The word teaches us that "the righteous live by faith, that is, trusting God to meet our daily needs.
The word teaches us to not be moved or shaken from the faith because of how bad things
look.
The word teaches us two of the Greatest Commandments: Can you recite them? Read Matthew 22:37-39?
The world teaches us to love money and to want more of it if we are to show the world that we are successful.
The word teaches us that the love of money is the root of all evil. Money is not evil but the love or obsession with it is.
The world teaches us we deserve better than what God can provide in this life.
The word teaches us to be content with such things as God has given us.
The world teaches us to seek financial independence. Being wealthy is not a sin.
Many of the saints of the Bible were very wealthy. But, the world teaches us to be independent of God. It teaches us to seek money, money, money so that we can be self-sufficient and to think we do not need God anymore. The world teaches us, "We are a god!"
The word teaches us that we own nothing of our own. Everything belongs to God. God gives us the necessities of life; food, shelter, and clothing as he promised in His word. He meets all of our needs.
The other things available in life are wants. He promises to give us the desires of our hearts but he expects that our desires line up with His desires. If our desires are selfish, sensual, and worldly then our own desires hinder blessings from God.
It's like what Zig Ziglar calls "Stinking Thinking". "We need a check-up from the neck up."
What is our relationship to money from God's viewpoint? We are stewards on this earth. We are caretakers or managers of what God has given us to operate within this earth. Our jobs and the income that we bring home are not ours.
It’s God's. We are stewards of God's provision and He expects us to manage his possessions well and to return to Him a percentage of the increase based on our God-given ability. Read the Parable of the Talents in Matthew 25:14-30.
How do we give back to God?
We give to God when we bless others through our charitable giving toward the needs of others.
James 1:27 Amplified Version says, "Pure and unblemished religion, as it is expressed in outward acts in the sight of our God and Father is this: to visit and look after the fatherless and the widows in their distress and to keep oneself uncontaminated by the secular, world.“
Worship God with the giving of the first fruits of your labors and live off of the rest. God provides the seed for the sower. We'll discuss the "Laws of Sowing and Reaping" later.
Even our bodies are not our own. "What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which you have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which is God's. I Corinthians 6:19-20
The world tells us that if we are going to be successful we must show everyone how successful we are by having just the right job, the right house, and the right car.
The word tells us that you can tell those who are God's by the fruits that they bear.
Does this mean the material things that they have acquired? No, it means that your very life reveals where your values are, it reveals whether you love God with all of your heart, might, and soul.
It reveals whether you do love others as you love yourself.
You will see the fruits when you see that person spending his or her life giving of themselves to helping others instead of spending every waking moment only thinking of themselves and what they want.
The world says to get all the riches that you can get - buy all of the property that you can, put as many houses and hotels on the board of life as you can so that you can collect money from every poor, less fortunate nobody that comes your way.
There is nothing wrong with owning property or charging rent but when you are obsessed with getting more at the expense of others then you are doomed to a life of misery.
The word says to "Seek ye first the Kingdom of God and His Righteousness and all of these other things shall be added unto you."
The word also tells us to store our treasure in heaven, not on this earth. Is it wrong to have wealth?
No, but we are not to put any importance on that wealth because it is not ours and it will be taken away from us.
We are to build our true treasures in heaven, not on this earth. (Matthew 6:19-21, and 33).
The humanistic philosophy says that we are our own god and that we shape our own destiny independent of God.
The theory is that with money we can solve all the world's problems.
Our own governmental leaders think that they can solve the world's problems by writing more laws and giving more money to our enemies.
They do not even have a clue that the change must come from within each individual.
More laws and more money are not the cure for what ails the world. The humanistic society wants to get rid of the church as we know it because the church gets in the way of its religion (Mannon).
They just do not realize that the church is the only thing that is holding everything together.
If the church were to be taken out of this world they don’t realize what a horrible place would be to live in.
