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Ever
contemplate what it would be like if you had unlimited resources to go anywhere
in the world at the drop of a hat or the ability to purchase anything your
heart desired at an impulse – no payments, no sacrifice, just buy it outright?
We all have; we all do.
Think
how radically our lives would be transformed if we were to experience a
windfall of untold riches. Most of us would immediately quit our jobs, pay off
our debts, and never look back. We might even have to move away to avoid the
flock of new-found moochers knocking at our door. Most of us would elect to
have an extreme makeover by changing our neighborhood, home, automobile,
wardrobe, people we hang out with, and so forth. The problem is things don’t
make you happy.
Money, in truth, is one of the most unsatisfying of
possessions. It takes away some cares, no doubt; but it brings with it quite as
many cares as it takes away. There is trouble in the getting of it. There is
anxiety in the keeping of it. There are temptations in the use of it. There is
guilt in the abuse of it. There is sorrow in the losing of it. There is
perplexity in the disposing of it. Two-thirds of all the strifes, quarrels, and
lawsuits in the world arise from one simple cause—money! (Bishop J.C.
Ryle, quoted in Bible Believer’s Commentary on 1 Tim 6:10)
Without
a doubt, money changes situations, but it can also be a potential threat to our
spiritual well-being. I knew this man who started making a very good income in
addition to his job. He confidently claimed that money would never change him;
it did. It wasn’t long before he quit his job, bought a new home, drove a new
car, had a new set of friends, looked down his nose, and walked with a swagger.
I don’t know where he wound up.
Having
money or being “well to do” can have a spiritual dark side behind “the look of
success” causing us to become independent of God in our thinking and behavior
resulting in a spiritual meltdown in our relationship with God as a believer.
If you got “it,” it doesn’t have to be that way. Even though money changes
things, it doesn’t change people whose love for God is more important than the
love of money unless we allow it.
Most
wealthy Christians are the ones who choose to remain poor in spirit! God will
use a man or woman with such a desire to serve Him. Their pursuing wealth does
not interfere with their love for God; money or things do not become an idol
that competes for God’s will.
This
might explain why God does not make every believer financially rich: (1) not
all believers can handle wealth biblically, and (2) the necessity of money is
often used to promote faith (cf. Mt 6:31-33). Let me make one clarification
here; the lack of wealth in a believer’s life does not mean that this person
cannot handle wealth in a way that is pleasing to God. It may be that riches
are not in the will of God for an individual though he or she may possess great
faith in God.
The
truth of the matter is that very few believers can handle money that brings
honor to God, suggesting that wealth for most of us would be a spiritual
liability. Anyone of us has the potential to go hedonistic in a heartbeat; the
sin nature would love nothing better than to go hyper-epicurean, indulge and
live for today for tomorrow we die. Solomon wrote of this in the book of
Ecclesiastes in his later years concerning the futility of living a life apart
from God (cf. Eccl 1:2 with Eccl 12:13-14).
We
all are aware of the passage where Paul taught that a root of all kinds of evil
is not money but the love of money (1
Tim 6:10), a love for money that supersedes the love and loyalty for God. Jesus
warned us that we cannot serve two masters (God and money) either for we will
love the one and hate the other or be loyal to one and disloyal to the other (Lk 16:13).
In essence we cannot have it both ways according to Jesus (cf.
works and grace in salvation, Rom 11:6).
Any
believer that falls prey to the love of
money trap is disloyal and wanders from the faith. Their thinking and
behavior mimics the haters of God. We don’t think of it in those
strident terms, but Jesus did and does. Can a Christian be rich, love God, and
remain loyal to Him? Absolutely! But the question is can you or I do that? Is
it God’s will for us to pursue wealth? For some it is but not for all which is
a diametrical difference in teaching to those who espouse the “prosperity gospel”
– name it and claim it.
Lay
aside the money and the material things for a moment and reflect upon the
riches we have in Christ in the here and now, for examples: salvation, peace,
hope, purpose, all things working together for good, the Holy Spirit, son-ship,
joint-heir, fellowship with the triune Godhead, promises galore, eternal life,
unimaginable bliss and blessings awaiting in heaven in the there and soon!
You
might be thinking, “That sounds all well and good but it doesn’t pay the
bills.” But you would be missing the spiritual point which created some of
those bill issues in the first place. Wasn’t it Paul who declared, “And my God
shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus
(Php 4:19; cf. Mt 6:33)? Maybe our priorities are out of whack or some of our
bills are from wants stemming from the assertion of a stubborn, got-to-have-it
will rather than exercising restraint and genuine needs? And naturally, God
gets blamed for not bailing us out, and His love is questioned!
