In the world today, most of us worry about making abundant wealth for ourselves, and may be, for our families. We want to have plenty of money, many cars, houses, even at the expense of others. Very few people, if any, are thinking of having just moderate wealth, and probably, none is ever thinking of having wealth for self and others. This is where the problem and hindrance lies, but we must first know where the wealth is coming from.
As for the rich in this present age, charge them not to be haughty, nor to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly provides us with everything to enjoy. (ESV2011). - 1Tim 6:17
Reading from the above two verses, it is abundantly clear that all riches, including your money, cars, houses, clothing, etc.. come from God. Hey! but be careful, the God advises us against covetousness - yearning to have things that are not our and this include the wealth. Rather He says we should be content with what He has given us.
Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you. - Heb 13:5
God tells us in the above verse that, if we stay away from the love of money and we are content with what we have, He will never abandon us - in other words, God will always provide our needs and take good care of us. More deeply, He is saying, we will never lack.
Having love, not only for money, but for all other earthly things, is a problem in our lives and a cause for our constant lack, because God has said He will abandon us to ourselves when we have this attitude.
Whatever little we have, it's coming from God. In other word, it's God who is the owner and we are mere Managers here on earth. Oh Yes! Remember that the money in your pocket or bank account, the cars, houses, cloths, and all the possessions at your disposition are not your but God's. Until the day we understand this we shall always be tempted to use these things our own way, as though they were ours - and that's where the problem in our lives lie. That's why no matter how we try getting more, we don't have anything. That is the reason why we need health, but find sickness. That's why we want to have money but end up being poor - because not only we are too ambitious, but most importantly because with the little God has given us, we are seeing ourselves as the owner, and using it our own way.
As Managers of someone's business or property, we are supposed to be using (managing) those things according to the owner's instructions and directives. When God blesses us with wealth, no matter how small, he has long given us directives on how to use such wealth.
Moreover it is required in stewards, that a man be found faithful. - 1Cor 4:2
A steward or manager is someone who takes care of and uses someone else’s property, affairs and finances for the owner’s benefit. We are to be God’s managers of everything that He has blessed us with. This verse says that we must be faithful as God’s managers. The account we give to God as His managers must tie with the directives given us in the management of what He has given us.
First Directive - Not Living In Abundance
And he said unto them, Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man's life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth. - Luke 12:15
In the above verse, Jesus warns us that our goal in life should not be to have a lot of possessions. Having love for our possessions means we have fallen into the sin of covetousness, and at this moment God abandons us to ourselves and we remain in constant need. I will present two short stories to illustrate this - one from the Bible and one from the world.
Story 1: The Man With The Bumper Crop
And he said, This will I do: I will pull down my barns, and build greater; and there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods. And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry. - Luke 12:18-19
In the above verse, Jesus tells the story of a rich man who had a bumper crop (great yield) one year. In fact, his harvest was so great that he had no where to store his grain. So he came up with a plan (a selfish plan) in which he was going to replace his current small barns with larger ones to contain his possessions. Then, it appears that he planned to retire, as he had enough possessions to last years. He was going to relax, eat, drink and be merry ("...I will pull down my barns, and build greater; and there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods. And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry.").
This man was excessively blessed, but yet he thought only of himself. By constantly using the pronouns, I (will...), My (grains...) he claims the wealth to be his rather than God's. He saw himself not as the manager but as the owner (God). - a problem. He even referred to the soul as his soul.
Most probably, they were people around this man who had nothing, who were in need, but the man thought only of himself. In the below verse, we see how God response to these kind of people;
But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided? So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God. - Luke 12:20-21
The very first thing that God says to the rich man is to call him a fool - someone who is not wise and does not have a relationship with God. Whereas the man though he had years of enjoyment ahead with his wealth, God was in charge of his soul, not he himself. The man was going to die that very night and all his possessions would no longer be his. You don’t take your money or possessions with you when you die, they are left for those whom you refuse to share with.
Story 2: The Rich Woman With Cancer
Kyrzayda Rodriguez, a popular Instagram blogger from the Dominican Republic, died after a 10-month battle with stomach cancer.
