I am concerned about the health of the Body of Christ.
Lately, my thoughts and meditations have been largely about what I perceive to be a deadly and insidious cancer in the Body of Christ. There seems to be an unhealthy and sinful obsession regarding money and wealth among Believers. It is preached about in our pulpits. It is talked about almost incessantly in one form or another. Many people have written about it. Most pray for more of it. We are told God favours us when we have much. Conversely, it is reasoned that we have been faithless when we lack it. This cancer has permeated the Body is such a way that it threatens to destroy the faith of Christians being led astray by these false teachings that wrongfully attribute possessions and wealth as indicators of God's blessing and favour.
We have become unbalanced in our approach regarding wealth. Should God not provide us with this blessing we desire, we become unwilling to listen as we focus on our material lack. Just as an addict who only thinks of their drug of choice and how to get it, we do all we can to get more wealth. Tithing becomes a formula for receiving the ten or hundred fold return. Positive thinking and other such will worship become attempts at bribing God. Surely God will bless and honour such righteousness the reasoning goes. But when God doesn't 'reward' this brand of faith with wealth, answers are contrived that usually leave victims in the wake of condemnation and guilt.
Scripture teaches us in Matthew 6:24 that we cannot serve two masters - we cannot serve both God and money. Why? Because they are two loves that are at odds with each other. Love for God is self sacrificing, it is God oriented, it gives unconditionally with no expectation of return. Love for money is self serving, it is Me oriented. It only gives to receive more in return.
Some may think I am being too harsh, that I am being unreasonable. Maybe I have never felt the pain of financial loss and ruin. Maybe I haven't really had difficulty making ends meet. My friend, let me assure that I am all too familiar with experiencing lack. But before you quickly say "Aha, here is his angst! He is upset because he has little or nothing; he is really envious." I would like to assure that I have also experienced excess and a want for nothing material.
My concern and fear has nothing to do with money or wealth in and of itself. Just as I have no concern or fear over any other tool such as a hammer or shovel or even a gun. However, I would indeed fear each of these tools if they were handled inappropriately. Money is a tool. Nothing more, nothing less. Handled properly and well, it can do awesome work, helping many people in need. Handled poorly, it is a cruel and relentless task master, unloving and callous, completely insatiable, ever demanding more and more of those it controls. The wealthiest man who ever lived, John D. Rockefeller, when asked "How much money is enough?" answered "Just a little bit more." Herein lies the problem. The pursuit and love of money will always demand "Just a little bit more."
People will always work to earn money and wealth. It can be a great motivator prompting people to do great things. It can help bring about change. It can sustain. It can even provide comfort and a measure of happiness. Money is not the problem. The problem that I speak of is the unbalanced and sinful pursuit of excess and affluence. This should have no place in the Body of Christ. It is a sad remark of a society when its affluence prevents it from seeking after God. It can be well said about the western world today that we have no real tangible need for God. We have social programs to help even the most downtrodden individual. Food is free, clothing is free, education is free, 'reform' is free, healthcare is free. We have everything we need, or so it would seem. But it would seem we are also fools, at least in the eyes of the one who matters - God.
Luke 12: 13-21 tells the story of the Rich Fool. Here is a man who prospered and gained much wealth. To himself he says, "My friend, you have enough stored away for years to come. Now take it easy! Eat, drink and be merry!" But the day came when he died. All his wealth came to naught. Someone else spent it all. He could take nothing with him. In the end he proved to be a fool. The thing that mattered - a rich relationship with God - he did not have. In the concluding words of the story, Jesus states for us to hear and understand, "Yes, a person is a fool to store up earthly wealth but not have a rich relationship with God."
How do we bring back balance to our walk with God and combat this insidious cancer that has crept so subtly into our churches, our communities, our families and our lives? First and foremost I believe we need to return to Christ - to repent or turn around in our thinking. This starts with a return to Scripture. To reading His word. To learning of His desires for a relationship with us. One that is built on obedience to Him, to understanding that He is the Author and Finisher of our lives and our faith. It is not the other way around. It is spending time learning the heart and the mind of the Father.
Please do not confuse what I am saying, I am not offering a solution to all your financial worries, needs or wants. I am not saying doing this will fix all your problems, or give you want you want, or restore to you financial gain. I can never claim that. However, I will tell you this. Returning to God with humbleness, seeking to cultivate a rich relationship with Him will transform your mind, your spirit and your life (Romans 12:1-2). Rather than striving for gains that will fade and disappear, you will store up for yourself a rich treasure in Heaven which can never be lost or stolen (Luke 12:32 -34). I am not suggesting that God desires for us to be destitute and in constant need. I am instead saying that I believe God truly desires for us to learn and understand that His grace is sufficient for all our need (2 Corinthians 12:9) and that true gain comes from a rich relationship of obedient friendship with Him (James 4:1-10; John 14:23-24; 15:1-7).
Spending prayerful time with Christ in His word, seeking His direction and will first and foremost in all things, will ultimately help us understand and realize the true wealth that comes from a right relationship with Him. I will even predict that you will soon discover that your desires will begin to mirror his. As this happens, you will then begin to experience the satisfaction that whatever you ask for you will receive. Why? It is because after spending time with God, his desires will become your desires and God always accomplishes what He wants (Isaiah 55:8-13).
Be sure not to allow these unhealthy attitudes regarding the temporal offerings of this world creep into your life. Be careful you do not trade eternal profit for temporary gain. If you do, you will terribly short change yourself. Turn to God and seek His direction in all things and in all ways. Allow Him to keep you spiritually fed, well and fit. May God bless you as you store up everlasting treasure in Heaven.
