Money From God's Point of View
People tend to go one of two extremes when it comes to money. Either they think that being prosperous is somehow holy and a mark of being God’s favorite –or— they go the opposite direction and believe that living in poverty is somehow holy. Neither point of view is backed up by scripture.
People who do a vow of poverty point to the scripture in which Christ said,”…take nothing for your journey, neither staves, nor scrip, neither bread, neither money, neither have two coats apiece” (Luke 9:3).
The King James “take” is from the Greek “airo”, meaning lift up and carry away. The instruction Christ was giving the disciples was: don’t accept money or goods in return for healing them or bringing them the message. What message was that? It was the kingdom of God (Luke 9:2). That message of the kingdom of God is so inspiring, people would want to shower the disciples with gifts. Christ was telling them not to accept gifts.
Of course, the same principle should be followed today. If you happen to know the real gospel, the good news of the kingdom of God, don’t sell it, give it freely.
“…freely have you received, freely give” (Matthew 10:7).
But what about the other extreme? What about the evangelists who drive expensive cars and have huge mansions and they point to their wealth as a proof that God has given his blessing?
It is a good idea to realize that many people run religion as a business and they concentrate on how to make it profitable. Spend some time with most of these people and you will know from a gut level that they are generally anything but spiritual.
But does God hate the rich?
No.
Abraham was a man of God. He was rich.
David was a man of God. He was rich.
Jacob was a man of God. He was rich.
Joseph was a man of God. He was rich.
The difference is in how you use what you have, including riches.
Solomon, for example, was rich. In his old age, however, he allowed his wives to turn his mind away from God. He went whoring after other gods. If he never repented of this, he may not be in the kingdom of God with his Dad, David, who was a man after God’s own heart. It matters not that, at one time, Solomon was the wisest man on the face of the earth. Wisdom, understanding, intelligence, and riches, amount to nothing compared to commitment and obedience to God.
Turning your ear to the law of God is required in order to be heard by God when you pray.
“He that turns his ear away from hearing the law, even his prayer shall be abomination” (Proverbs 28:9).
It is our attitude toward money that God looks at and seeks to correct.
“…Take heed and beware of covetousness: for a man’s life consists not in the abundance of the things which he possesses” (Luke 12:15).
The Father has all the wealth of the universe. Every good gift comes from Him.
We don’t need to be anxious, even in these awful economic times.
When Jeremiah was lowered into the prison well and his feet sank down in the mud he didn’t despair. He knew the Creator was in charge and Jeremiah would have been willing to die there if it was necessary.
-wilyelder
-- wilyelder
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