FIRST FAMILY BUSINESS. The average person would rather work for someone else or take from someone else rather than start their own business. But having a family business is what God originally had planned for his people, and he provides all the resources we need if we would but seek to learn how to manage them from his instructional guide.

We are living in very challenging and stressful times in which possession, money, and wealth matter to all. However, if not careful, the pursuit of wealth will pull us away from what really matters, which is our relationship with God. 

Satan uses the things of this world to tempt and lure us to him. However, the Word of God provides us with the guidance needed to avoid his trap. In the Bible, God provides practical guidance on how to live above the stresses of life, and he provides instructions on how to manage the possessions we have been given. 

In this series, we explore what the Bible says about how to earn money and use it effectively while at the same time learning how not to allow it to control us and lead us down the road to destruction.

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From the Sabbath School Adult Bible Study Guide 2023 Quarter 1: Sabbath.School (See also Hope Sabbath School and 3ABN Sabbath School)

Asking For God’s Guidance

Holy Father, Thank You for the precious things you have given us. Teach us how to manage it effectively so that it does not draw us away from you. In Jesus the Name Amen 

John in 1 John 3:1 lets us know that when we accept God as our father, and Jesus as our savior, we are adopted into the Family of God.

“Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God!” (1 John 3:1, NKJV).

As children of God, one thing about our relationship with our Father is that he trusts us to manage his affairs on earth. So not only are we his sons and daughters, but we also become his managers.

We are placed in charge of managing his business affairs on earth. The delegation of His business affairs on earth originated in the Garden of Eden, according to Genesis 2:7–9 and 15 when God gave our fore parents Adam and Eve the personal responsibility of caring for His creation.

7 And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being.

8 The Lord God planted a garden eastward in Eden, and there He put the man whom He had formed.

9 And out of the ground the Lord God made every tree grow that is pleasant to the sight and good for food. The tree of life was also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

15 Then the Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to tend and keep it. (Genesis 2:7-9 and 15)

What responsibilities did God trust Adam and Eve with? God gave them the responsibility of:

(1) Naming all the animals.

(2) Taking care of the Garden.

(3) And populating the earth with children

These responsibilities tell us that God expects us to work on his behalf while we are living on this earth.

But he does not expect us to work without the necessary resources. He has given us all the resources we need, and he has entrusted us with the responsibility of effectively managing them.

To his people, God has entrusted us with the power to obtain money and spend money. He expects us to prepare budgets and return tithes and offerings to his church to financially support His work of teaching others about him.

Not only does he supply the resources needed to advance his work, but he also gives us the resources to take care of our needs.

God as our Heavenly Father has given us everything we need. Therefore he has claims on us. Here is what it says in the book: Fundamentals of Christian Education

Your Heavenly Father has claims on you; for without asking or merit on your part He gives you the resources of His kingdom; and more than this, He has given you all heaven in one gift, that of His beloved Son. In return for this infinite gift, He claims from you willing obedience. As you are bought with a price, even the precious blood of the Son of God, He requires that you make a right use of the privileges you enjoy. Your intellectual and moral abilities are God’s gifts, talents entrusted to you for wise improvement, and you are not at liberty to let them lie dormant for want of proper development or be crippled and dwarfed by inaction. It is for you to determine whether or not the hefty responsibilities that rest upon you shall be faithfully met, whether or not your efforts shall be well directed and your best.—Fundamentals of Christian Education, p. 85.

Additionally, with the gifts that God has given us, He expects us to help others that are less fortunate and not capable of caring for themselves. God has also entrusted us with the responsibility of His children. He expects us to train and educate the succeeding generations about Him and His love for them, as well as on how to live and effectively manage His resources. In This lesson, we will study what it means to be part of God’s family and what God expects of us as members of His Family.

Church members often refer to each other as brother and sister. Are they really brothers and sisters? Find out on Day 2: We Are Part of God’s Family

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