Where Does Money Come From, God Or People?
Answer: The Bible says that in the very beginning, God created the heavens and the earth (Genesis 1:1) and that everything was made by him (John 1:3).
So everything there is came from God. The sun, moon, oceans, trees, animals, sky, and land all came from him.
The Bible also says, “Whatever is good and perfect comes to us from God above” (James 1:17).
But this doesn’t mean that God makes every little thing in the world himself.
Instead, he expects people to use the materials he has given them to make things like bread, cars, toys, medicine, houses, clothes, and money.
God made the world and people, and he makes it all work right. You might say that money comes from God through people.
But God doesn’t make money-people print money and mint coins. God enables people to earn and use it.
God makes it possible for people to earn money. He made people. He made their skills. He made the bosses. He controls the world.
Key verse: It is a good thing to receive wealth from God and the good health to enjoy it. To enjoy your work and accept your lot in life-that is indeed a gift from God. (Ecclesiastes 5:19)
Related verses: Psalm 50:10; 111:5; Matthew 6:19- 34; 19:21-24
Related questions: If money doesn’t grow on trees, where does it come from? Why did God make money?
Note to parents: This assumes money comes either from God or from people. Emphasize the important role of both by thanking God for what you have and for the people through whom it comes.
Why Is There Such A Thing As Money?
Answer: People use money to trade one thing for another.
Think about when you go to the store. If you want to get something in the store, how would you do that without money?
You would have to trade something for what you want in the store, and the store would have to want what you have to trade.
That might get very complicated. That’s why there is money-it’s something that everyone can use for trade.
Key verse: The king replied to Araunah, “No, I insist on buying it, for I cannot present burnt offerings to the Lord my God that have cost me nothing.”
So David paid him fifty pieces of silver for the threshing floor and the oxen. (2 Samuel 24:24)
Related verses: Genesis 42:35; 2 Kings 12:5; Ecclesiastes 5:19; Isaiah 30:6
Related questions: How did money start? If everything was free, then the world would be a better place, so why did people make money in the first place?
Why Don’t People Just Trade For What They Need?
Answer: Long ago (and in some places even today) people traded things with each other instead of using money.
They traded food they grew, animals they raised, things they made, and so forth. For example, someone might trade some grain for a table.
Or someone might trade a cow for shoes and clothes. But this only worked if each of the traders wanted what the other had to trade.
If you had only a model airplane to trade and no one else wanted it, you wouldn’t be able to get what you needed.
Money makes trading easier because everybody can use it.
If you trade money for a new model airplane, the person who sold it to you can use the money to trade for a baseball glove. Money makes trading easy.
Key verse: Joseph collected all the money in Egypt and Canaan in exchange for grain, and he brought the money to Pharaoh’s treasure house. (Genesis 47:14)
Related verses: Genesis 13:2; 34:10
Related question: What did people do before money came?