God and Money: How We Discovered True Riches at Harvard Business School

I thank God that he inspired John and Greg to write this book. I actually had the privilege of reading one of the early versions they wrote in 2015 when they were still at Harvard. In fact, it had a major transformative effect on myself, and my family’s life, and in the way that we think and act regarding the wealth that God has blessed us with. I am 52 and prior to reading this book, I had never asked myself the really important and tough questions like: How much ultimately does God want us to save? How much should we consume each year? How much can we actually give away of God’s money each year and how were we going to start imparting wisdom transfer to our kids so that they can handle any wealth transfer that might occur? After reading this book, everything did in fact “flip”. Instead of the guiding principle being “how much should we give”, it became “how much should we keep”. We just fully came to terms with the fact that any money we have is God’s and we are just being asked to steward it in the manner that brings the most glory to Him. Today we have asked and answered those questions with the help of the wisdom provided in this book, many advisors who have traveled this path before us, and thankfully wisdom from God. As CEO of a 400 person company, this book has also had a great effect on how I run my business. We have started down the road of being a more generous company to our employees, those we serve, and the community and world at large. We are so excited about the road God has planned for our company in the years to come. The seven core principles for Biblical Wealth and Giving found on page 45 are the ones my wife and I believe will guide our actions around wealth and giving for the rest of our time here on earth. We do believe that the world is at a tipping point and that there can be a great acceleration of generosity led by Christians to greatly alleviate the conditions of the poor and to complete the Great Commission. We pray that God and Money will be a highly influential instrument that God will use to help this acceleration. Thank you so much, John and Greg for pouring yourselves into this, and being so transparent with your personal actions that they may serve as a useful guideline to others.

Reading God and Money was an eye opening experience. It was a disappointment on one level. I was looking for help setting up a personal budget (according to biblical guidelines of course.) You know what I mean, such as how much to spend on a mortgage, food and utilities. It does that but not on the level that I was looking for.The book is both less and more than I bargained for. The authors explored and now share what the bible says about stewardship. This applies to stewardship of money, time, and the less fortunate. You close the book with a new outlook on what we are expected to do with the gifts God has given us. A major theme in the book reminds us that all good things come from God. If we earn a living it is because God gave us the talent and opportunities to do so. Whatever that income produces or purchases actually belongs to Him. This means the money, house and everything else.God and Money gives a broad guideline for how to live and how to give. It is directed to people with incomes over $100,000.00 per year who have the opportunity to live a good life with money left over. Generosity in giving to the less fortunate is a scripture based requirement according to the authors instead of a continued growth of personal assets. The book offers a different view on tithing than most of us have been taught. The principles can be applied to anyone but it was hard to relate to the goal of saving five million dollars and giving away hundreds of thousands of dollars each year. The book talks about big money using big words and may be a little difficult for some readers.My perspective on giving has changed and I plan to re-read the book. Using the worksheet and other resources (found at godandmoney.net) will help me work through the steps to determine how much I actually need to be able to live a decent life. Most of us will need to adjust the numbers given in the book on how much is needed to live on, save and how much to tithe. Everyone who believes in God can benefit from reading this book. Working in small groups may make it both easier to understand and easier to apply to our personal lives. I recommend this book to anyone wanting to live a godlier life by giving our best to God.Disclaimer: An advanced reader copy of this book was provided by Rose Publishing without any additional compensation for the book review.

Money is a weird topic in the church. The Bible talks about it more than any other subject, but its barely mentioned in church. Or, when it is mentioned, everyone gets very uncomfortable. These authors have put together a practical book that takes an in depth look at what the Bible says about money and how we should approach it. There is a lot to wrestle with here and its likely you will push back on some of their advice . . . but you have something to push back on. One of the best things about this is that the authors are actually saying something, not offering general advice or platitudes which is often the case for a book in this genre.Here are a few of the things that I took away from this book and am still thinking over:* Christians should set an annual income limit for themselves (Instead of asking 'How much should we give?', ask 'How much should be keep'?* Christians should set a wealth limit for themselves and their family* That wealth limit should be no more than 33 times the annual income level set* You should open your finances up to other Christians* You should support your local church and community issues where you reside first* You should focus on one charity if possible, aligning your time, talent, and treasure to create the biggest impactConvicting, challenging, thought-provoking. There is a lot to wrestle with here, glad that I read this one. Thoroughly enjoyed it, and it will change the way I give moving forward.