3 Ways to Honor the Lord with Your Wealth

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There is clear instruction to honor the Lord with your wealth in the scriptures.

In Proverbs 3:9-10 we find this command: “Honor the Lord from your wealth and from the first of all your produce; so your barns will be filled with plenty and your vats will overflow with new wine.”

Honor the Lord with Your Wealth

In our finances, we are expected to give our BEST and FIRST to God! God commanded the nation of Israel saying, “You shall bring the choice first fruits of your soil into the house of the Lord your God” (Exodus 23:19a) and when detailing the offerings that went toward supporting the priests He says, “You shall give him the first fruits of your grain, your new wine, and your oil, and the first shearing of your sheep” (Deuteronomy 18:4).

We are to honor the Lord with all that we have. How we behave with our finances does a lot to reveal our heart toward God. Jesus said, “…for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also“. ~ Matthew 6:21

How Do You Honor the Lord With Your Wealth?

How do we accomplish this?

We are exhorted to trust Him.

We are instructed in verse 5 of Proverbs 3 to “trust in the Lord with all [our] heart and do not lean on [our] own understanding”. Trusting God is the first step in honoring Him – this is true in salvation, finances and all other affairs of life. According to Romans 4:3 (quoting Genesis 15:6), this is what pleased God about Abraham.

Often times when we falter in our faith, we don’t realize it is due to unbelief, or in other words, a lack of trusting in God. When it comes to our finances, this can be seen by our dependence on money to ‘save’ us from trouble or blaming our lack of money on our troubles.

We have to remember that no matter what life may bring us, God is our source. He is the one who brings prosperity and opportunity to us, and as His children, He promises to supply our needs because He is a caring Father. Matthew 6:25-35

“For this reason I say to you, do not be worried about your life, as to what you will eat or what you will drink; nor for your body, as to what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow, nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they? And who of you by being worried can add a single hour to his life?

And why are you worried about clothing? Observe how the lilies of the field grow; they do not toil nor do they spin, yet I say to you that not even Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, will He not much more clothe you? You of little faith! Do not worry then, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear for clothing?’ For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things.

But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. “So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”

In times of doubt, we must cry out to the Lord as the man who needed Jesus’ help to heal his son in Mark 9:24  “I do believe; help my unbelief.”

We are also expected to be generous and ready to share.

Proverbs 11:24-29 tells us:

“There is one who scatters, and yet increases all the more, and there is one who withholds what is justly due, and yet it results only in want. The generous man will be prosperous, and he who waters will himself be watered. He who withholds grain, the people will curse him, but blessing will be on the head of him who sells it. He who diligently seeks good seeks favor, but he who seek evil, evil will come to him. He who trusts in his riches will fall, but the righteous will flourish like the green leaf. He who troubles his own house will inherit wind, and the foolish will be servant to the wise-hearted.”

Also in 1 Timothy 6:17-19, we find this instruction:

Instruct those who are rich in this present world not to be conceited or to fix their hope on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly supplies us with all things to enjoy. Instruct them to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share, storing up for themselves the treasure of a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of that which is life indeed.

It is amazing to see this principle played out over and over again in our lives. If you are generous even when you have little, God seems to bless your finances to be able to do more than most who have more money than you.

We constantly hear and read about people who recovered from massive amounts of debt while staying faithful (and in many cases increasing) to giving. In fact, most respected financial advisers (many of whom do not believe God’s word) will tell their clients that giving has to be an integral part of their lives in order to be successful financially.

We should be fair in our dealings with others.

In verses Proverbs 3:27-28 we find the following instruction,

“Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due, when it is in your power to do it. Do not say to your neighbor, ‘Go, and come back, and tomorrow I will give it,’ when you have it with you.”

As believers, we are called to an even greater level of consideration as we contemplate Christ’s goodness towards us and His example. Philippians 2:3-4 states:

“Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves; do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others.”

