Do you ever dream about what it would be like to be rich? Most people have. But how much money would you need to have in order to consider yourself rich? Being rich is a subjective state – that is, it depends on your circumstances. For example, if you have no job and $5.00 in your wallet and you find a $100 bill, you might consider yourself rich. Someone else might have a house, a bank account worth $50,000, but lots of bills and therefore thinks of himself as poor. Rich is a relative position.
But what does God want? Does he want those who believe in him to be rich, with lots of money? Is it okay to have money and possessions? Is it a sin to have too much? What should you do with your money?
WHAT IS THE ROOT OF ALL EVIL?
Money is not the root of all evil. The Bible tells us that it is the “love of money” that is a root of “all kinds of evil” (1 Timothy 6:10.) When you love money, all kinds of evil will creep into your life. In fact, verse 11 says that because people have a “craving” for money, they have “wandered away from the faith and have pierced themselves with many pangs.” A pang is a sudden, sharp pain. The love of money causes many problems that will come on you suddenly and painfully.
Therefore, the Bible goes on to tell us that instead of pursuing money, we are to instead pursue “righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness, gentleness” (1 Timothy 6:11.)
SO, IS IT WRONG TO HAVE MONEY?
No. Jesus said this, “Lay up for yourselves treasures” (Matthew 6:20.) That is an encouraging statement! Jesus wants us to have treasures, or money. He gives his stamp of approval.
Now whenever we study a passage of scripture it is important to always look at the context. Context means the words or phrases surrounding the words we are reading. Let’s look at the passage in Matthew 6:19,20 to find out exactly what Jesus means when he says “Lay up for yourselves treasures.”
WHERE NOT TO LAY UP TREASURES
In Matthew 6:19, Jesus begins by telling us that we are to “not lay up treasures on earth.” In other words, he is saying don’t accumulate a lot of money and possessions for yourself. Why? Because when you do so they simply won’t last. He says that “moth and rust [will] destroy [them], and…thieves [will] break in and steal [them].” Storing up treasures for yourself will not last.
One man told me once that he wanted to die a millionaire. The problem with that philosophy is that when you die you are no longer a millionaire; someone else now has your money. No, Jesus says that when you store up treasures for yourself on earth, they won’t last.
In Luke 12:15-21, Jesus told a story of a rich man who wanted to store up all his crops for himself. In the story “the land of [the] rich man produced plentifully.” He had barns to store his crops, but they weren’t big enough for him. He decided to “tear down [his] barns and build larger ones.” The whole idea is that he didn’t want to give any of it away. He wanted it all for himself. But Jesus called the man a “Fool.” Little did the man know that on that very night he was going to die and the things he had stored up would be worthless to him. Jesus tells us to “be on our guard” because our life does not “consist in the abundance of [our] possessions.” When we lay up treasures for ourselves on this earth, we are not “rich toward God.”
WHERE TO LAY UP TREASURES
Back in Matthew 6, Jesus says that we are to “Lay up for [ourselves] treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal.” Why should we do that? He tells us in verse 21, “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
You see it is impossible for us to love money and love God at the same time. When we love money and our possessions, our mind is not fixed on God. We tend to shove him off to the side and we become consumed with ourselves.
OUR LOVE FOR MONEY IS NOT FROM GOD
Whenever you find yourself loving money or your possessions, you can be sure that it is not from God. Look at what 1 John 2:16 says about this, “For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and the pride in possessions—is not from the Father but is from the world.” Our possessions, sometimes, become the center of our life. Whatever is the center of your life is your god.
WHAT ARE “HEAVENLY” TREASURES?
If we assume that earthly treasures are the tangible (things we can touch), material things, then heavenly treasures would be our attitudes and deeds, or the intangible (things we can’t touch), immaterial things.
THE EXAMPLE FROM JESUS OF HEAVENLY TREASURES
If anyone on earth has ever shown us an example of laying up heavenly treasures, it was Jesus. In Luke 4:18,19 he states clearly what his ministry was about:
“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”
“Good deeds, loving service, proper attitudes; these are the treasures of heaven.”
HOW DO WE STORE UP HEAVENLY TREASURES?
We’ve seen the example from Jesus, but what about us? In 1 Timothy 6:17-19 we read that rather than trusting our riches, we are to take what we have and use it to “do good.” The passage says, “Be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share.” You see, we store up treasures, not by having a lot of material possessions or money, rather we store up treasures every time we help someone, give to the poor, care for the needy.
In 1 Timothy 6:7-9 tells us that “We brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world. But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content. But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction.”
DOES THE BIBLE PROMISE THAT IF WE FOLLOW AND OBEY GOD THAT WE WILL BE RICH?
Here is what the Bible DOES promise, “And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:19.) When we follow and obey God, our needs, not our wants will be met.
WHAT SHOULD I DO WITH THE MONEY GOD PROVIDES FOR ME?
