John Wesley (June 28, 1703 – March 2, 1791) was a Church of England cleric and Christian theologian who taught – and lived out – some financial principles which continue to challenge us today.
Wesley’s principles for money can be summarized with these three thoughts:
Gain all you can.
Perhaps because he grew up in poverty, witnessing his father (an Anglican priest in one of England’s lowest-paying parishes) being marched off to debtor’s prison, John accepted a more lucrative position: teacher at Oxford University. John’s salary increased dramatically, from 30 pounds annually (enough for a single man to live well on) to 60 pounds, then 90 pounds, then 120 pounds and eventually to over a thousand pounds. Rather than believing, as some did, that money was inherently evil, Wesley thought of all the good one could do with money . . . more money meant more good. John Wesley knew how to earn money, and he did so quite well.
Save all you can.
Saving, to Wesley, meant not spending. Being a single man most of his life, he stored very little of his earnings for the types of savings we deem non-negotiables today, such as emergency funds or retirement nest eggs. He urged his followers to purchase only the absolute basic necessities of life, rightly noting that purchases of expensive food, fancy clothing and elegant furniture was wasteful. But he also pointed out that when people spend money on things they do not really need, they begin to want more things they do not need, stating, “Who would depend anything in gratifying these desires, if he considered that to gratify them is to increase them? Nothing can be more certain than this: Daily experience shows that the more they are indulged, they increase the more.”
Because people who would never waste money on themselves might be more indulgent with their children. Wesley especially warned against buying too much for children. Based on the principle that gratifying a desire needlessly only tends to increase it, he asked these well-intentioned parents: “Why should you purchase for them more pride or lust, more vanity or foolish and hurtful desires? . . . Why should you be at further expense to increase their temptations and snares and to pierce them through with more sorrows?”
Give all you can.
An event which occurred while Wesley was at Oxford greatly impacted his views on giving. Evidently, after purchasing some pictures for his room, he noticed one cold winter day that one of the chambermaids had nothing to protect her except a thin linen gown. When he reached into his pocket to give her some money to buy a coat, he found he had too little left. Immediately, the thought struck him that the Lord was not pleased with the way he had spent his money. He asked himself, “Will thy Master say, ‘Well done, good and faithful steward?’ Thou hast adorned thy walls with the money which might have screened this poor creature from the cold! O justice! O mercy! Are not these pictures the blood of this poor maid?”
From that day, in 1731, Wesley determined to maintain his standard of living at the same level and give away everything above that threshold. At that time, with earnings of 30 pounds and living expenses at 28 pounds, he gave away two pounds. When his earnings increased to 60 pounds, he gave away 32. As they increased to 120 pounds, he continued to live on 28 and give away 92 pounds.
Wesley became known for his saying, “What should rise is not the Christian’s standard of living, but his standard of giving.”
He continued this practice his entire life. Even when his income reached 1400 pounds, he lived on 30 pounds and gave the rest away. Wesley was afraid of laying up treasures on earth, so the money went out in charity as quickly as it came in. He reports that he never had more than 100 pounds at any one time.
How about today?
You may be thinking, “Joe, I certainly admire John Wesley for his principles and his commitment to living out those principles. But surely we can’t be expected to live up to those same guidelines in today’s world.”
I am not saying you should . . . those decisions are between you and your spouse and God. But I can say that my wife and I are challenged by these principles. We are not going to forgo our emergency savings or our retirement savings, but we are seriously considering ways to maintain our standard of living in order to increase our standard of giving.
That principle is timeless and, in my thinking, is one we should all be thinking about.
A financial prayer
I will close with this prayer from Wesley. He was confident that any believer who has a clear conscience after praying this prayer will be using money wisely.
“Lord, thou seest I am going to expend this sum on that food, apparel, furniture. And thou knowest I act therein with a single eye, as a steward of thy goods, expending this portion of them thus, in pursuance of the design thou hadst in entrusting me with them. Thou knowest I do this in obedience to thy word, as thou commandest, and because thou commandest it. Let this, I beseech thee, be a holy sacrifice, acceptable through Jesus Christ! And give me a witness in myself, that for this labor of love I shall have a recompence when thou rewardest every man according to his words.”
Readers: which of Wesley’s principles do you agree with? Where do you differ? Which ones challenge you to change how you currently handle money?
Rick Warren lives by those principles – he lives on 10% and gives 90% back.
Giselle,
I had not previously heard that Rick Warren lived by the same principles, but it doesn’t surprise me. I read a long time ago that Billy Graham lived on a very modest salary and allowed all of his book profits, etc go back to ministry. I can’t document this, but it sounds like Billy Graham.
Love the quote about getting and wanting something more just allows for more indulgence
Wesley became known for his saying, “What should rise is not the Christian’s standard of living, but his standard of giving.” This is an awesome quote. I am going to use it! This is very challenging to me, and I thank you for publishing it. I will be meditating on this for a while.
Blessings Joe.
The financial prayer struck me as a wise way to hold yourself accountable to God. Even though it is old world English, we could construct our own prayer to pray before spending money just like we pray before meals to acknowledge the one who entrusted it to us. That simple exercise will most likely make us spend less!
Love this principle Joe… thanks for sharing. For whatever reason many Christians think making a lot of money is ungodly. My mind went there for awhile but over the last few years I’ve been freed from that mentality and am now working to turn my life mission into a revenue generating asset that helps people and brings me fulfillment. The more I make the more I can give, so I say bring it on!
@Samantha,
Wesley obviously understood human nature quite well. Once one starts on the path to materialism, it is difficult to stop.
@Duke,
Thanks. I have been meditating on this thought for some time. By the way, I highly recommend the book “Radical” by David Platt. He further develops this thought in this book, and it was from this book that I first learned of Wesley’s financial philosophies.
@Pamela,
I thought briefly about paraphrasing Wesley’s prayer into modern language, but decided it was best to leave it (in this post) as he prayed it. This being said, you are right: we should develop our own version of this prayer as a check in our own spending habits.
@Matt,
I, like you, don’t understand why Christians somehow equate making a lot of money with being ungodly. The way I see it, if Christians don’t have the money (to use for good), the enemy must have it. And that is NOT good.
Great point Joe!!
I actually agree with all 3 principles, however, I would have to say with some modifications to 2 & 3. While I agree that you should not solely seek to indulge your desires, I do think it’s ok every now and again to to pamper yourself or indulge; but still seek to give and be a blessing to those around you. I certainly think it is possible.
I particularly like “Rather than believing, as some did, that money was inherently evil, Wesley thought of all the good one could do with money . . . more money meant more good.” I never thought of it that way.
MD,
You sound a bit like me. I don’t buy into the ultra frugal lifestyle, meaning I still like vacations, and going out to eat (within my budgeted amount). I also believe in saving (as I said in the post) for emergencies and retirement. However, the challenge remains this: whatever one’s standard of living, consider intentionally keeping it there so that future increases in cash flow can be used to bless others instead of our inflated life styles. I am not there yet, but am working on it.
Natash,
Thanks. It seems strange that so many Christians think poverty = Godliness. My question is this: if we are all poor, how would any of us be able to help those who have real needs? Wesley was indeed on to something with his “Gain all you can” motto.
it will forever remain a pure way of living . anyone who is able to control money controls his/her life. may you give all you can to the glory of God.
I goofed! I thought Wesley lived on 28 pounds per MONTH, not per year. He was incredibly frugal to live on $6,080 a year in 2011 US dollars.
I am reminded of an old definition of prosperity. “Having enough for your needs and to give away”. So, no matter how little I have if I still give away…I am prosperous.
How God so loved that he gave…his most precious, bankrupting heaven…