So in doing all of these things we will begin to honor the Lord with our wealth; which, according to verse 10, will lead to God sustaining us, causing us to be prosperous (cf Luke 6:38, Matthew 6:33) and satisfied (Philippians 4:11-13)!

For more on developing a biblical view of wealth, see our previous article here: http://knsfinancial.com/2010/01/10/wealth-from-the-bible/

 

 

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Strength Equal To The Day – Crushing The Sin Of Anxiety

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Each Sunday, I try to post a devotional thought for you to meditate on. Sometimes it will be something out of my own studies and prayers. Other times – like today – it will be from another source.

Today, I am posting an encouragement and warning about worry and anxiety concerning the future by Theodore Cuyler, courtesy of Grace Gems:

(Theodore Cuyler, “Beulah-Land” or, Words of Cheer for Christian Pilgrims)

Matthew 6:34

“Don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today’s trouble is enough for today.” Matthew 6:34

Faith does not shed tears over sorrows which may never come. God never made a Christian strong enough to stand the strain of today’s duties–and all the load of tomorrow’s anxieties piled upon the top of them.

The apostle Paul himself would have broken down, if he had attempted the foolish experiment. We have a right to ask our Heavenly Father for strength equal to the day–but we have no right to ask him for one extra ounce of strength beyond it!

Faith . . .
carries present loads,
meets present battles,
feeds on present promises, and
commits the future to a faithful God!

We should not penetrate into the secrets which tomorrow hides–if we could. It is far better to know Whom we trust, and that He is able to keep all that we commit to Him, until the last great day.

We cannot live on yesterday’s meals. As the children of Israel gathered fresh manna every morning–so must we look upward for a fresh supply of heavenly rations for the day’s march. The secret of happy days is not in our outward circumstances–but in our own heart life.

A large draught of Bible taken every morning, a throwing open of the soul’s windows to the precious promises of the Master, a few words of fervent prayer, a deed or two of kindness to the first person you meet–will brighten your countenance and make your feet “like hinds feet” for the day’s march.

“As your days–so shall your strength be.” Deuteronomy 33:25

Practical Keys to Contentment

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Yesterday I wrote an article examining the bible’s commands regarding contentment. Because that idea is so counter to our natural way of thinking, we have to make a conscious effort to renew our mind.

Here are some things that I try to focus on in order to develop contentment in my heart:

Realize that all things belong to God:

The silver is Mine and the gold is Mine,’ declares the LORD of hosts. ~ Haggai 2:8

“I shall take no young bull out of your house, nor male goats out of your folds. For every beast of the forest is Mine, the cattle on a thousand hills. I know every bird of the mountains, and everything that moves in the field is Mine. If I were hungry I would not tell you, for the world is Mine, and all it contains.” ~ Psalm 50:9-12

Once I began to really understand that all things belong to God, it changed my prospective. I realized that we are just stewards of the wealth that He has given to us, and He expects us to put it to work to fulfill our obligations (to family, church, our nation, etc). We all must submit to His plan for our lives, and find joy and contentment in that plan.

Trust God to provide for your needs:

For this reason I say to you, do not be worried about your life, as to what you will eat or what you will drink; nor for your body, as to what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow, nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they? And who of you by being worried can add a single hour to his life? And why are you worried about clothing? Observe how the lilies of the field grow; they do not toil nor do they spin, yet I say to you that not even Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, will He not much more clothe you? You of little faith! Do not worry then, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear for clothing?’ For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own. ~ Matthew 6:25-34

I have been young and now I am old, yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken or his descendants begging bread. ~ Psalm 37:25

And my God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus. ~ Philippians 4:19

God promises to supply our needs if we are faithful to Him, and seek after godly things. This fact has comforted me when I’ve gone through difficult times. Even when we cannot see where our next meal is coming from, or how we can afford clothing and/or shelter, we can know that God is watching over us and we can be content with His provision!

