Money can be used for good or it can be used for evil. If you use money to serve only your own security or your own passions, selfishness and the world of greed around you, money will become more important than the agendas of God.
It is easy to be thankful for blessings, but only a mature person in the Christian faith can be both thankful and persevere in their faith in times of hardship. In fact, if you read scripture carefully, you will notice that Jesus, His disciples, the prophets of the Old Testament and indeed most all of those we look to for guidance throughout the entire Bible, where not wealthy in terms of material goods. Why? Because God wanted us to understand that the gifts of this world are good but not as good as God. Wisdom from God is the true sign of spiritual wealth, not money. This is the sign of a man who knows Christ, a person who knows that God is all sufficient for your joy in times of poverty or in times of blessing.
Remember Job? He had everything and satan complained to the Lord that all of Job's blessings were what gave Job his loyal spirit for God. God told satan no, that Job had the heart of a true servant. And so the story went that Job lost all of his blessings but he did persevere at loving God! Job and his family did not understand why he should be tested. Job had done nothing wrong. All of his friends told him that he had displeased God. Job's friends believed in "a prosperity gospel." This made God angry and He told Job to pray for the forgiveness of his friends from God. In the end, Job's wealth was restored along with his family.
Think of all the martyrs, saints, priests, pastors and all of those who suffer across the world for the causes of Christ. Do they put money ahead of spreading the true Gospel of Jesus? Do they concern themselves with whether or not they are driving big fancy cars or living in three story suburban mansions? Do they believe that wealth is the sign of God's better favor?
There will come a time when you dear Christian will know your rest. In God's heaven there is no toil, there is no fear, there is no hunger, there is no crime and there is no pain. But for now, let the world know that money is not mightier than the true gospel of Jesus Christ.
If you have wealth from God, become a good steward with that wealth. If you have very little money to give, then give of yourself for His name's sake. God does not judge the rich man higher than the poor. He does not love people with money more than He loves those who wear rags. Nor does He love the poor more than the rich. But who puts their trust in God more? The poor do because they must face harsh realities quicker. It can be very dangerous to be rich. A rich man is buffeted from his own sin nature for a time and in that time he may be judged by God. There is a definite down side to having comfort. It can tempt people into a "false sense of security." A rich man can begin to believe that he doesn't need God and that he is safe from harm.
Jesus says that if you give a tithe to Him, do not let your right hand see what your left is doing. He does not count that tithe to be more important than the tithe of a beggar. Remember the story of the widow's mite? How Jesus used her as an example for his disciples? He gave the example of a poor widow's faith in God's sufficient provisions and of her humble attitude. How beautiful and selfless she was.
And when Jesus spoke of security in the Lord, he gave the example of the flowers in the fields. He said,
"No one can serve two masters; for a slave will either hate the one and love the other, or be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth. "Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air; they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And can any of you by worrying add a single hour to your span of life? And why do you worry about clothing Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not clothed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you-- you of little faith?"
Let the Gospel and the gentleness of your character speak for Christ. Do you ever notice how quick the wealthy people of Hollywood are to let the world know of their money gifts to charities? They thirst for the praises of others, but, if you are in Christ you should give quietly and with sincerity, for God rewards those who give in secret. Because if you give in secret, you are not putting your own reputation ahead of God's.
Becoming a mature person in the Christian faith means also that you are willing to let Jesus use you to show others "the how" and "the why" to live with pain and disappointments; trusting in the all sufficient love of God. You are to live out the Gospel in your own life in front of others. God frequently lets us go through trials, not only for our own development of character, but also to become a little "lanterns" for those who are watching us. In other words, God lets His people suffer and be poor in order that He may reach the poor and suffering through us. How can He do this if we are sitting around whining about our lack of wealth or absorbing ourselves in too much wealth? The answer is that He can't use us under these ridiculous circumstances! If this is what you are doing, you are then letting satan have the upper hand in your life. You are letting the evil of your own human nature dictate your interests. Who really is God in your life?
