Financial wealth is more likely to lead to the downfall of a spiritual leader than any other factor. While money is essential for living and can be a great asset in advancing the work of the Lord, it is also linked to more wrongdoing than anything else.
How can something be both a blessing and a curse? In this chapter, I aim to present biblical guidelines for managing money.
God cares deeply about how you utilize the resources He entrusts to you, regardless of the amount. Ultimately, your approach to money will significantly influence your success or failure as a leader.
A. MONEY AND OUR RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD
We must learn to be careful about our use of money because through it Satan destroys many leaders.
Money has great spiritual significance. Jesus taught a great deal about money and how it affects a man’s relationship to God.
Possibly the most familiar passage in this regard is, “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.
But lay 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 will your heart be also….
“No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other or he will hold to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and Mammon ” (Matt 6:19-21,24).
Three things stand out when we read this scripture:
1. Earthly Treasure Is Uncertain
Economic inflation can erode its value and thieves can steal it, be the thief an individual or an agency. Heavenly treasure is the only investment with a guaranteed rate of return for all eternity.
2. Where Are Your Affections?
How we spend our money shows us where our affection is. If we spend all our money only on ourselves, we love ourselves most of all. If we invest 10 percent (a tithe) or more of our money to spread the gospel, we show we love God and the gospel.
3. You Cannot Serve God And Money
You cannot serve God and money at the same time. “You cannot serve God and
Mammon [money].” (But you can serve God with Mammon.) Either Jesus is your Lord, or money is! It’s that simple. You cannot have it both ways. The direction of your life and the form of your ministry will be determined either by Jesus or by your relationship with money — one or the other!
“But those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a snare and many foolish and harmful desires which plunge men into ruin and destruction.
“For the love of money is a root of all sorts of evil, and some by longing for it have wandered away from the faith, and pierced themselves with many a pang. But flee from these things, you man of God” (I Tim 6:9-11 niv).
B. MONEY: A SNARE OF SATAN
Money can have a hook in it! If you don’t relate to it rightly, you’ll be snared by your love for it. Satan, who is the prince of the power of the air, uses money as one of his most effective snares.
1. Mammon: A Pagan God
In Matthew 6:24, Jesus taught about two masters (lords) to choose between: God and Mammon. Mammon was the name of the pagan god of wealth and prosperity. Using the name the way He did, Jesus was also implying there is a demonic principality who controls much of this world’s wealth.
2. Some Will Sell Their Souls
Once when I was in Nicaragua, I was told a very interesting story by one of the believers.
He said that a number of people along the east coast “sold their soul to the devil.”
When I asked what he meant by this he explained:
Some who wanted to be rich would pray to the devil and “sell him their soul” in exchange for wealth and prosperity. The way the brother explained it, a demonic spirit would actually appear to them as they prayed to the devil.
This would result in their getting rich. But usually in mid-life, around forty-five years of age, the devil would come to claim what they had sold him, their soul.
Those who witnessed the death of such said they would scream, pleading for more years, begging to be spared the flames of Hell. They would bloat up with worms (maggots) and die a horrible death like Herod, who “… was filled with maggots and died”
(Acts 12:24 tib).
Such are the rewards of those who serve the god, Mammon.
C. BEWARE THE LOVE OF MONEY
Money is necessary. With it we buy things we need to live. Many people, because they don’t have enough of it, are hungry, ill-clad and suffer from the ravages of disease.
Thus, poverty is a curse, not a blessing. On the other hand, others who have more than they need are often greedy and sometimes cause the suffering of poor people.
But money itself doesn’t cause the evil which often results from its use. It is the love of money that is the root of all sorts of evil. The danger isn’t in having money, but in loving it.
1. What We Love, We Will Obey
Jesus said we will obey whatever we love (John 14:15). If we love Him, we will keep His commandments; if we love ourselves, we will obey our fleshly desires and use money for ourselves. It is the well-being and good of whatever we love that determines our decisions.
Romans 6:16 says, “You are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin resulting in death or of obedience resulting in righteousness.” This takes us a step further: Not only do we obey whom we love, we are slaves of whatever, or whomever, we consistently obey.