Be sure that your affection and desire is for heavenly things:

“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal; for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. ~ Matthew 6:19-21

When our treasure and source of contentment is in earthly things, we set ourselves up for a fractured relationship with God. We will experience despair (and even desperation) in times of need, and a lack of humility in times of abundance.

Understand that this world and all that is in it will one day be destroyed:

Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth passed away, and there is no longer any sea. ~ Revelation 21:1

Know this first of all, that in the last days mockers will come with their mocking, following after their own lusts, and saying, “Where is the promise of His coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all continues just as it was from the beginning of creation.” For when they maintain this, it escapes their notice that by the word of God the heavens existed long ago and the earth was formed out of water and by water, through which the world at that time was destroyed, being flooded with water. But by His word the present heavens and earth are being reserved for fire, kept for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men. But do not let this one fact escape your notice, beloved, that with the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years like one day. The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance. But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, in which the heavens will pass away with a roar and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat, and the earth and its works will be burned up. Since all these things are to be destroyed in this way, what sort of people ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be destroyed by burning, and the elements will melt with intense heat! But according to His promise we are looking for new heavens and a new earth, in which righteousness dwells. ~ 2 Peter 3:3-13

This earth and all that is in it will one day be destroyed. So it is foolish to develop an attachment to, or determine our worth by wealth or possessions.

Let’s look at another helpful note from my study bible on 2 Peter 3:11:

“what sort of people ought you to be.” This is an exclamation rather than a question. It means, “How astoundingly excellent you ought to be!” This is a straightforward challenge for Christians to conform their lives to God’s standards in light of the reality of coming judgment and eternity (cf. 1 Corinthians 4:15; 2 Corinthians 5:9). “holy conduct and godliness.” “Holy conduct” refers to the way a Christian should live life – separate from sin. “Godliness” refers to the spirit of reverence which should permeate a Christian’s attitude – that which rules the heart. (MacArthur Study Bible, page 1929)

The focus and desire of our lives should be to please God! The bible tells us that our treasure should be in heaven, because earthly treasures can fade or be stolen, and eventually all material things of this world will be destroyed. Knowing that nothing I obtain will last has freed me from my dependence on material wealth for satisfaction.

Base every financial decision on the word of God:

No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other You cannot serve God and wealth. ~ Matthew 6:24

The bible gives clear instruction about how to handle our finances, and how to view wealth. It not only speaks in terms of principles, but with specific instructions. We can know God’s will regarding giving, paying taxes, wealth, working, helping others, bankruptcy, cosigning loans and any other topic we can think of.

When we obey God in every circumstance, we can know that all of our needs will be provided and we can experience God’s blessing!

Being content with little, much, and everything in between is not easy. But I have found that implementing these concepts in my life has made it much easier!

Of course, this list is by no means exhaustive and if you have any suggestions, scriptures or questions please leave a comment below. I look forward to hearing how you work to develop these character traits. How do you combat the urge to measure your life in terms of wealth or possessions? How have you struggled with this?

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How Can I Be Satisfied in Every Situation?

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Oftentimes when we think of contentment, we approach it with the attitude of “dealing with” the situation in which we find ourselves. However, I believe that this approach misses the real blessing behind contentment.

When we are trying to develop contentment in our own  lives, we usually view it from an incomplete prospective. When we do this, we ultimately sell short God’s promise of provision and miss out on great blessings. Here are some ways that we do this:

Looking for external comfort when life is tough.

  • Many times we push ourselves through a negative situation by telling ourselves that it will get better eventually. We aren’t really satisfied with our state of living, but we feel that it is only temporary and so we don’t get discouraged.
  • We tell ourselves “it could be worse”. While this is usually true – many of us actually know people who have it worse than we do – it still falls short of contentment. Our contentment should not be based on someone else’s misery, or the fact that our mistake didn’t cost us as much as it could have. Yes, these are initial thoughts that can help turn around our thinking when we are down, but they should not be our focus.

