Mankind is given resources (time, talent, and treasure) to fulfill our divinely ordained purpose. This means that temporal wealth is a tool to obey God. Given the fallen nature of mankind, using wealth as a tool of obedience is not natural; it requires supernatural wisdom. When leaders lack this wisdom and, consequently, misuse resources, there will be a divine response.

James 5 (see above) illustrates this point. James commanded the materially wealthy to weep and mourn now because of their future judgment. Their temporal wealth was in the process of being debased because of character flaws—greed, conspicuous consumption, and worker abuse. The root issue was valuing temporal wealth over transcendent wealth. Jesus warned against this error. He said:

Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. (Matthew 6:19–21 ESV)

Wealth stored up in heaven is transcendent wealth; wealth stored up on earth is temporal wealth. Only transcendent wealth will endure beyond physical existence. In a following verse, Jesus warned:

No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon. (Matthew 6:24 NKJV)

When we worship or serve God, we store up transcendent wealth. But when we worship or serve mammon (money), we only store up temporal wealth. The text does not condemn temporal wealth, but it warns against worshiping or serving temporal wealth. We worship temporal wealth when we make it the end objective. Temporal wealth is only a means to an end objective. And the only proper end objective is to worship and serve God. Those who truly worship and serve God use temporal wealth as a tool to obey God and therefore gain transcendent wealth.

The more we focus on temporal wealth as the end instead of the means, the more likely we are to be on the road to judgment. The above text used the imagery of a courtroom to illustrate this point. Stewardship of temporal wealth characterized by sin, such as, greed, conspicuous consumption, and worker abuse, will ultimately lead to judgment.

Here is your business tip. Organizational leaders must recognize that one of the key tools—a means—for strategically aligning with the will of God is temporal wealth. God provides these resources to enable organizations to fulfill their mission in the divinely ordained metanarrative. Wise leaders recognize the purpose of temporal provision is to support God’s will for the organization and all stakeholders. This means, among other things, that management will use temporal resources to fulfill obligations on time, on scope, and on budget. This includes timely payment of workers, vendors, and subcontractors. Management will also guard against worker abuse and all forms of greed, particularly conspicuous consumption and excessive management compensation. Godly management will use temporal wealth as a means to support the will of God and, therefore, will gain transcendent wealth as well.