor, nevertheless balances his view with the realities of society and the practical importance of money.


This book is an introduction to the perils of a materialistic world, the Christian theology of money and "the grace of giving".


Wan presents us the paradox of economic success where Christians prosper by practising biblical ethics of diligence, prudence and thrift but drift away from the religion once we get engrossed in worldly goods. We become "rich in things and poor in soul".


His personification of God as the Sovereign Proprietor explains bluntly that what we have, God gave to us. So as grateful and responsible stewards of Christianity, it is our duty to use what He bestowed on us to further His purpose.


Realising that it is easy extol the virtues of a simple life but difficult to put it into practice, Wan offers the "Evangelical Economics" of John Wesley as a model. The astounding statistics on the impoverished peoples of Third World countries serve to convince us further to give as much as we can to alleviate the anguish and injustice of being poverty-stricken and to appreciate the beauty of a simple life.


The book is available at major Christian bookstores or obtainable from the Rev George Wan at tel: 6773-0240. Price: $12.

Jasmine Daniels is a member of Tamil Methodist Church.