The problem with both of these mindsets is that neither one breeds contentment. In the first case, we are just trying to “tough it out” until better times come along. We are still dissatisfied with the current situation, but we find motivation in the “light at the end of the tunnel”.

In the second case, we still aren’t satisfied or content with our circumstances, and end up looking for external motivation. We look at others who are in a worse situation, and use their misery to wipe away our own. Or we will think back to times in our life when we had to sustain ourselves on less.

This way of thinking is incomplete because it fails to to find satisfaction by focusing on God’s great blessing in the middle of our experience. We may have to “get along with humble means” for the rest of our life, but the fact that God is “strengthening” us, should be more than enough to make us content. Even if we are never given wealth or an abundance of the very basics of life, we are to be content because we know that God will never leave us. The writer of Hebrews puts it this way:

Make sure that your character is free from the love of money, being content with what you have; for He Himself has said, “I WILL NEVER DESERT YOU, NOR WILL I EVER FORSAKE YOU,” so that we confidently say, “THE LORD IS MY HELPER, I WILL NOT BE AFRAID. WHAT WILL MAN DO TO ME?” ~ Hebrews 13:5-6

The great promise is that God will “never desert [us], nor will He ever forsake [us]” and that is why we can be content with whatever we have!

Depending on wealth/material possessions to supply happiness.

Many times when things are going well, we tend to focus on our wealth and possessions instead of God. It becomes very easy to trust in our riches and sometimes we (erroneously) assume that they are a sign of God’s favor. Even in prosperity we are to humbly depend on God for all of our needs, and to be content with the promise of his blessing, care and provision.

How can we develop contentment in our own lives?

Listen to the words of the Apostle Paul in Philippians 4:11-13:

Not that I speak from want, for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am. I know how to get along with humble means, and I also know how to live in prosperity; in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need. I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.

The Greek term for “content” (autarkés) actually means “self-sufficient” or “satisfied”. We should desire to be satisfied with whatever state we are in. This is especially true when considering our finances and our ability to both support ourselves and to acquire material possessions. In the passage above, Paul stated that he was able to “get along with humble means, and…live in prosperity”, meaning that he was satisfied with having much or having little. And that contentment came from God strengthening him to do all things!

Another great verse to consider when trying to develop an attitude of contentment is 1 Timothy 6:6-8:

But godliness actually is a means of great gain when accompanied by contentment. For we have brought nothing into the world, so we cannot take anything out of it either. If we have food and covering, with these we shall be content.

There were a couple a great notes in my study bible on these verses:

6:6 Contentment – This Greek word means “self-sufficiency” and was used by Stoic philosophers to describe a person who was unflappable and unmoved by external circumstances. Christains are to be satisfied and sufficient, and not to seek for more than what God has already given them. He is the source of true contentment.

6:8 have food and covering…be content. – The basic necessities of life are what ought to make Christians content. Paul does not condemn having possessions, as long as God graciously provides them [1 Timothy 6:17]. He does, however, condemn a self-indulgent desire for money, which results from discontentment. (MacArthur Study Bible, pages 1840-41)

Living in a developed, wealthy, spoiled nation like ours can make it extremely difficult to find contentment in life. We are constantly told that we need “just a little bit more” in order to be truly happy, or we are taught that we deserve more than what we have and we should fight for what is rightfully ours! However, the word of God is clear about our source of contentment and provision (Matthew 6:33).

Personally, I know that much of my debt is due to a lack of contentment in my life. There have been times when I looked at another person’s gains, talents, successes and then became dissatisfied with my own life. These verses are not just nice, little suggestions, but they actually reveal God’s will for us, and it is a sin to disregard them – by not being content.

How do you deal with the external and internal pressures to focus on what you don’t have? How do you ensure that your prosperity doesn’t cause you to put your trust in wealth? Are you struggling with balancing ambition and contentment?

I have posted a follow up to this article that looks at some practical ways we can develop contentment in our hearts: http://knsfinancial.com/practical-keys-to-contentment/

I look forward to reading your comments and suggestions below!

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