"Wesley on Wealth" -- Commentary

by Harold Wheat

John Wesley is known to have said, "Gain all you can, Save all you can, Give all you can." In his sermon "The Use of Money" he develops all three of these ideas (Wesley, 1760). To start with he argues that we should gain wealth just as assiduously as the Joneses, "here we may speak like the children of the world" except that we have certain ethical standards. "We ought not to gain money at the expense of life." Given the state of modern capitalism, that is a mouthful!

He then argues that the "second rule of Christian prudence is, Save all you can."[italics his] The basic argument is that anything we spend on nonessentials is wasted. We are encouraged to "Expend no part of [our incomes] merely to gratify the desire of the flesh, the desire of the eye, or the pride of life." And we are to "be content with what plain nature requires."

The last part of this trilogy is, he thinks, the key to effective Christian living, "Give all you can." Since all of creation ultimately belongs to God, our role is to be careful stewards, not owners of what comes to us. After caring for our needs, providing for our families, and sharing with the faith community, we give what is left to the betterment of humanity. "In so doing, you give all you can; nay, in a sound sense, all you have." [italics his] As he aged, Wesley thought that Methodists were becoming far too wealthy. He preached and modeled intentional poverty. He died with almost no material wealth to his name.