I do not remember when or how I first came across the 4 questions that John Wesley proposed we consider when spending money, but it was probably in a Randy Alcorn book. Wesley believed in the value of introspection, perhaps to a fault, but understood that he was accountable to God for the way he used each and every penny. These questions guided him and I think they merit our consideration as well.
His first question was a foundational one. “In spending this money, am I acting as if I owned it, or am I acting as the Lord’s trustee?” In other words, he always wanted to check his own heart to make sure that when he took out his wallet, it was with an understanding that he would be spending God’s money on God’s behalf. He wanted to always remind himself who actually owned the money.
The second question was this: “What Scripture passage requires me to spend this money in this way?” He did not just want to know that the Bible allowed him to spend it that way, but actually required him to do so. He wanted to spend every bit of money in a way that God had commanded, not just permitted.
The third question he would ask is this: “Can I offer up this purchase as a sacrifice to the Lord?” Wesley wanted to be able to let go of anything he purchased and make it an offering to the Lord. He wanted to be able to say, “I made the purchase, I completed the sale, but I did it for you. It’s yours to use as you will.”
Wesley’s final question was, “Will God reward me for this expenditure at the resurrection of the just?” He wanted to know that when he stood before the Lord and this purchase was weighed in the balances, he would hear, “Well done, good and faithful servant.”
Those are 4 great questions that bring biblical wisdom to bear on the way we use our money.
