Hi My4ever,
I like the question, very thought provoking. It's one I've asked before but not so much in relation to me, more in the context of my Christian brothers and sisters that face starvation and don't know when or if they'll ever see food again. How would I explain to them my lifestyle in light of theirs? I'm not minted by UK standards but compared to the situation of some of my brothers and sisters are in, I'm multi-millionaire. That does trouble me, I give what I can to a charity called Barnabas Fund
www.barnabasfund.org and also to Open Doors
www.opendoors.org but it's not enough, so I pray about it. Anyway that's my question, back to yours.
I recommend to all Christians once a month to read the entirety of the sermon on the mount, there's so much in there, it's incredible. Verses that touch on your question-
Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal.
For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
Matthew 6:19-21 NKJV
“No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon. “Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.
Matthew 6:24, 31-34 NKJV
I'm just in my 60s and as I look back at my life I don't wish I'd worked longer hours any more than i wished I'd eaten more cake and gone on fewer holidays. If the focus and centre of your life is amassing more wealth it will inevitably have an impact on your faith and your walk with God. Yes, you'll still be a Christian but your life, faith and experience of God will not be as fulfilling.
When I look through the pages of the Bible, more so the Gospels, I get the impression that God hates money, or at least wealth. He can see that it turns heads and hearts away from Him. Jesus sums it up with this verse - And again I say to you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.”
Matthew 19:24 NKJV. In fact read the whole of Jesus' encounter with rich young ruler.
Matthew 19:16-30.
Back to sermon on the mount, Jesus asks us to shift our focus away from money and instead, praising and worshiping God and obediently following His will should our imperative. Do that and I promise you that - But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.
Matthew 6:33 NKJV Yes, God will make you very rich. I know I sound like a TV evangelist but unlike them I'm not talking about money, I'm talking about a really exciting incredibly close walk with and vision of God.
So I say you're at a crossroads, are you going to try to get rich, make a few quid? Right, then work longer and harder, save up, pack your Bible away and read the Financial Times instead, invest wisely and maybe one day you'll have a comfortable lifestyle. In reality for most of us it's a bit like chasing mirages in the desert, it doesn't happen. Meanwhile you've sacrificed the blessings from God that you would have had, content to live on starvation rations. Jesus was very dismissive of materialistic rich men, asking the crowd, For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?
Matthew 16:26 NKJV
Alternatively, the riches, blessings and gifts that God wants to shower down on you because He loves you are waiting for you to ask, seek and knock. Maybe some of those blessings could be financial, it's in His gift, and because He loves you He'll give you what you need and a bit more besides. Just focus on Him.
