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Money Counts: How to handle money in your heart and with your hands
Some of us want to escape money. Some of us want to embrace money. We fear money, and we desire it. We think about it every day, and yet often we try not to think about it.Graham Beynon shows us how to control our money rather than our money controlling us. In this readable, realistic book, he takes us to the gospel to show how we can handle money well in our hearts, so we can handle it confidently and wisely with our hands.
130 pages, Kindle Edition
Published February 1, 2016
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
December 10, 2025
it was good to think about different reasons good and bad for using money, but I wonder if it lacked an appropriate level of challenge for most of it's likely audience
April 2, 2016
It's not often that I put a reminder in my phone to buy a book as soon as it comes out. But then again, it's not often that you find a book talking to Christians about money - something I've increasingly found myself passionate about. So I was really looking forward to this contribution from Graham Beynon, precisely because there is so much to be said on this subject, and so little written about it.
Perhaps at least partly because of this undue expectation I placed on the book, I was really disappointed with Beynon's offering. Here was an opportunity to inspire Christians to give generously. And here was an opportunity missed.
Undoubtedly, there is little in here that I disagree with. Beynon focuses on her heart, recongising that our approach to money ultimately stems from here. He identifies our attitude as more important than out actions (but doesn't go as far as to clarity that our actions are a pretty good indicator of our true attitude). As would be expected from a GoodBook Company publication, there is plenty of Bible verses and exposition of. But it is the narrow scope of the book that really annoyed me.
- The focus is on the impact that money has on the individual reader, with barely any mention of the local or global community (outside of giving to missions). This is rather indicative of us boiling down the Bible's teaching to become, 'What does it mean for me?' rather than 'What does it mean for us?'
- There is some mention of spending, but only in light of money handling, and nothing on the imapct of our spending. This is typical of the book's focus on the individual, without any thought towards the wider societal and global impact of how we spend our money (e.g. do the clothes we buy enslave or empower those who made them?)
- There is no attempt to learn from the approaches towards money from Christians in other cultures - a bit short-sighted (arrogant even). One wonders what a third-world Christian would make of this book, and therefore how much of what is in here is Kingdom culture rather than British culture.
I found the author at times apologetic for his own money habits, dispassionate about the topic and - save for re-telling stories of others - uninspiring. But I understood this when it became clear that he had been approached by the publisher to write this book, rather than vice versa. Why a publisher would ask a church minister evidently more passionate about subjects other than money to write a book on it is beyond me.
The Christian book market is still missing a 21st Century book on money and generosity that is written from a place of conviction and passion to challenge and inspire us. And given that - as Beynon notes - Jesus said more about money than he did about salvation or sex, it seems that this area of the Christian bookshop's bookshelf, is one that needs a little attention.
Perhaps at least partly because of this undue expectation I placed on the book, I was really disappointed with Beynon's offering. Here was an opportunity to inspire Christians to give generously. And here was an opportunity missed.
Undoubtedly, there is little in here that I disagree with. Beynon focuses on her heart, recongising that our approach to money ultimately stems from here. He identifies our attitude as more important than out actions (but doesn't go as far as to clarity that our actions are a pretty good indicator of our true attitude). As would be expected from a GoodBook Company publication, there is plenty of Bible verses and exposition of. But it is the narrow scope of the book that really annoyed me.
- The focus is on the impact that money has on the individual reader, with barely any mention of the local or global community (outside of giving to missions). This is rather indicative of us boiling down the Bible's teaching to become, 'What does it mean for me?' rather than 'What does it mean for us?'
- There is some mention of spending, but only in light of money handling, and nothing on the imapct of our spending. This is typical of the book's focus on the individual, without any thought towards the wider societal and global impact of how we spend our money (e.g. do the clothes we buy enslave or empower those who made them?)
- There is no attempt to learn from the approaches towards money from Christians in other cultures - a bit short-sighted (arrogant even). One wonders what a third-world Christian would make of this book, and therefore how much of what is in here is Kingdom culture rather than British culture.
I found the author at times apologetic for his own money habits, dispassionate about the topic and - save for re-telling stories of others - uninspiring. But I understood this when it became clear that he had been approached by the publisher to write this book, rather than vice versa. Why a publisher would ask a church minister evidently more passionate about subjects other than money to write a book on it is beyond me.
The Christian book market is still missing a 21st Century book on money and generosity that is written from a place of conviction and passion to challenge and inspire us. And given that - as Beynon notes - Jesus said more about money than he did about salvation or sex, it seems that this area of the Christian bookshop's bookshelf, is one that needs a little attention.
August 31, 2018
Reading through this book I was reminded that money – whilst a good gift from God – can lead to something surprisingly sinister in our hearts. We can often end up serving it, rather than having it serve us. Serving it, rather than serving God.