In today's world Rodriguez was one of the richest women who lacked nothing in her life - she had a lot of wealth that included cars, money, all kinds of design cloths, a big well furnished house (just to name a few).
I have a brand new car parked outside that... I have all kinds of designers clothes, shoes and bags.... I have money in my account..... I have a big well-furnished house.... - Kyrzayda Rodriguez
At 40 years, when she was hit with cancer, she was inspired to use her last months here on earth to educate us and her teachings were undoubtedly from God. She inspired us, and she keeps inspiring us through her moral messages on Instagram (Read complete message here>>). Here her...
I have a brand new car parked outside that can’t do anything for me, I have all kinds of designers clothes, shoes and bags that can’t do anything for me, I have money in my account that can’t do anything for me, I have a big well-furnished house that can’t do anything for me.
One would undoubtedly believe that, Rodriguez has been toying day and night to get wealth, but unfortunately, she publicly admitted that this wealth couldn't safe her from her sick bed. Why then should we spend our years toying for something that can not safe us during difficult moments. Why should we be blessed with abundant wealth, in this world, yet others live around us in extreme poverty?
Rodriguez, why in her sick bed had several reflections (probably she regretted having accumulated so much wealth in a poor world), and this is what she had to say to you and I...
Look, I’m lying here in a twin size hospital bed; I can take a plane any day of the week if I like but that can’t do anything for me ... So do not let anyone make u feel bad for the things you don’t have - but the things u have, be happy with those; if you have a roof over your head who cares what kind of furniture is in it... the most important thing in life is LOVE. Lastly, make sure you enjoy the ones you love. - She wrote
Her teaching that we should be happy with what we have is in line with the Bible verse which states that....
...be content with what you have, for he has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you. - Heb 13:5
The second section of her above speech teaches us to love (share with) others. When you love, you will share and find no need living in abundance when the needy are around you.
Charge them that are rich in this world, that they be not highminded, nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God, who giveth us richly all things to enjoy; That they do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to distribute, willing to communicate." - o1 Timothy 6:17-18
In the above verse, God tells the rich to be rich in good works, ready to distribute, willing to communicate.
From the above two stories, we understand God's directives and instructions to our lives as managers of His resources. We understand clearly that nothing given to us is for us alone, but for us and others who are not as privileged as you to receive directly from God.
By sharing with others and giving to the poor, we are keeping to God's directives, but at the same time, we are blessing ourselves and living never to lack. The more you give out to charity, the more God blesses you with more wealth. Let's have a look at a few biblical verses about giving...
[Proverbs 22:9]: Whoever has a bountiful eye will be blessed, for he shares his bread with the poor.
[Proverbs 19:17]: The one who is gracious to the poor lends to the LORD, and the LORD will repay him for his good deed.
[Luke 6:38]: Give, and it will be given to you. A large quantity, pressed together, shaken down, and running over will be put into your lap, because you’ll be evaluated by the same standard with which you evaluate others.
How To Give With Ease
I know many people out there have this spirit of giving. I know, after reading this article, you have taken the decision to start giving to the poor or charity. May be you have given for a few months and stopped. Whatever category you fall, I know the devil is also powerful, and might be hindering you in one way or the other. Giving is not a bed of Roses, neither did I say it was easy...
However, in God and prayers, everything is easy, and here, let me lend you my experience and the experience of my family. Like me and my family most of us do have a job, or have earnings of some sort. In one of our Sunday service about charity, God told me to pass on a message to my family members - a message on how to give to charity or to the needy, considering our obligation to help others. Everyone grab with happiness, the proposal to chip in something every month from our earnings. Such money was to be given to a health humanitarian organization we run. Before we knew it, we had agreed to be contributing at least 24,000FCFA every month to the needy through this charity organization.
If you take the same strategy, you will obviously be giving to the needy, to the poor, every day without actually feeling the load. Rather, such a generous monthly contribution will open many doors of opportunity for and your life will never be the same again.
There are many charity organization around us. There are many needy around us today. Locate just one and make a regular donation, and that's all.
Most importantly, when you give pray for your gift, that it should create an impact.
If you choose to donate to the needy through our Charity organization (HELP Foundation), then simply click here.
Thank you for reading, but especially for you kind donation.
