In a prior Business Tip,¹ I covered the following four axiomatic economic principles.

1. God owns all tangible wealth.
2. God funds his will.
3. There was gold in the Garden of Eden (a clue to sound monetary systems).
4. There are two types of wealth: tangible (temporal) and intangible (eternal, true).

In this tip, I compiled some corollaries that flow from these axiomatic principles. The corollaries are easily seen in texts such as Matthew 6:19–34 and 1 Timothy 6:6–19.

• Value intangible (eternal, true) wealth over tangible (temporal) wealth. Some examples of tangible wealth are money, stocks, bonds, financial derivatives, real estate, collectibles, and intellectual property (patent rights and copyrights). Some examples of intangible wealth are righteousness, faith, love, patience, gentleness, and godliness with contentment. In the end, the only wealth that matters will be intangible wealth because it transcends physical death.
• To value intangible wealth over tangible wealth requires metaphysical awareness, that is, the ability to view reality from God’s perspective.
• It is impossible to serve both God and money (mammon). We do not have the power or ability to serve both; we must make a choice. The worship of God is the only right choice. The worship of money is sin and a trap that will lead to all kinds of evil.
• Do not worry about tangible needs. Since God funds his will, he provides the needs of those who align with his will and ways.
• Be humble in managing tangible wealth; it is only a tool to obey God. Remember that tangible wealth is not the answer to the ultimate issues of life, namely sin and death. Christ is the only answer to these issues. Therefore, if you truly know Christ, you have true wealth.

Thinking biblically about tangible wealth is very difficult for everyone. Worldly (nonbiblical) thinking erroneously defines success, significance, and security in terms of tangible wealth. It is easy to wrongly believe this is a correct definition. Biblically, however, eternal success, significance, and security is solely found in knowing Jesus Christ and living aligned with his will. Therefore, intangible wealth is eternal, true wealth.² Tangible wealth has value only in this existence; it is simply a tool to empower humans to live aligned with the will and ways of God.

Here is your business tip. For fallen mankind, the default thinking about wealth is unbiblical. By nature, we value tangible (temporal) wealth over intangible (eternal, true) wealth. Learning to think biblically about wealth requires training. Organizational leaders must make sound biblical training about both tangible and intangible wealth a high priority. In addition to training, the actions and practices of organizations must reflect the truth that accumulating intangible (eternal, true) wealth is the true definition of success, significance, and security. Tangible temporal wealth must be properly stewarded by seeking to use it to serve the purposes of God. The fruit of sound stewardship of tangible wealth will be the accumulation of intangible (eternal, true) wealth—wealth that God values.

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1. http://strategieswork.net/publications/BusinessTips/2017/2017-01.htm.
2. http://strategieswork.net/publications/gleanings/2016/2016-09.htm.