The Treasure Principle - Randy Alcorn

Introduction
 Some books try to motivate giving out of guilt. This isn’t one of them. This book is about the
Joy of Giving.

Chapter1: Buried Treasure

 “He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.” - Jim Elliot
 The Parable of the Hidden Treasure envisions the joy of finding great & eternal treasure that
far surpasses the costs to obtain it. It serves as a vivid picture of the joy of surrendering
lesser treasures to find greater ones.

The Money Connection

 15% of Jesus’ teachings is on money & possession, more than his teachings on heaven & hell
combined.
 Such emphasis is laid for there’s a fundamental connection between our spiritual lives &
how we think about & handle money. We may try to divorce our faith & our finances, but
God sees them as inseparable.
1. John the Baptist’s model for repentance (Lk 3: 11,13, 14) Our approach to money &
possessions isn’t just important - it’s central to our spiritual lives.
2. Zacchaeus (Lk 19:8) Zacchaeus’ radical new approach to money proved that his heart
had been transformed.
3. Jerusalem converts selling their possessions (Acts 2:45)
4. Ephesian occultists burning books worth large investments (Acts 19:19)
5. Poor Widow (Mark 12:44)
6. Rich Man - Larger Barns (Luke 12). Rich toward himself, but not rich toward God.
7. Rich Young Man (Matt 19:21)

Smart or Stupid?
 In the Parable of Hidden Treasure, it cost the traveller everything he owned, but it gained
him everything that mattered.
 Jesus is appealing to what we do value - temporary, earthly treasure to what we should
value - eternal, heavenly treasure.
 But when Jesus warns us not to store up treasures on earth, it’s not just because wealth
might be lost; it’s because wealth will always be lost. Either it leaves us while we live, or we
leave it when we die. No exceptions.
 This is the ultimate insider trading tip: Earth’s currency will become worthless when Christ
returns - or when you die, whichever comes first. (And either could happen at any time)
 According to Jesus, storing up earthly treasures isn’t simply wrong; it’s just plain stupid.
 A Treasure Mentality
 If you stopped reading too soon, you would have thought Christ was against our storing up
treasures for ourselves. No. He’s all for it! He commands it. Jesus has a treasure mentality.
He wants us to store up treasures. He’s just telling us to stop storing them in the wrong
place & start storing them in the right place!
 “Store up for yourselves in heaven” isn’t selfish. Selfish is when we pursue gain at the
expense of others.
 Jesus is talking about deferred (delayed/postponed) gratification. The one who pays a high
price now by giving up all he has -but soon he’ll gain a fabulous treasure. As long as his eyes
are on that treasure, he makes his short-term sacrifices with joy. The joy is present, so the
gratification isn’t entirely deferred. Present joy comes from anticipating future joy.
 Treasure in Heaven includes
o Power (Luke 19:15-19)
o Possessions (Matt 19:21)
o Pleasures (Ps 16:11)
 Our treasures:
o A person, Jesus, is our 1st treasure.
o A place, heaven, is our 2nd treasure.
o Possessions, eternal rewards are our 3rd treasure.
 “Do not be overawed when a man grows rich,
When the splendour of his house increases;
For he will take nothing with him when he dies,
His splendour will not descend with him.” (Ps 49:16-17)

The Treasure Principle

 Treasure Principle: You can’t take it with you - but you can send it on ahead.
 The money God entrusts to us here on earth is eternal investment capital. Every day is an
opportunity to buy up more shares in His kingdom.

Chapter 2 : Compounding Joy

 “The less I spent on myself & the more I gave to others, the fuller of happiness & blessing did
my soul become.” - Hudson Taylor
 Scriptures that we need to remind ourselves:
o The earth is the Lord’s & everything in it, the world & all who live in it. (Ps 24:1)
o The silver is mine & the gold is mine, declares the Lord Almighty. (Hag 2:8)
o Remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce
wealth. (Deut 8:18)
o You are not your own; you were bought at a price. (1 Cor 6:19-20)
 Treasure Principle Key 1: God owns everything. I’m His money manager.
 But understanding ownership was only half of my lesson. If God was the owner, I was the
manager. I needed to adopt a steward’s mentality toward the assets He had entrust me, not
given to me.
 Joyful Giving
 Once we understood that we were giving away God’s money to do God’s work, we
discovered a peace & joy we never had back when we thought it was our money!
 Whenever we think like owners, it’s a red flag. We should be thinking like stewards,
investment managers, always looking for the best place to invest the Owner’s money.
 One of our central spiritual decisions is determining what is a reasonable amount to live on.
Whatever that amount is - & it will legitimately vary from person to person - we shouldn’t
hoard or spend the excess. After all, it’s His, not ours. And He has something to say about
where to put it.

