God automatically equals Money, I don't think so.
Can a Christian pursue the acquisition of wealth and live for God? Which one would we really be seeking after? To take the idea that says God helps those who help themselves or as some intrepret Proverbs 16:3 to mean that committing work to God automatically guarantees prosperity is not consistent with scripture.
My pastor recently was preaching on evangelism and went to book of Luke, chapter 16 where the Lord recounts the lives of two men, a very rich man and a poor man by the name of Lazarus. The purpose of going to this passage was to emphasize the motivation for evangelism, hell is real and not a pleasant place and so in love we need to tell people of where they are headed unless they accept the gift of salvation in Jesus Christ. My pastor is absolutely correct, if we believe what Jesus taught here we need to help others avoid this fate. He made a strong point that in this life the rich man pursued wealth without regard to the situation of others around him while Lazarus in earthly misery was comforted in the life to come. This got me thinking about my own pursuits and the pursuits of those around me and what our primary focus in life is, can we pursue wealth and God at the same time and still be considered faithful and be comforted like Abraham and Lazarus?
I love how the Holy Spirit had Luke record this account from Jesus because it clarifies that wealth is not evil but the pursuit (love of money) of wealth is the problem. In Luke 16:19-21 it is clear that the rich man had no concern for God or his fellow man, he was clothed in the finest garments and ate well every day while Lazarus suffered at his gate. A casual reading of this would lead you to believe that it was the rich man's wealth that was his problem, but that can't be because he was talking with Abraham, a man who had a standing army of 318 men and thousands of cattle and sheep. Abrahams wealth could very well have been, and likely was, far in excess of this man's wealth. So with two wealthy men carrying on a conversation after they have died and one is in torment and the other is in comfort what decided their fate?
The difference is what Abraham believed and what he pursued. In the New Testament book of Romans, the Holy Spirit by the Apostle Paul makes it very clear that Abraham was justified by his faith (Romans 4:2-5). Abraham pursued and believed God as evidenced by how God Himself spoke of Abraham in Genesis 26 where God says that Abraham obeyed in all things, not some things but indeed ALL THINGS, the wealth came along as a blessing from God for the Bible says that God blessed Abraham in all things. The difference is in their focus, that which they fixed their gaze. Abraham focused on obeying God, the rich man on pleasing his own belly.
We all remember that scripture that says the love of money is the root of all evil (1 Timothy 6:10), but what about the last part of that verse? It says that "love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows." Hold on there, are you saying that fixing your gaze on the pursuit of wealth can cause you to move away from God and what you have been taught? Absolutely. Let me ask you and a question, what adorns our refrigerators, bulletin boards and walls? What occupies our dreams? Does the refrigerator have photos of super cars and luxury boats or homes? Do we dream of the next new snowmobile we are going to buy or upgrading to the latest model of new car? Are we always looking to be affirmed in our faith by the material prosperity around us or see others who have attained wealth and believe their testimony that if you trust God and work at your business it wll be blessed? God refutes that in the example of Abraham, in the passage in 1 Timothy 6:10 and in the example of Job. Job was righteous and stood out among all of the people and yet he was tormented and lost everything including his 10 children. His circumstances hardly looked like a blessing from God, it looked like sin as his friends so pridefully pointed out. Our appearance and lifestyle can never indicate the health of our relationship with God. Please don't ever equate material prosperity, either yours or helping others to achieve theirs, as indicative of God's favor upon you or something equal with the Gospel and the Salvation message.
Consider Warren Buffet who seeks after wealth and has been very successful at it, does this wealth indicate blessings from God? No, I think we can all agree wealth alone is not an indicator of favor with God. So if a man can become very wealthy without any recognition of God isn't it also possible that a Christian can become very wealthy and that wealth have nothing to do with God? If it is true that wealth is no indicator of faith or favor by God then let us all reconsider our goals. Lord am I pursuing You out of love and to glorify You or am I doing it with the hope of gaining wealth? Perhaps those items on my walls and thoughts in my head reveal the truth, more so than the words I speak so nicely in church on Sunday.
I love how the Holy Spirit had Luke record this account from Jesus because it clarifies that wealth is not evil but the pursuit (love of money) of wealth is the problem. In Luke 16:19-21 it is clear that the rich man had no concern for God or his fellow man, he was clothed in the finest garments and ate well every day while Lazarus suffered at his gate. A casual reading of this would lead you to believe that it was the rich man's wealth that was his problem, but that can't be because he was talking with Abraham, a man who had a standing army of 318 men and thousands of cattle and sheep. Abrahams wealth could very well have been, and likely was, far in excess of this man's wealth. So with two wealthy men carrying on a conversation after they have died and one is in torment and the other is in comfort what decided their fate?
The difference is what Abraham believed and what he pursued. In the New Testament book of Romans, the Holy Spirit by the Apostle Paul makes it very clear that Abraham was justified by his faith (Romans 4:2-5). Abraham pursued and believed God as evidenced by how God Himself spoke of Abraham in Genesis 26 where God says that Abraham obeyed in all things, not some things but indeed ALL THINGS, the wealth came along as a blessing from God for the Bible says that God blessed Abraham in all things. The difference is in their focus, that which they fixed their gaze. Abraham focused on obeying God, the rich man on pleasing his own belly.
We all remember that scripture that says the love of money is the root of all evil (1 Timothy 6:10), but what about the last part of that verse? It says that "love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows." Hold on there, are you saying that fixing your gaze on the pursuit of wealth can cause you to move away from God and what you have been taught? Absolutely. Let me ask you and a question, what adorns our refrigerators, bulletin boards and walls? What occupies our dreams? Does the refrigerator have photos of super cars and luxury boats or homes? Do we dream of the next new snowmobile we are going to buy or upgrading to the latest model of new car? Are we always looking to be affirmed in our faith by the material prosperity around us or see others who have attained wealth and believe their testimony that if you trust God and work at your business it wll be blessed? God refutes that in the example of Abraham, in the passage in 1 Timothy 6:10 and in the example of Job. Job was righteous and stood out among all of the people and yet he was tormented and lost everything including his 10 children. His circumstances hardly looked like a blessing from God, it looked like sin as his friends so pridefully pointed out. Our appearance and lifestyle can never indicate the health of our relationship with God. Please don't ever equate material prosperity, either yours or helping others to achieve theirs, as indicative of God's favor upon you or something equal with the Gospel and the Salvation message.
Consider Warren Buffet who seeks after wealth and has been very successful at it, does this wealth indicate blessings from God? No, I think we can all agree wealth alone is not an indicator of favor with God. So if a man can become very wealthy without any recognition of God isn't it also possible that a Christian can become very wealthy and that wealth have nothing to do with God? If it is true that wealth is no indicator of faith or favor by God then let us all reconsider our goals. Lord am I pursuing You out of love and to glorify You or am I doing it with the hope of gaining wealth? Perhaps those items on my walls and thoughts in my head reveal the truth, more so than the words I speak so nicely in church on Sunday.
