Award Winning GENESIS SCHOOL OF MUSIC

➡️I don’t ever remember it actually being spoken, but as a child growing up, I was part of a culture that taught that “poor was Godly and rich was not”.  We all knew the pastor who lived in the parsonage next door to the small church; we all read of Mother Teresa, who lived and worked among the poorest of the poor; and, of course, we all knew that Jesus had no place to lay his head.  Obviously, God wanted us to be like the pastor, Mother Teresa and, of course, like Jesus — he wanted us all poor.  Growing up, we actually looked down on people who lived in certain neighborhoods, drove certain cars and wore certain clothes. You could buy a new car, but it needed to be a mercury, and never a Mercedes.  However, after college, I started traveling and building relationships with people outside of my denominational box, and I started seeing a whole new side of Christianity, and hearing another teaching — it was called the “prosperity gospel”. God wanted to bless us, it was his will — just like a good father would want to bless his son.  And it made perfect sense — I have kids — and I do want to bless them.  So when it comes to money, what does the Bible say?

First, the Bible never does say that money is evil. I Timothy 2:10 says that “the love of money is the root of all evil” — but money itself is not evil.  Second, the Bible never says that Jesus was actually poor.  People assume because Jesus said in Luke 9:58 that he had no place to lay his head, that it means that Jesus was so poor that he couldn’t afford a home or even a rental.  But the Bible never does say that Jesus was poor. I personally did some research of the gifts that were brought to Jesus when the magi came to visit him as a child, and some scholars say that the gifts given could’ve been worth up to $4 million.  Wow — $4 million?  Not sure about that.  In our church growing up, there were always three little boys dressed up in a bed sheet, carrying three small boxes. However, the Bible never does say that there were only three men who visited Jesus. The Bible does say that there are three gifts, but we don’t know how many men actually gave these gifts. I don’t think the gold that was given was a little gold brick that you could buy at Costco today for around $2000. These were kings bringing gifts to a newborn king. The gifts might not have totaled $4 million, but I’m sure they were worth way more than a few hundred dollars.  I don’t think Jesus was poor.  I do know when Jesus started his ministry, Judas was the treasurer. And poor people do not need treasurers. 

So what does the Bible say about money?

1. Everything, including our money, belongs to God. Psalms 24:1 says “The Earth and everything in it, the world and its inhabitants belong to the Lord.  
2. Money will not bring happiness. 1st Timothy 6:17 says,  “Instruct those who are rich in the present age not to set their hope on the uncertainty of wealth, but on God, who richly provides us with all things to enjoy.”  
3. It is not wrong to work hard and earn money.  Proverbs 10:4 say, “Idle hands make one poor, but diligent hands bring riches”. 
4. Seek God first.  In Matthew 6, Jesus had just spoken about the cares of life, which would include our finances, and in verse 33 he says, “Seek FIRST the kingdom of God and his righteousness — and then all these things will be added to you as well.”
5. God wants to bless us!  Second Corinthians 9:11 clearly teaches a prosperity gospel, “God will make you rich in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through your generosity people will give thanks to God.”  We will never reach the world while living paycheck to paycheck; we will never feed the poor if we can’t afford groceries; we will never give shelter to the homeless if we can’t pay our mortgage.  God wants to bless us in every way, so that we can reach others — and our generosity will lead others to Christ.

The Bible does give us examples of people that gave up everything to follow Jesus, but the Bible also shows us men like Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph…and many others — the patriarchs of our faith — that were men of great wealth.  

Whatever God has put into our hands, we give it back to him.  Everything belongs to God.  Always remember, when dealing with money, go to the Bible, the Word of God — because the Bible is always right. 

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