In 2 Corinthians 9:6-11 we read that God will indeed multiply your money when you put him first in your life. However, it is clear that when God multiplies your money it is for a specific reason. Verse 10 tells us that when we are blessed with more money we are to use it to share the love of Jesus Christ with others, specifically to “Increase the harvest of your righteousness.”
The source of what we do with our money begins by being led by the Holy Spirit. We must be believers in Jesus Christ and therefore controlled by his Spirit. Then, we can follow four Biblical steps regarding what to do with our money.
The steps are based on 1 Corinthians 16:2,
“On the first day of the week, each of you is to put something aside and store it up, as he may prosper.”
Step One: We are to “plan” for the use of our money. A portion of our money is to be given on the “first day of the week.” The first day of the week is Sunday on our calendars.
Step Two: 1 Corinthians 16 says, “each of you.” This implies that it is to be an individual (or a married couple) decision.
Step Three: “Put something aside.” The way Carol and I do it is we write a check each week for the church offering, thereby deducting the amount from our checkbook. We have set that money aside and we put it in the offering basket on Sunday for the Lord’s work.
Step Four: “As he may prosper.” This means that giving is to be based on how much money you have. You may, at times, only be able to give 5% of your income, other times you may be able to give 20, 30, 40, even 90 percent and in fact if all of your needs are met, it is possible to give 100 percent. The point that is being made in this verse is that as the Holy Spirit leads you, you should give a proportionate amount based on your income.
GIVING MONEY AWAY MUST BE DONE CHEERFULLY
In 2 Corinthians 9:7, the apostle Paul says that once we have decided in our hearts how much we are going to give away, we are not to do it under “compulsion.” Compulsion means, “to be forced into it.” God never forces himself on you. No church should ever make you feel guilty about how much money you give. You should be cautious in any church that questions the amount of money you are giving. It is not the pastor who decides how much you give; rather it is a personal decision between you and God.
In fact, the key to this verse is that God loves a “cheerful” giver. If you are not cheerful about what you give, then don’t give it! You may ask yourself, “Can I be cheerful about giving $5.00 each week? How about $10.00? $100? When you come to the point where you say, “If I gave X amount I would not be cheerful” then give the amount you can be cheerful about.
SOME GAVE EVEN WHEN THEY HAD VERY LITTLE
In 2 Corinthians 8:1-3, the apostle Paul writes about some of the churches in an area called Macedonia. He says that they were living in “extreme poverty.” Yet even in their poverty their generosity overflowed. In this case, they not only gave “according to their means” but they gave “beyond their means, of their own accord.” They cheerfully gave to the Lord’s work and no one forced them into it.
WHO GETS MY MONEY?
1. Your Family: Your first responsibility is to your family. Not that they will have all the toys available on the market, but that their needs will be met. You must make sure your family has food, clothing and shelter. If you don’t, the Bible says that you are “worse than an unbeliever” (1 Timothy 5:8.) You must meet the life needs of your family first.
2. The Work of the Ministry: This would include the local church you are attending. A believer is obligated (should have a sense of duty) to support the church that he or she joins. (See also Philippians 4:10-16 and 1 Timothy 5:17-18.)
3. Missions: Romans 15:25-27 the apostle Paul mentions churches in certain areas of the world that gave to others in need in other parts of the world.
4. The Bible Teacher: Galatians 6:6 asserts that the Bible teacher should be another recipient. The one who is being taught the Word is obligated to share things (possibly material goods) to support the teacher, who may be a pastor, Sunday School teacher, etc. In our church, our pastors are supported through the money that is received from the church offering. However, the passage is clear that “the one taught the word must share all good things with the one who teaches.”
5. A Brother or Sister in Need: Due to circumstances beyond their control a brother or sister in the Lord should be helped with the necessities of life. James 2:15-17 says, “If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food…” They are to be helped. This could mean buying a few bags of groceries for someone in our church or helping them pay a utility bill, etc. We do this out of love for the brother or sister and for the Lord. We don’t do it to receive a tax deduction.
CONCLUSION: DOES GOD WANT YOU TO BE RICH?
The answer is yes. He wants you to be rich in heavenly treasures. When he blesses you with earthly treasures he wants you to be generous with them; not storing them up for yourself, but generously giving those treasures to others so that they might see the love of Christ Jesus and in turn one day, they too might be able to share their treasure with someone else.
Discussion Questions
1. Would you rather be rich in this world, or poor? Why?
2. What are your feelings towards material things? Are they important to you? Are you deeply upset if there is something you want but you can’t have it?
3. When you want something do you act on impulse (act rashly) and justify it later?
4. Would you put as much effort into a heavenly treasure as you would an earthly one? [Example: Sharing Jesus with a friend vs. thinking about which kind of car you would like to buy?]
This week: Think of at least one blessing you have received from God. Spend time thanking him in prayer. Ask him to help you share what you have with those who are less fortunate than you.
Many thanks. is there any limitation when giving? can your parents ask help from you? are we obliged to give enough to our parents? they are on their 60's
Posted by: pink | June 23, 2009 at 10:12 PM