The word says for us to KEEP OUT OF DEBT. "...and owe no man anything, except to love one another." Romans 13:8 (Amplified Bible).
"Just as the rich rule the poor, so the borrower is servant to the lender" Proverbs 22:7.
"Evil men borrow and "cannot pay it back'! But the good man returns what he owes with some extra besides" Psalms 37:21.
"Do not withhold repayment of your debts. Do not say some other time, ' if you can pay now" Proverbs 3:27, and 28.
"The wise man saves for the future, but the foolish man spends whatever he gets" Proverbs 21:20.
"Develop your business first before building your house" Proverbs 24:27.
"Steady plodding brings prosperity; hasty speculation brings poverty" Proverbs 21:5.
"It is more blessed to give than to receive" Acts 20:35.
"Instruct them . . . to be generous and ready to share . . . so that they may take hold of that which is life indeed" 1 Timothy 6:18, and19.
"He who loves money shall never have enough. The foolish of thinking that wealth brings happiness!
The more you have, the more you spend, right up to the limits of your income." Ecclesiastes 5:10, and 11.
"No servant can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one, and love the other, or else he will hold to one, and despise the other. You cannot serve God and riches" Luke 16:13.
"Judging a man by his wealth shows that you are guided by the wrong motives" James 2:4.
Webster's definition of success - the degree or measure of attaining a desired end.
And according to Scripture, the desired end for us is to become faithful stewards.
"Not that I was ever in need, for I have learned how to get along happily whether I have much or little. I know how to live on almost nothing or with everything. I have learned the secret of contentment in every situation, whether it be a full stomach or hunger, plenty or want". Philippians 4:11-12.
The foundation of our contentment is knowing the part that the living God plays in our finances. He has promised to provide for our needs.
"All mankind scratches for its daily bread, but your Heavenly Father knows your needs. He will always give you all you need from day to day." Luke 12:30-31.
Our basic needs are the necessities of life - food, shelter, clothing. A want is anything more than a need. A steak dinner, a new car, and the latest fashions - they are all wants.
"and if we have food and covering, with these we shall be content" 1 Timothy 6:8.
"The earth belongs to God! Everything in all the world is His! He is the one who pushed the oceans back to let dry land appear." Psalms 24:1.
"Everything in the heavens and earth is yours, O Lord, and this is your kingdom." 1 Chronicles 29:11.
To be content, you must recognize that God is the owner of all your possessions. If you believe you own even a single possession, then the circumstances that affect that possession will be reflected in your attitude.
If something favorable happens to the possession, then you will be happy: but if something bad occurs, you will be discontent.
The issue in scripture is how to handle faithfully all God has entrusted us.
The faithful steward is responsible for what he has, whether he has much or little.
He can be wasteful and negligent whether he is poor or wealthy.
The word steward can be translated into three different words: manager, supervisor, and overseer. The Scripture position of a steward is one of great responsibility.
He is the supreme authority under his master and has full responsibility for all his master's possessions and household affairs, even the raising of children. As we examine Scripture we see that God, as Master, has given us the authority to be stewards.
"You God have put him, man, in charge of everything you made; everything is put under his authority" Psalms 8:6.
Our only responsibility is to be faithful. "moreover it is required in stewards, that a man be found faithful" 1 Corinthians 4:2.
As Christians we have been taught much about giving, but little about how to faithfully handle our money. However, God is not only concerned with the amount we give but also with what we do with our entire income.
In fact, He is interested in all that we have and what we do with what we have.
By giving a small percentage, many Christians feel that they can bypass all other responsibilities and do as much as they please with the remainder of their money.
The worldly Society says: “You will find happiness and peace as you accumulate enough wealth to support your desired standard of living.”
The Scripture teaches: that you can be content in every circumstance as you follow the scriptural principles of how to handle your money and possessions.
"My Brethren, count it all for joy when ye fall into divers temptations; knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience." James 1:2, and 3.
“Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 NKJV
AMEN.
No comments:
Post a Comment