A Nugget from New Life Network
Scripture for the Day (August 16, 2018)
Then answered I them, and said unto them, The God of heaven, he will prosper us; therefore we his servants will arise and build: (Nehemiah 2:20)
There is probably no topic in religious circles that is more misunderstood and argued about than money and prosperity. The arguments run from one extreme of “poor is holy” to the other extreme of “being rich is a sign of being blessed of the Lord”. The truth is these two extremes can both be right and they can both be wrong. A poor person and a rich person can both be holy. At the same time, a poor person and a rich person can both be unholy. It’s always a heart and relationship issue!!!
I have seen people that did not have much and people that had a lot. In most cases, people that were suddenly given a lot, after having little, did not know how to handle riches and it ended up wrecking their lives. Was that the money’s fault? Absolutely not! Money and riches are not evil. They are neutral. They only become a problem when we do not know how to handle them or elevate them to an idol status and begin to worship and rely on them rather than God.
There are hundreds of scriptures in the Bible where God reveals His intent and heart’s desire is to bless and prosper His people. It is His good pleasure to give us the Kingdom. His desire is for us to prosper and be in health. His desire is for us to be blessed going in and coming out. Jesus came to preach Good News to the poor. Over and over again God says He wants to prosper us. So why do we have such a problem believing that? The prosperity gospel is considered straight from Hell in many religious circles. They laugh at it and scorn the preachers that preach it. One of the scriptures used for some of these attacks is as follows:
Then said Jesus unto his disciples, Verily I say unto you, That a rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven. And again I say unto you, It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God. When his disciples heard it, they were exceedingly amazed, saying, Who then can be saved? But Jesus beheld them, and said unto them, With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible. (Matthew 19:23-26)
Most people quote the first part of this scripture about how hard it is for a rich man to enter Heaven. They miss the last part where Jesus tells them that with men it is impossible, but with God all things are possible. That includes rich men going to Heaven, if they are “with God”.
There is a working formula that I have seen in action over and over again with people of wealth. God has no problem with a person being rich. In fact, he will open up the windows of Heaven on your behalf. He has no problem getting it to you. The question is can He get it through you? The most successful wealthy people I have been associated with are big givers. They know where the blessings come from and they hold them in their hands very loosely. It is sort of like being a mimic of your Heavenly Father. On the flip-side of that, the people that have been given much, and store it all up for their own benefit, usually end up in some type of destruction somewhere down the line. We get back to that same old concept of seeking God first and all these other things will be added unto us. If we will seek Him first, He has no problem pouring out the blessings. It always comes back to a heart issue. If you want to live, you die to self and greed. If you want to be blessed, you give. It’s about setting our eyes on the things above (eternal things) and not things below (temporal things).
We cannot take our saving accounts, stocks, houses, and cars with us to Heaven. We can however take people and our works with us. Just know this. Works for the Kingdom’s sake, and reaching the masses with the Gospel, requires finances so let’s not ever be ashamed of money and finances to build His Kingdom and reach souls. As long as our priorities are aligned with His priorities, He will prosper our efforts. God has no problem with us having money as long as it doesn’t have us.