Next
thing you know we are mad and confused as to why God is blessing others
financially and materially but not us. I recall some wise advice I heard in a
chapel service many years ago while in school, “You will rob yourself of a
blessing if you envy those whom God blesses.” Envy is a gratitude killer.
“In everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for
you” (1 Thess 5:18) which encompasses the good and the bad. Thankfulness puts
envy and jealously in its place!
Insufficient
funds make tough demands upon our faith doesn’t it? Here we are asking God to
give us more money while He is using the lack of it to grow our faith!
Dissatisfaction, unthankful, envy, and jealously work just the opposite of
faith; it makes us foolish, shortsighted, and weakens our faith rather than
strengthening it. Praise God, we should, when He blesses others; but the poor
in spirit always thanks the Father for His daily provisions regardless whether
he or she is poor or rich in this world’s goods. Paul said it well to the
believers in Philippi (4:11-13),
(11)
“Not that I speak in regard to need, for I have learned [Gk, manthánō,
G3129, to know more fully, to see life’s experiences as a whole directed by
God] in whatever state I am [circumstances], to be content [satisfied,
sufficient, cf. 2 Cor 9:8]:” (12) “I know how to be abased [living with less],
and I know how to abound [living in abundance]. Everywhere and in all things
[note extensiveness] I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to
abound and to suffer need.” (13) “I can do all things [emphatic] through Christ
who strengthens [empowering] me” [brackets = inserted comments].
The
“I can do” is a declaration and display of the power of God provided by Christ
for the various situations designed or allowed by God in the life of Paul. In
other words Paul learned to cope with being in need or having plenty, being
well fed or hungry for he considered this to be the will of God for his life,
and we must do the same! Paul acknowledged the sovereignty of God “everywhere
and in all things,” and he was satisfied, wow!
Paul is an amazing and inspiring
example for all of us to emulate. Never
do we read where Paul complained because of his circumstance that God didn’t
love him nor hinted or suggested that God was indifferent to his plight or
ignoring him because he was hungry or in need. Why? Because Paul considered
anything that came his way or impacted him personally was part of the will of
God, even the unbelievable suffering he endured for the cause of Christ (cf.
Acts 9:16).
Paul
lived out the belief that nothing entered his life without God’s approval, be
it living with less, living in abundance, belly full, empty belly, suffering
physically, suffering due to persecution, or whatever the circumstances that
came his way. He learned to deal with it anywhere and in all things knowing
full well that God is in control. In spite of the circumstances, positive or
negative, he was satisfied knowing this was God’s will for his life because his
sufficiency was in Christ and in Him alone.
Whether
we are rich or poor by the world’s standards, nothing enters our lives without
God’s approval, absolutely nothing. Are we satisfied being in the will of God
right now amidst the circumstances under God’s control or are we marching
toward the beat of another drummer declaring that the love of money is the way
to paradise or happiness (cf. Mt 16:26)? Truly, “godliness with
contentment is great gain” (1 Tim 6:6).
The
rock group called the Rolling Stones made a hit song back in the mid-sixties
that unwittingly underscored the world’s spiritual dilemma in living a life
without God, “(I can’t get no) Satisfaction.” Sounds almost Solomonic in Ecclesiastes
except the Stones offered no solution for dissatisfaction; Solomon did (Eccl
12:13).
Paul, on the other hand, told a different story about contentment over 1900 years before that song was recorded,
“For
I have learned in whatever situation I am to be satisfied” (a free
translation).
“It is a blessed secret when the believer learns how to carry a high head with an empty stomach, an upright look with an empty pocket, a happy heart with an unpaid salary, joy in God when men are faithless” (BBC, Selected).
Every
believer can get satisfaction in the here and now, but it will require
acknowledging and submitting to the will of God in all things. We need to stop
going through this life saved and unsatisfied; neither word belongs in the same
sentence! Being in the will of God is the best place on earth to be regardless
of the situation because that is where all things work together for good (Rom 8:28).
The will of God is the only place on earth where I can get satisfaction. But if we pursue headlong into things outside the will of God, we will inevitably wind up singing the song, "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction," and that is a spiritual reality for any believer, rich or poor. <><
"As for me, I will see Your face in righteousness; I shall be satisfied when I awake in Your likeness" (Psa 17:15).
The will of God is the only place on earth where I can get satisfaction. But if we pursue headlong into things outside the will of God, we will inevitably wind up singing the song, "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction," and that is a spiritual reality for any believer, rich or poor. <><
"As for me, I will see Your face in righteousness; I shall be satisfied when I awake in Your likeness" (Psa 17:15).
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