Nimrod established Babylon in Shinar valley and people started building a tower to reach up to God and make a name for them. Right from the beginning, man has strived to get ahead of others and then each one measures his success in comparison to others. But is being successful comparable to others when God has given each one in His creation different capabilities and facilities to glorify Him? Also is success measured in terms of wealth and possessions only that one has acquired in his life?
Is desiring wealth wrong? It is not wrong to desire riches but the intention for acquiring these may be wrong. God chose Abraham and promised to bless him and he ‘was very rich in livestock, in silver, and in gold’ (Genesis 13:2). God blessed him with an abundance of wealth and in today’s terms he would be a billionaire. His son Isaac was also wealthy, though the Philistines had closed his wells that Abraham had dug. He sowed and God blessed him to reap a hundredfold and he began to prosper, and continued to prosper until he became very prosperous; for he had possessions of flocks and possessions of herds and a great number of servants. So the Philistines envied him’ (Genesis 26:12-14). Invariably people are less upset over their own lack but over the neighbour’s abundance. Abraham is identified as one who would willingly and humbly ask all who passed by, into his tent for food and shelter (Genesis 18:3).
God created Adam and ‘put him in the garden of Eden to tend and keep it’ (Genesis 2:15). Generally we focus on the fruits of the garden and the disobedience of Adam and Eve and miss out on the other things that God had put there. There were rivers flowing through the garden and river Pishon skirts the whole land of Havilah. This land has gold, ‘and the gold of that land is good. Bdellium and onyx stone are there’. God made them ruler of the land on His behalf, to care for it and govern all that was in it. So Adam and Eve, right from the beginning were supposed to be very rich, masters of land with all types of possessions. How then can the prayer for prosperity be considered wrong by the same God? King David rightly understood the real ownership of all of creation by saying, ‘The earth is the LORD’s, and all its fullness, the world and those who dwell therein’ (Psalm 24:1-2). And then explained the reason for this, ‘For He has founded it upon the seas, and established it upon the waters’. Like Adam, we are placed on the earth as managers and not owners. We are all supposed to be governed by the kingdom of heaven though we had surrendered control to the devil.
We are also taught the origin and source of all blessings in our life for ‘every good and perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights’ (James 1:17). Seeking wealth, in any way possible, leads us into sin and then we start to depend on our wealth for security and joy. The rich man and his wealth will fade away like a flower but our close relationship with the Provider ensures not only our protection but also continued provision (James 1:10-11). Once we understand who the owner of everything is, we are in a better frame of mind to manage what we have by surrendering to the control and guidance of the Provider.
The very rich man sought Lord Jesus to learn of the way to enter heaven and was told to first, go sell all that he had, second give to the poor to have treasure in heaven and finally ‘take up your cross and follow Me’ (Mark 10:17-25). He went away very sad for ‘he had great possessions’. Lord Jesus never wanted the rich to be poor but that they should stop depending on their wealth for salvation. The Romans forced the one who was to suffer crucifiction to carry his cross to the place of execution. The rich man understood the call for total and absolute surrender to the will of the Master and went away sad. The Saviour Lord’s caution about the difficulty for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God is about serving money rather than God. The poor on the other hand are dependent on God for their daily sustenance and look towards Him all the time out of their desperate need to be lifted up by the Lord.
We must be careful to not pass our materialistic attitude to our children, for it is not how much we have but our attitude of having what we do. As good stewards of God’s gifts to us, we must use these as ways to build up the kingdom of heaven on earth by doing good to others. Then we lay up treasures in heaven. Being wealthy cannot be our destination but the way for finding joy in the Provider by glorifying Him in all our deeds. Then it is not wealth but who we are in Lord Jesus, children of God and one with Him that gives us joy.
Being victorious over the situation – Lord Jesus explained the working of the Kingdom of Heaven through the life of a rich man who was to go to a far country, for God is in heaven after entrusting to us all that is on the earth (Matthew 25:14-30 ). The rich man placed his goods in the care of his servants, giving to one five talents, to another two and to another one, ‘each according to his own ability’. We have all been given various blessings in the form of family, wife and children, inherited place and name. Like the servants of the rich man, we are supposed to trade with these given talents and enrich the treasure of the LORD. He will one day ask us to give an account of all that He has given us, just like the rich man sought on his return. To enable us to be free from any hindrances to our ability, God sent His Son to free us from the clutches of the devil and forces of darkness and dwell in us to guide, train and equip us. The unprofitable servant will lose what he has and the one who worked diligently and produced good results will get more. The loser will then be ‘cast into the outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth’, which indicates extreme agony and suffering, which is in hell.
