Scripture: 1 Timothy 6 v 9 - 10:
"But they that will be rich fall into temptation and
a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in
destruction and perdition. For the love of money is the root of all evil: which
while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced
themselves through with many sorrows."
It is not a sin to be wealthy if you are aware that when
you give your life to God and are born again, that every asset or possession
you have now belongs to Jesus. Your spouse; children; home; business; habits;
flaws; cars; lifestyle; holidays; furniture; shares; bank account are now under
new ownership and you have become a steward of God's resources.
You still have those assets but you are the custodian of
them and He, the Lord Jesus Christ, can use them as He sees fit. You need to be
in daily discussion with Him over how you spend His money in your account. He
wants to bless His wealth in your account but His requirements for blessing are
not the world's standards.
He gives more than 100% return on His investments! If you
read Luke 6 v 38 it explains the procedure perfectly: "Give, and it shall
be given unto you: good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running
over, shall men deliver into your bosom. For with the same measure that you
mete withal it shall be measured to you again." Words of Jesus.
The proportion of your (His) wealth that you give to the
furtherance of the gospel and to those who spiritually labour in prayer for
you, will be returned to you with huge interest. I have walked in this blessing
for many years. If you are generous the blessings will abound from strange and
unknown places. If you give a pittance you will receive a pittance back.
If you are bound by the love of money which becomes an
insatiable greed for more wealth and dodgy, even evil, ways of accumulating it;
then you are in danger of great and unexpected loss. Think of dear VW cars who
lost £19 billion off their share value in a couple of days last week for false
claims. With more misery to come in lawsuits and millions of vehicles that need
to be recalled and fixed. The CEO had to resign. Is it worth it?
The love of money is the root of all evil. It will pierce
you through with many sorrows as gamblers well know. The Stock Exchanges are
filled with wheeler dealers who can cause great and sudden crashes ie 2008
through their greed and unscrupulous manipulations of the market. The investors
who trust this fickle system may rue the day. Pray and ask Jesus to guide how
you invest your money in the world system. Its ultimate master is Satan who
only wants the utter destruction of mankind.
There are very wealthy ministries who have erred in the
faith to meet their greeds. There was a Televangelist who offered deep and
continuous prayer for every $5 that went into a certain bank account. It was
discovered that the letters requesting prayer went into the bank's trash bin.
The televangelist denied this and lied, saying he got blood poisoning from
being prostrate from the ink on the letters he was lying on and praying over
for days and days. Seriously?
So if you are abundantly blessed forget about saving
every insect with billions of dollar donations; or the rain forest or the
planet. God says that we must look for a new Earth as this one is going to
perish in a ball of flame. 2 Peter 3 v 8 - 14. Rather use your wealth on the
commodity our Father loves, the lost souls of people who know not the way of
salvation; the backliders; the sinners; the molested and abused children. Then
your children will inherit a righteous and blessed inheritance through the Will
of God.
Prayer: Father God, all the gold and silver is Yours. The
diamonds and jewels are Yours. Heaven's streets are paved with Gold. The walls
of New Jerusalem are made up of precious stones. Let us keep our treasure in
Heaven where it is truly safe. In Jesus' name. Amen.