Beynon challenges the way we ‘handle money in our heart and in our hands’, as the subtitle says, by beginning with money and its deception, seeing how the gospel reorients our thinking about it, and in the end thinking through giving, and practical thoughts on approaching spending and saving as well.
Some of the writing was a bit of an obstacle for me: grammar and sentences in many places hadn’t been corrected, and I found that the structure of the book wasn’t as direct or logical as it could have been. We seemed to return to talking about the same or similar things several times over throughout the book. But perhaps this is helpful; repetition surely encourages us to keep wrestling with the truths that money does not satisfy, cannot give the life or security that it promises, and that all treasure in this world cannot compare to the riches that we are encouraged by Christ to store up in heaven.
I commend this book, along with much self-reflection, to all Christian readers.
Beynon challenges the way we ‘handle money in our heart and in our hands’, as the subtitle says, by beginning with money and its deception, seeing how the gospel reorients our thinking about it, and in the end thinking through giving, and practical thoughts on approaching spending and saving as well.
Some of the writing was a bit of an obstacle for me: grammar and sentences in many places hadn’t been corrected, and I found that the structure of the book wasn’t as direct or logical as it could have been. We seemed to return to talking about the same or similar things several times over throughout the book. But perhaps this is helpful; repetition surely encourages us to keep wrestling with the truths that money does not satisfy, cannot give the life or security that it promises, and that all treasure in this world cannot compare to the riches that we are encouraged by Christ to store up in heaven.
I commend this book, along with much self-reflection, to all Christian readers.
“It is not simply that I should now be a bit more generous than I was, or that I should give some money to support the work of the church. I could do those things while my view of money remains unchanged. No, my perspective of all of life has to be transformed, and that transforms my view of money and my handling of money.” - p.34
“God has a claim on all our money, all our possessions, all our time and all our energy. All our spending is part of our discipleship.” - p.48
March 22, 2024
“We’ve seen that discipleship with our money is not simply about giving. It is about our perspective on all of life: what we are here for, what life is all about, what makes a life good. Life does not consist of our abundance of possessions; it is about being rich towards God. Life is not about the here and now, it is about God’s kingdom which will last for eternity. Life is not about enjoying myself as much as I can on the way through but about loving God and people. That is the perspective you need in order to put money in its place, so that you can use it without loving it.”
A great & humbling read. The difficulty lies in how deceptive our fallen hearts can be, and how much this topic has to do with our heart’s attitudes - which is something that’s extremely difficult to measure:
“The fact is there is no formula or rule to apply. We might like God to give us a green or red light on each purchase, but he doesn’t. We might like it if our church could issue a budget of allowable spending, but they shouldn’t. We must say it is a matter of wisdom. But we must also say it can be a matter of sin. We must take it seriously, because we could go badly wrong. But we must take it cautiously, because we could easily condemn ourselves or others wrongly. And we must also take it with a sense of perspective, because God doesn’t want his people filled with angst over every purchase.”
Beynon also suggests deep & difficult soul searching questions for our hearts to wrestle through on this topic from time to time throughout the book.
While we will never be able to “perfect” our hearts & attitudes this side of heaven, we should never stop growing in this.
A great & humbling read. The difficulty lies in how deceptive our fallen hearts can be, and how much this topic has to do with our heart’s attitudes - which is something that’s extremely difficult to measure:
“The fact is there is no formula or rule to apply. We might like God to give us a green or red light on each purchase, but he doesn’t. We might like it if our church could issue a budget of allowable spending, but they shouldn’t. We must say it is a matter of wisdom. But we must also say it can be a matter of sin. We must take it seriously, because we could go badly wrong. But we must take it cautiously, because we could easily condemn ourselves or others wrongly. And we must also take it with a sense of perspective, because God doesn’t want his people filled with angst over every purchase.”
Beynon also suggests deep & difficult soul searching questions for our hearts to wrestle through on this topic from time to time throughout the book.
While we will never be able to “perfect” our hearts & attitudes this side of heaven, we should never stop growing in this.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 10, 2020
Beynon gets to the heart of how to view and handle money as a Christian. He doesn't necessarily tell you to do X, Y, or Z, but instead asks prodding questions and gives great insight as to being a godly *Steward*, one who takes care of his master's possessions. Thankful for this book as I head into my professional career!
March 16, 2023
This book helped frame the way to look at money from a non-worldly but living-in-the-world perspective, reminding me to frame everything around God so that my heart is in the right place from saving to spending to budgeting and to giving. At the end of the day, just like my Sunday School offering said, it is truly better to give (cheerfully) than to receive. We need that reminder:)
August 13, 2020
Resourceful
December 8, 2021
The prayer at the end is gold!
February 22, 2023
Straightforward and clear principles for managing money in a Christian way.
November 25, 2024
Helpful, basic, biblical overview of earning, giving and saving. Worth re-reading each year before Christmas, when I fear that "this world's empty glory is costing me too dear."
December 28, 2022
It’s about the heart.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews