Only when we realize a right relationship to money entails a right relationship to God, ourselves, and others can we experience the well-being for which we long. Money then becomes a tool to achieve our desires and do good in the world. Money, in the biblical tradition is the raw material God uses to teach us to trust, to love, to serve one another, and to restore God's creation.


Do we help others with our money or do we honor them? Is there a difference?

How we handle our money and what we think about money is a reflection on our emotional disciplines.

There are seven ways we can handle our money that is biblical. With the help of Old Testaments giants Abraham/hospitality; Isaac/discipline; Jacob/beauty; Joseph/connection; Moses/endurance; Aaron/humility; David/leadership. Each of these by example of strength and weakness can help us discover how to relate to our resources that give the Lord glory and keep us from our resources owning us.

The text starts with you taking a test of money type and also shows the shadow of your money type. Where you might get in trouble in how you handle or relate to money. This is the part that I found most interesting and I found true. I did have hard time with the "broad brush" of money types and the biblical characters. Money with experience and background makes how we relate to money very complex and not so easy to put a type to it. Fear and love is the driving force behind how we relate to money and is at the root of our money problems.

All in all, I think some would benefit from this read and others might want to pass.

A Special Thank You to Zondervan and Netgalley for the ARC and the opportunity to post an honest review.

The book was very dry and the material has been discussed in many other books.

This book is a very interesting take on how people relate to money beyond the spender/saver or analytical/free spirit dichotomies. I really liked how Biblical the descriptions were, how each Old Testament patriarch reflected a certain characteristic of God and how those characteristics play out in our own lives today. I found out that I’m strongly an Abraham, one who uses money for hospitality and gifts. It was intriguing to read the various aspects of this quality along with the drawbacks.

If you’d like to understand how you relate to money better or if you’d like to understand how your spouse or children relate to money better, then I highly recommend this book. It’s not preachy, nor does it present impossible solutions. Rather, it’s practical, applicable, and even transformative in helping us understand how to use the tool of money in our own lives and for the advancement of the Kingdom of God.

I gratefully received this book as a free eARC from the author, publisher, and NetGalley in exchange for my unbiased review.

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Different theories about money exist and the more you read books about money, the better educated you are to make an informed decision about how you interact with money.

Tommy writes about money and financial well-being based on the Biblical/ Jewish characters of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Aaron and David.

He provides an assessment of 35 statements for the reader to discover their money type. The he proceeds in following chapters to define what each money type is. I found out I was the Abraham Money type (which is focused on hospitality).

I also learned about my shadow side - self sufficiency. This is basically when one finds it difficult receiving generosity from others. Tommy cautions that this may morph into a superiority mindset.

Rating: 3/5

Favourite quote: “Your financial leadership is about more than your own life, and whether or not we catch your vision at the onset, we need you to keep pressing on. Embrace your desire to create new futures with money.”

Moses Type, Lighten Up!

In THE SEVEN MONEY TYPES author Tommy Brown identifies seven Biblical figures—each with a certain strength. Here’s the point: If you can understand your “money type,” you will better understand why you approach money in a certain way, and why others don’t.

There is a separate chapter for each Old Testament figure.
Abraham—Hospitality
Isaac— Discipline
Jacob—Beauty
Joseph—Connection
Moses—Endurance
Aaron—Humility
David—Leadership

Each of the O.T. figures illustrate a certain attribute of God’s influence. So, “Abraham offers God’s hospitality. Isaac demonstrates God’s discipline. Jacob reflects God’s beauty. Joseph depicts God’s connection. Moses manifests God’s endurance. Aaron embodies God’s humility. David influences with God’s leadership.”

I first took the quiz to see which basket I fit in. The quiz is called, “Discover Your Money Type: The Seven Money Types Assessment.” There are 35 easy questions.

Well, it turns out I am a “Moses” type with David a close second. Not surprisingly, as an engineer-type, I discovered that I really liked strong budgeting and control: “A Moses type’s life reeks of order, and those who need order are drawn to Moses types to glean their wisdom.”

Yea!

On the other hand, we Moses types have a tendency to be overly critical to others. Ouch! The author calls these negative aspects the “shadow side.” Each famous Biblical figure had “deep flaws that flowed from the shadow side of their lives.”

So all in all, I found THE SEVEN MONEY TYPES a useful, easy read. The seven money types remind me a lot of personality types. It doesn’t seem critical to appreciating the book to actually believe there are literally these seven types. The book is filled with useful stories about real-life folks who have a certain money type. Each story relates a tale of strengths and struggles. I found these anecdotes useful and encouraging. The appendix contains “Prompts for Group Discussion.”

Advance Review copy courtesy of the publisher.