Money is often a taboo subject, it is my aim as a Christian woman to change that

Until recently, there were three things that were socially unacceptable to talk about; weight, political preferences, or anything to do with individual finance. With the current social norm being body acceptance and politics rarely being out of the news, it could be argued the last taboo subject is money.

While I have no plans to address the issues of weight or politics in this article, I do want us to explore the reluctance to talk about money. For churches and church leaders this may be a knee jerk reaction to the unfair and often false accusation that churches are always asking for more funds.

For individuals, the hesitancy to discuss money may stem from shame, an unwillingness to burden others, a feeling of hopelessness or stubborn pride.

For individuals, the hesitancy to discuss money may stem from shame, an unwillingness to burden others, a feeling of hopelessness or stubborn pride.

All of which I can relate to as at the age of sixteen I found myself pregnant and homeless. I wholeheartedly understand the inner barriers that prevent people sharing and make money a taboo subject. I can identify with the false belief that not being able to balance income and expenditure makes you less of a person.

I understand it, I lived it and now I want to dispel it.

And to start the journey I want to declare that money is not a dirty subject, it is not something to be ashamed of whether we have a lot or a little, it is an everyday object and common denominator that has been in existence since 600 BC.

If you have money in the bank, food in the fridge and a roof over your head, I believe this is because God has blessed you in this way, that is a good thing. God blesses different people in diverse ways and with some the blessing comes in the form of finance.

Money has the potential to enhance, bless and bring goodness. As the Head of Giving for the Evangelical Alliance, I see this in my work every day. This is the good side; the healthy side of money and I see no need for embarrassment.

The bad side of money (mammon) is when it works in a conflicting spirit and stands in opposition to God.

The bad side of money (mammon) is when it works in a conflicting spirit and stands in opposition to God. It wants to rule, control, and consume and forms part of the ‘rulers … authorities … powers’ that Paul speaks out about so strongly in Ephesians 6:12 and Colossians 1:16. Mammon can be summarised as the pursuits of worldly things and earthly desires that divert our attention and love from God. This is why Jesus tells us, ‘No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money’ (Matthew 6:24).

If we don’t address it, how do we recognise mammon when it invades our world?

Jesus was not restricted by social niceties or hemmed in by taboos; he understood the danger of neglecting areas of teaching and the void this leaves for others to fill. The reality of this was often prevalent during my time working as a Financial Adviser as I would often be amazed at the bizarre opinions my clients would have around finance, based solely on what they had read and heard from the world about get rich schemes, risk vs reward, payday loan companies and from false teachers. These opinions were invariably always wrong.

As a Christian woman who loves the Church, I have a passion to help Jesus’ bride bring the subject of money out of the shadows and into the light. I want to eradicate the embarrassment and help close the gap between Scripture’s teaching about money and our education about money, and the only way to do that is to smash the taboo and break the silence.

So, I ask you to join me in this and encourage your church leaders to teach on this issue, acknowledge and knock down our inner barriers and allow the subject of money to become part of your everyday conversation. 

Wendy Pawsey’s book Generous with a Capital G is avaliable to pre-order here.