Wealth and Generosity

Wealth, even if it is a blessing from God, has the potential to lead us away from God. That is why the wise man in Proverbs said: "...give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with the food allotted to me: lest I be full and deny You, and say, "Who is the Lord?"..." (Proverbs 30:8-9)

What about the rich man in Matthew 19 whom Jesus asked to sell all his possessions, donate to the poor and follow Him? The man went away sad, and because of that Jesus said "Assuredly, I say to you that it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven."...but not impossible of course, for "...with God all things are possible." (Matthew 19:21-26)

It is clear that true devotion to God becomes harder when one is rich and comfortable in this world. It is easy to get attached to the riches, and the feeling of "self sufficiency" typically sets in. If you had to trust God for what to eat daily, your faith and love for God will no doubt escalate exponentially.

As Christians, the attitude we are expected to have toward riches is made clear in the New Testament. Beginning with the first Christians in Acts "...who sold their possessions and goods, and divided them among all, as anyone had need." (Acts 2:45) 

Paul addressed this directly quite a few times:

"I have shown you in every way, by laboring like this, that you must support the weak. And remember the words of the Lord Jesus that He said, 'It is more blessed to give than to receive.'" Acts 20:35

"Let him who stole steal no longer, but rather let him labor, working with his hands what is good, that he may have something to give him who has need." Ephesians 4:28

This goes to say that a Christian's response to wealth is generosity. Christians should give in such a way that it embarrasses/astounds the receiver. God blesses us with riches so that we can in turn bless others. As Paul elaborately breaks down in 2 Corinthians 9. Verse 8 of that chapter says "And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work."

Sadly, this is not the experience in church today. Not only do the rich take pride in being better than the poor, they see their riches as an indication that they are better Christians than their fellow poorer brothers and sisters in Christ! They clearly forget the story of Lazarus and the rich man (Luke 16:19-31).

It is embarrassing to sometimes see non-believers who give more than Christians do. My very first laptop was given to me by a fellow student at the university. Brand new! An African middle aged man who was back in school for a degree saw my need and just offered it to me. We were just friends...he was married with four kids and I had met his family. He did not ask anything from me in return. As a struggling international student, he saw my need and God used him to meet it. God used him and not someone in church.

Wealth leads to generosity and generosity leads to wealth. This principle should visibly be at work in the church.

Wealth is however the last thing we should use as a measure of how close one is to God. Celebrities who have absolutely no regard for God are rich for pete's sake. Satan even offered Jesus the world when he was tempted (Luke 4). Do you think Jesus was the last one he offered it to?

News flash people; wealth is not always a blessing from God.

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