For a few weeks now I have had something on my heart. Money. It is a necessity of living in this world. Some have plenty, some have little. We all know people or have been around people that seem to make everything about money. They need the newest or best "toys" that it can buy.
Sadly, many Christians get wrapped up (getting more money, saving more money, buying more things) and before we know it, it becomes an idol.
But we are called first and foremost to pursue the Kingdom of God before everything else.
In Matthew 6:33 and Luke 9:57-62 Jesus shares the cost of following Him.
The message we receive from passages like this is that nothing, literally nothing matters more than following Jesus.
No matter the number of Bible verses about money, it is always clear that God is greater.
If Jesus were to come knocking on your door and say, "Hey follow me" could you leave it all behind?
Or would you respond like Nicodemus from that scene in "The Chosen", giving some money and getting back to your comfortable life?
We would probably all like to think that we would readily take our spot next to Jesus. But when we start to think about how He says to "take nothing for the journey- no stuff, no bag, no bread, no money, no extra shirt (Luke 9:3)- and we get a little fearful.
So with all of this talk about dropping it all, and putting God first in our lives, maybe we should learn a little more about money and the Bible.
Wealth is not a sin.
It's important to understand that wealth is not offensive to God. He often blessed His followers with wealth whenever they pleased Him.
Wealth has never been an accurate measure of a person's standing with God.
In many instances in the Old Testament, we see God bless His followers with wealth. Go through and read some of the accounts of Abraham's early family line to find many examples of this. Even though God can use wealth to show His favor and blessing, it is by no means the only way, no or is it an accurate depicting of your worth in His eyes. In fact, Jesus told many rich people to give up their wealth so they would be able to follow Him without distractions. For example, "The Rich Man and Lazurus, or the Poor widow in Luke 21 who gave 2 mites. Jesus said that she gave more than all the rich men who gave large gifts to the temple.
Wealth has a purpose-- to be invested in the Kingdom of God.
What we do with our money either enhances the mission of Christ or it is used for self-glorifying purposes. This is why Jesus warns us so many times about what having lots of money can do to someone.
"If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or a sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in that person?" 1John 3:17
Money, when in the hands of the righteous can be used for good things. In fact, that is what we are commanded to do with it. In 1 Timothy, "Command them to do good to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share."
So what are some examples of how to invest in the Kingdom of God? Matthew (Levi) throwing a banquet for Jesus and inviting others who don't know Jesus yet so they could learn about the Kingdom of God (Luke 5:27-29).
Another example would be Johannah and Susannah supporting Jesus' ministry from their own means (Luke 8:3). How about Joseph of Arimathea giving what he had to bury Jesus in a brand- new tomb (Matthew 27:57-60). And those are just a few of the ways to which you can use your wealth.
Wealth can lead to spiritual laziness.
Wealth gives the artificial facade that we have power and control. When in reality, money can never give us these things.
When we get used to being in control and always buying what we need and want, our faith is rocked when all of a sudden, things don't go the way we plan. We try to throw money at the problem because the past, that is what we did to make other problems go away, but when things only get worse, we are quick to blame God. It can keep us from relying on God 100%. We may say we trust Him, but when our money doesn't solve sickness, fear, the feelings of being alone, or our desire to feel secure, the roots of our faith are tested.
Wealth makes the hearts of many people grow resistant to self-sacrifice and also shifts their focus from eternal riches to earthly bank balances.
Consider the rich young man that Jesus spoke to. The young man asked Jesus how he could inherit the Kingdom of God, and Jesus asked him to give up the one thing that was holding his heart captive-his wealth. It was just one thing that Jesus was asking him to do. It seemed as though the ruler determined it was too difficult and walked away very sad.
Wealth is absolutely not a true sense of security.
So many of us get this skewed idea that having money in the bank gives us security. But having money does not equal safety.
To be honest, this is a lesson I struggle to grasp myself. I definitely feel better when I have a cushion of money in my bank account or when I earn extra money. But since money is not really ours, God can easily tell us to go give it all away to the poor (Matthew 19:21). Our only security is in Jesus Christ. No amount of money in your retirement or bank account will ever compare to the peace the Holy Spirit can give us (1Timothy 6:17-18). God is good and He promises to take care of us during time of financial struggles so that we do not need or worry or attempt to stockpile out of fear. Think about how he takes care of the birds, and they don't store things up (Matthew 6:26).
Wealth comes from God alone, not our own works.
It is so easy to justify that our money comes from the work that we do. Because I'm putting in the hours. I'm the one working my hiney off, I'm the one doing this or that.... therefore, I'm the one who produced the wealth. We lose sight of The One who gave us the ability to do all the work in the first place! The Bible is very clear that God is the one who provides (Proverbs 22:2).
Wealth is not something we're entitled to.
There comes a time when many of us realize that everything comes from the Lord, but our view of His provision is a out of alignment. We see promises of abundance in the Bible and we easily become entitled and start making demands of God. We live in a consumerist society that tells us that we deserve to treat ourselves! So when we hear a message like the prosperity gospel, it can sound really great. But we have to carefully read these promises of abundance and dig a little deeper. When it comes down to it, we recognize that 1) God's abundance doesn't always come in the form of money and 2) God's abundance may not be experienced while still on this earth.
It all comes down to this: We limit God if we think that money is the only way in which He can provide blessings.
Our real treasures await us in heaven (Matthew 6:19-20).
I hope this resonates with someone; it is just something that I have been thinking about lately.
Much Love,
Beth
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