What we have is first in the form of family, our children and spouse and trading in them is to equip them in the Word of God and make them fruitful for the kingdom of God. The working of the devil, called the thief, is about stealing, killing and destroying by leading us away from God to death and destruction. A young person is being continuously bombarded by information about everything on earth and much of it is devil controlled to lead us astray. The Israelites were commanded by Moses, as per the instructions of the LORD, to teach their children all the commands of the LORD, to ‘bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes’ and to write them on their doorposts. The basic purpose was and is even today, to remember the commands and live in obedience to that. Lord Jesus rebuked the Scribes and the Pharisees for making large boxes containing parts of the Scripture to bind these on the forehead and the arms to publicly parade their religiosity. But all that was done as a ritual, ‘to be seen by men’ and be admired for their visible righteousness (Matthew 23:5).
Lord Jesus explained the functioning of a house through the parable of the woman who lost one of her ten silver coins. As per Jewish marriage custom of that time, girls would save for their marriage to acquire ten silver coins as their dowry that was then put in a string to be used as a necklace or a headband. The woman lost one of the coins in the house and to find that she did three things; first, she lit a lamp to remove the darkness that was there to be able to see clearly and separate the precious coin from any other similar thing that might be fake. Second, she swept the house to remove all that was unwanted in the house, all the dust that had accumulated there. Finally, she searched carefully and not just as a routine ‘until she finds it’. The Scripture defines the real treasure of a family, ‘children are a heritage from the LORD, the fruit of the womb is a reward’ (Psalm 127:3). We all want to receive great things from God but do not value what He has already given.
Esau met his brother Jacob, after their separation of many years and asked about the whole family with him, ‘who are these with you?’ Jacob replied, ‘The children whom God has graciously given your servant’ for it is the grace of God who blesses us with such treasures. In today’s world both husband and wife are professionals, earning large paychecks, just to manage the household expenses of providing the best for their children. They provide the best of education to their children but entrust their bringing up also to such institutions only, for they have no time for them. I know of a friend, a senior army officer, whose young son, in school joined a few other boys to steal from a house, just for the fun, for he had no lack of anything. On learning of this, the parents took him out of that school, tutored him at home for a year and then put him in a different school and the young man is a very successful and God fearing businessman today. All the actions that the woman of the parable took, who had lost the silver coin, they did. They lit up the lamp of religious education of Lord Jesus, ‘the Light of the world’ to separate the darkness from within him. Swept clean the evil influences that had entered his mind and heart and filled with the good. They rejoiced exceedingly when their son, the lost precious coin was recovered back.
Are we as parents giving careful attention to the treasures that the LORD God has entrusted to our care? We are to invest ourselves into them, in their thoughts, minds, hearts and souls to light the lamp of our faith in the Saviour Lord in them. We are to bear much fruit for the Lord who has invested Himself into us by cleansing us of our sinful nature with His own blood that He shed for us.
The wise king, Solomon, the richest man of that time has advised, ‘he who loves silver (wealth) will not be satisfied with silver; nor he who loves abundance, with increase’ (Ecclesiastes 5:10-11). Wealth creates a void inside a person that can never be filled, howsoever much he may acquire, there is always desire to get more. Solomon revealed another truth, ‘when goods increase, they increase who eat them, so what profit have the owners except to see them with their eyes?’ The more wealth, the more the need to spend for fulfilling various desires and this becomes the ‘bottomless pit’ of life.
Our resistance to give offerings or tithe is not about abundance or the lack of resources to meet the needs, but an issue of faith and trust. To rightly assess yourself ask yourself these questions and then answer them truthfully. First, do you trust God to be really your Shepherd who will provide for all your needs? Trusting God in this will free you to surrender to His control in your finances and hear Him in this matter. The command is clear, ‘Trust God with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding, in all your ways submit to Him and He will make your paths straight’ (Proverbs 3:5-6).
Second, do you honour your spiritual leaders and do they care for you? Are your leaders like Lord Jesus, who said, ‘My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me’ (John 10:27)? A leader who knows you will light the lamp of knowledge of Lord Jesus Christ in your life and will be accountable to his sheep as well as to the Great Shepherd, for they keep watch over your souls ass those who will give an account (Hebrews 13:17).
