Randy Alcorn: Safety Valve

Randy Alcorn in Money, Possessions, and Eternity (Carol Stream: Tyndale House, 2003) 293. Download the book in PDF form freely here. And enjoy the header photos this week from Trinity College, Bristol, where I did my Ph.D. in New Testament.

This is the sixth of seven posts from this book at this time. Special thanks to Courtney Markley for collaborating with me to identify key quotes from this great book. If you missed the back story on these posts, go back and read the post on 18 October 2026.

If you read the Deuteronomy text that Alcorn references, God warns His people repeatedly to be careful not to forget God and become proud as they prosper. It happens to all of us.

People often ask me if the Bible gives us a measure for what it means to live simply. They want a guide to follow. It’s a good question. I think the answer comes in the parable of the minas.

In the parable, the Master gives ten stewards each a mina. In antiquity, a mina represented three months operating capital for a steward to function. We might say, sufficient float to pay bills in a checking account.

The text explicitly says that the people don’t want to the Master to be king over them. That said, the message of the parable was not popular at that time and it is not welcomed by many today.

As the parable unfolds, faithful stewards put the money to work and return it to the King. In response, the King does not give them wealth, He gives them more responsibility. Don’t miss this.

The reward for faithful stewardship is not wealth (with which they would become like the rich fool and forget God); it is increased responsibility and capital to fulfill that responsibility.

Why say this? Notice that the unfaithful person loses the mina and it is given to the responsible steward. That steward gets an extra mina to support the increased responsibility.

Let me spell this out in modern terms.

For a single college student in USA earning $2,000 per month, a mina would be $6,000. Give money beyond that back to God as it all came from Him. Do this and watch God supply more responsibility and capital.

For a married couple making $6,000 per month, a mina would be $18,000. Give money beyond that back to God as it all came from Him. Do this and watch God supply more responsibility and capital.

For a family with children making $12,000 per month, a mina would be $36,000. Give money beyond that back to God as it all came from Him. Do this and watch God supply more responsibility and capital.

All along, faithful service means more responsibility and increased capital. And as Alcorn has said elsewhere, “God blesses us not to increase our standard of living but our standard of giving.”

All along, the faithful steward maintains a posture of dependence on God, has operating capital to bear fruit, and yet does not store up treasure on earth.

The Mina Standard, as I call it, helps reconcile the radical teachings of Jesus and keep us dependent on Him. And notice, in the words of Alcorn, “Giving is the safety valve that releases the excess pressure of wealth.”

Want to help the people of Ukraine? Thanks to those who gave yesterday. The total is up to $19.238.36. Pray with me for us to raise $25,000.

To make a gift by credit card, click here to go to the CTU global website. Click the blue give button to give and be sure to write "Project: Ukraine" in the "add a note" section.

Want to learn more about the Mina Standard, I spoke on it at the Movement Leadership Conference 2026 in Grand Rapids, Michigan on 12 October 2026.

The Movement is a Christ-centered transformational annual event. It connects businesspersons with their peers who aim to live and function radically different because of their Christian faith. Learn more here.

The theme of this conference was “No Holding Back.” I served as the closing plenary speaker. My message was entitled, The Mina Standard.

I aimed to connect the dots from Scripture to show them how to shift from building wealth to building God’s kingdom. Click here to listen to the message.