Thunder, Lightning & Grace

 “We’re most like God when we’re giving.”
 Gaze upon Christ long enough, and you’ll become more of a giver. Give long enough, and
you’ll become more like Christ.
 Our giving is a reflexive response to the grace of God in our lives. It doesn’t come out of our
altruism (selfless/sacrificial nature) or philanthropy (generous donation to charity) - it comes
out of the transforming work of Christ in us. This grace is the action; our giving is the
reaction. We give because He first gave to us

The Fringe Benefits of Giving

 Before anything else, giving is an act of worship.
 Giving jump-starts our relationship with God. It opens our fists so we can receive what God
has for us. When we see what it does for others & for us, we open our fists sooner & wider
when the next chance comes.
 In Isaiah 58:6-10, God says that His willingness to answer our prayers is directly affected by
whether we are caring for the hungry, needy & oppressed. Want to empower prayer life?
Give.
 Giving infuses life with joy. It interjects an eternal dimension into even the most ordinary
day. That’s just one reason you couldn’t pay me enough not to give.

Chapter 3 : Eyes on Eternity

Eternal Rewards
 God keeps an account open for us in heaven, and every gift given for His glory is a deposit in
that account. Not only God, not only others, but we are the eternal beneficiaries of our
giving. (Have you been making regular deposits?)
 But isn’t it wrong to be motivated by reward? No, it isn’t. If it were wrong, Christ wouldn’t
offer it to us as a motivation. Reward is His idea, not ours.
 A Heart in the Right Place
 Treasure Principle Key 2: My heart always goes where I put God’s money.
 Your heart will follow your treasure. Money leads; hearts follow.
 I’ve heard people say, “I want more of a heart for missions.” I always respond, “Jesus tells
you exactly how to get it. Put your money in missions - and in your church & the poor - and
your heart will follow.”
 Do you wish you cared more about eternal things? Then reallocate some of your money,
maybe most of your money, from temporal things to eternal things. Watch what happens.
 He who lays up treasures on earth spends his life backing away from his treasures. To him,
death is loss. He who lays up treasures in heaven looks forward to eternity; he’s moving daily
toward his treasures. To him, death is gain.

Chapter 4 : Roadblocks to Giving

 Treasure Principle Key 3: Heaven, not earth, is my home.
The Most Toys
 Junkyard is the final resting place for all the things in our lives. The treasures that children
quarrelled about, friendships were lost over, honesty was sacrificed for and marriage broke
up over - all end up here. I recommend taking a family field trip to a junkyard. It’s a powerful
object lesson.
 Treasure Principle Key 4: Live for the line, not for the dot. (for the never ending life in
heaven, not for the short, temporary life on earth)
 “I was happier when doing a mechanic’s job.” - Henry Ford
“Millionaires seldom smile.” - Andrew Carnegie
“I have made many millions, but they have brought me no happiness.” - John D. Rockefeller
“The care of $200million is enough to kill anyone. There is no pleasure in it.” - Vanderbilt
 Many of us are enslaved by our possessions. We think we own our possessions, but too
often they own us.
 Nothing makes a journey more difficult than a heavy backpack filled with nice but
unnecessary things. Pilgrims travel light.

The Tyranny of Things

 Acquiring a possession may push me into redefining my priorities. If I buy a boat, I’ll want to
justify my purchase by using the boat, which may mean frequent weekends away from
family or church. The problem isn’t the boat or the television. The problem is me. It’s a law
of life, the tyranny of things.
 Chasing the Wind
 Solomon’s Insights (Eccl 5:10-15):
o Whoever loves money never has money enough. The more you have, the more you
want.
o Whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with his income. The more you have, the
less you’re satisfied.
o As goods increase, so do those who consume them. The more you have, the more
people (including government) will come after it.
o And what benefit are they to the owner except to feast his eyes on them? The more
you have, the more you realise it does you no good.
o The sleep of a labourer is sweet, whether he eats little or much, but the abundance
of a rich man permits him no sleep. The more you have, the more you have to
worry about.
o I have seen a grievous evil under the sun: wealth hoarded to the harm of its owner.
The more you have, the more you can hurt yourself by holding on to it.
o Or wealth lost through some misfortune. The more you have, the more you have to
lose.
o Naked a man comes from the womb and as he comes, so he departs. He takes
nothing from his labor that he can carry in his hand. The more you have, the more
you’ll leave behind.
 Treasure Principle Key 5: Giving is the only antidote to materialism.

#5: Getting Started

Training Wheels
 He doesn’t look at just what we give. He also looks at what we keep.
 I interviewed many givers. Majority of them mentioned tithing as the practice that first
stretched them to give more. They tithed & then watched God provide. They saw their
hearts move deeper into His kingdom. Now, years later, they’re giving 60%, 80% or even
95% of their incomes! But it was tithing that set them on the road to giving.
 Test me in this.. and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so
much blessing that you will not have room enough for it. Mal 3:10
 Ironically, many people can’t afford to give precisely because they’re not giving. (Hag 1:9-11)
 It’s much easier to live on 90% or 50% or 10% of your income inside the will of God than it is
to live on 100% outside it.

Excellent Giving
 See that you also excel in this grace of giving. (2Cor 8:7)
 As much as they were able, and even beyond their ability (2Cor 8:3)
 Give It Now or Give It Later?
 “Money never stays with me. It would burn me if it did. I throw it out of my hands as soon as
possible, lest it should find its way into my heart.” - John Wesley
 The American Dream is to die with as many cards/toys in your hand as possible. But maybe
we’ve got it backwards. Maybe our strategy should be like John Wesley’s - to not get stuck
with all those cards/toys at our life’s end.

Why has God entrusted so much to us?

 Give and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and
running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured
to you. (Luke 6:38)
 God is the greatest giver in the universe and He won’t let you outgive Him.
 You will be made rich in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion. (2Cor
9:10-11)
 Treasure Principle Key 6: God prospers me not to raise my standard of living, but to raise
my standard of giving.
 God comes right out & tells us why He gives us more money than we need. It’s not so we can
find more ways to spend it. It’s not so we can indulge ourselves & spoil our children. It’s not
so we can insulate ourselves from needing God’s provision. It’s so that we can give -
generously.
 More money can be a blessing as well as a test.
 Why does God give some of his children more than they need & others less than they need?
So that He may use His children to help one another. He doesn’t want us to have too little or
too much (Prov 30:8-9) When those with too much give to those with too little, 2 problems
are solved. When they don’t, 2 problems are perpetuated.
 Abundance isn’t God’s provision for me to live in luxury. It’s his provision for me to help
others live. God entrusts me with this money not to build my kingdom on earth, but to build
His kingdom in heaven.

#6: For Such a Time as This

 It ought to be the business of every day to prepare for our last day - Matthew Henry

5 Minutes After We Die

 I judge all things only by the price they shall gain in eternity. - John Wesley
 Only 1 life, it will soon be past; only what’s done for Christ will last. - C.T.Studd
 When you leave this world, will you be known as one who accumulated treasures on earth
that you couldn’t keep? Or will you be recognized as one who invested treasures in heaven
that you couldn’t lose?
 A Sense of Destiny
 Giving to God’s great causes infuses us with a sense of destiny. It’s no accident that you live
in this time & place in history. Remind yourself again why the God of providence has
entrusted you with so much. “Your plenty will supply what they need... You will be made
rich... so that you can be generous on every occasion.” (2Cor 8:14; 9:11)
 Many today are praying the prayer of Jabez: “Bless me & enlarge my territory!” Why not
pray that prayer about your giving? Why not set a figure you can live on, then tell God that
everything He provides beyond that amount you’ll give back to Him?
 Let’s give until our hearts are more in touch with God’s kingdom work than with our
remodelling projects, business ventures, dream vacations, or retirement plans.
 Let’s ask God if He wants us to hold off from building our dream house here, realizing that
our Bridegroom’s already building our dream house in heaven. Meanwhile, we can use God’s
funds to build something that won’t go up in smoke, but will last for eternity.

Thoughts to Consider
 Activity: Sit down with your spouse or friends and pray about these issues. You could set up
a breakfast, Bible Study or discussion group, using this book or Crown Financial Ministries
material on money or giving. Ask God to point out those within your unique sphere of
influence that you can talk with, study with or pray with those you can mentor or be
mentored by.
 Commit yourself to avoid debt so that you don’t tie up His funds & can thus feel greater
freedom to follow the Spirit’s promptings to give.

The Greatest Pleasure

 There’s one statement of Jesus recorded in Acts that doesn’t appear in the Gospels. Perhaps
God added it later so it would stand out:
“It is more blessed to give than to receive.” - Jesus

Summary:
Treasure Principle:
You can’t take it with you - but you can send it on ahead.

Treasure Principle Keys:

1. God owns everything. I’m His money manager
We are the managers of the assets God has entrusted us, not given.
2. My heart always goes where I put God’s money
Watch what happens when you reallocated your money from temporal things to eternal
things.
3. Heaven, not earth, is my home
We are citizens of a better country - a heavenly one
4. I should live for the line, not for the dot
 From the dot - our present life on earth - extends a line that goes on forever, which is
eternity in heaven.
5. Giving is the only antidote to materialism
Giving is a joyful surrender to a greater person & a greater agenda. It dethrones me &
exalts Him.
6. God prospers me not to raise my standard of living, but to raise my standard of giving.
God gives us more money than we need so we can give - generously