Third, who are you really serving, God or mammon? If you are serving wealth or mammon, you will protect that more than you trust God. ‘You cannot serve God and wealth’ (Matthew 6:24) at the same time and will have to set your priorities right.
Four, do you fear having not enough? David was the youngest son of Jesse, not considered worthy to be called to the presence of Prophet Samuel while tending to the sheep. He trusted in the Lord to be his Shepherd and meet all his needs (Psalm 23:1). He became king and out of his wealth he gave 110 tons of gold of Ophir, the best gold, and 260 tons of silver, besides many other things, for construction of the House of God that he would not even see.
Once we understand that everything is of and for God, it will be easier for us to depend more on Him. There is only one thing that God cannot force, that is to be loved freely by all of mankind. Our tithing and giving of gifts is our trusting God in every way. God discerns our hearts and can never be manipulated by our gifts. Cain brought a gift but it was rejected by God for his heart was not in it and it was not given out of love for God. The challenge for us is to seek the help of the Holy Spirit to discern our own motives in giving or withholding our gifts and then His help to overcome that. When you do finally plan to give, give your best and first and wait for Him to open the windows of heaven that He has promised and ‘pour out for you such blessings that there will not be room enough to receive it (Malachi 3:10).
Is it wrong to have a detailed financial management plan for your family? God is a God of order and discipline and not chaos but we must discern the purpose of all our plans. Are these plans God oriented to bring Him glory and also be a blessing for others or are they self centered to take pride in our success. The rich man’s plans yielded a good crop that he had to make bigger barns to store all that (Luke 12:13-21). The purpose of his plans is revealed in his saying to himself, ‘Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years; take your ease, eat, drink and be merry’. He had planned for his life here on earth without caring for eternity. The man was a fool not due to his great riches but for caring for only himself and none other. A man’s soul is answerable to God and our material possessions provide no answer but our way of obtaining and using these does.
Why are your plans unsuccessful despite detailed planning? King David is right in saying, ‘Delight yourself in the LORD and He shall give you the desires of your heart’ (Psalm 37:4-5). Apostle Paul elaborates on this ‘ give thanks in everything’ (1 Thessalonians 5:18). Lord Jesus prayed to God the Father not to change His will but to surrender to Him by saying, ‘not My will but Yours be done’ (Luke 22:42). King David then provided the key to successful planning, ‘Commit your way to the LORD, trust also in Him, and He shall bring it to pass’ (Psalm 37:5). We seek guidance of the Holy Spirit in making plans and then submit all of that to the LORD to make it successful.
Lord Jesus’ principle of financial management for us is to be also rich toward God (Luke 12:21). We become rich towards God through sacrificial giving to those in need. In His message to the church at Laodicea, Lord Jesus revealed their state, ‘Because you say I am rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing’ and do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind and naked (Revelation 3:17-18). What Apostle Paul had warned earlier was evident in Laodicea, for he said, ‘those who desire to be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and harmful lusts which drown men in destruction and perdition’ (1 Timothy 6:9). Today everyone fears being poor but rather one should fear being rich, without being rich toward God.
The basic principle of life should actually be to earn as much as you can, save as much as possible and give away as much as possible, even beyond your perceived capacity. Apostle John was shown the New Jerusalem having ‘foundations of the wall of the city were adorned with all kinds of precious stones’ (Revelation 21:19-21). Further the twelve gates were twelve pearls, ‘each individual gate was of one pearl. And the street of the city was pure gold, like transparent glass. The basic idea is that the wealth of this world is to build a strong foundation in the LORD and enter into His mighty presence, for the best gold is under the feet of those who get in there and walk in the streets. The trial of poverty is to be envious of others and be unhappy and complaining.
The final advice by Apostle Paul is, ‘Command those who are rich in this present age not to be haughty, nor to trust in uncertain riches but in the living God, who gives us richly all things to enjoy. Let them do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to give, willing to share’ (1 Timothy 6:17-19). Anyone who is thus rich in good works, sharing with others what he has, is rightly trading in the talents that the Master has given to him to do business with. On the final day, everyone wants to hear the Lord say, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant……enter into the joy of your Lord’, but only those who are rich toward God will. How many fall into this category is evident in their joy in sharing with others and not in their great wealth.
To be rich in God is far different from the wealth of the world and in that is real peace and satisfaction. God is rich in grace, love, mercy, compassion and joy and we can receive all of that in abundance from Him. Having been made and reborn into the image and likeness of God, through redemption by Lord Jesus, we also must seek and receive to be rich in God to fulfill our role on earth!