2. Money Is Controlled By Mammon
Let’s look at what all this means. Money in the realm of this present evil age is under the control of a wicked principality, whom Jesus calls Mammon. If we love money, we will consistently obey what our love of money dictates to us. If we consistently obey what our love of money says, we will become enslaved to it and come under the control of spiritual wickedness.
It isn’t just coincidental that people who love money fall into all sorts of evil.
When one loves money he begins to obey the dictates of spiritual wickedness with his flesh. This is why the love of money is the root of all sorts of evil.
Some years ago a pastor left his wife to take a woman who was already married to an elder in his church. A friend of mine, who has a strong prophetic mantle on his ministry, was weeping in intercession for this fallen church leader. He prayed, “Lord, why did Andrew (not the real name) fall into this adultery?”
The Lord replied, “Andrew loved money. The love of money is like a tap-root that burrows into the sewer of sin and draws up every other kind of evil into the life. This is what happened to Andrew.”
The Apostle Paul warned, “But people who long to be rich soon begin to do all kinds of wrong things to get money, things that hurt them and make them evil-minded and finally send them to hell itself.
“For the love of money is the first step toward all kinds of sin. Some people have even turned away from God because of their love for it, and as a result have pierced themselves with many sorrows” (I Tim 6:9,10 tlb).
3. You Cannot Love God And Money
No wonder true spiritual power and great wealth often seem so incompatible.
Jesus said, “How hard it is for those who are wealthy to enter the kingdom of God” (Mark 10:23).
“It had happened that a certain young ruler of the Jewish people had come to Jesus and asked, ‘Good Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?’ And Jesus said to him, ‘Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone.
“‘You know the commandments, Do not commit adultery, Do not murder, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Honor your father and mother.’ And he said, ‘All these things I have kept from my youth.’
“And when Jesus heard this, he said to him, ‘One thing you still lack; sell all that you possess, and distribute it to the poor, and you shall have treasure in heaven; and come follow me!'” (Luke 18:18-22).
When the young man heard this, he became sorrowful because he was very wealthy. Possibly he had struggled all his life to become rich. Being rich was the thing which most obsessed him.
And now Jesus was telling him that to enter God’s Kingdom and inherit eternal life, he had to give it all up: “Dispossess yourself of your wealth and allow me to command you!” The young man was saddened because he loved his money more than he loved Jesus. He presumed he could love Jesus and love his money. He found he couldn’t have it both ways.
4. Covetousness Is Idolatry
“Therefore consider the members of your earthly body as dead to immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. For it is because of these things that the wrath of God will come… ” (Col 3:5,6).
We usually think of idolatry as bowing down to idols and images. It is much more than that. Moses said of the idolatrous Israelites, “They sacrificed to demons who were not God, to gods whom they have not known, new gods who came lately ” (Deut 32:17).
For a person to fall down in front of a statue or idol and worship it is to worship the demon that dwells behind the graven image. This is why idolatry is suc h a serious sin and why God’s wrath comes against it so severely.
When Paul says covetousness is idolatry, he is saying the same thing.
Covetousness, or greed, is the love of money. When we love money we worship it and he demon behind it.
The name Mammon is often used synonymously for money or riches. Consistent love of money brings a person into direct obedience to the dictates of that powerful, demonic, spiritual authority.
Being wrongly related to money is what constitutes the danger for a Christian leader. Having money does not. Otherwise, to have money at all would be a sin.
5. Money Can Be A Blessing
God blesses His people with money, often giving them abundant wealth to accomplish His purpose in the earth.
When the Children of Israel came out of Egypt, they took most of the silver and gold with them. After ten plagues, the Egyptians were so anxious to see them go, they
gave them “jewels of silver, and jewels of gold and raiment” ( Exo 12:35). “He brought them forth also with silver and gold…” (Ps 105:37).
a. Moses. When Moses built the Tabernacle in the wilderness, it was worth millions of dollars. It was built from the free-will gifts of the men and women of Israel who gave up some of their wealth for its construction.
This is a perfect example of how God desires to finance His projects. He blesses His people with money so they can use it for His purposes.
God has often raised up men and made them very wealthy. Job was very wealthy.
He owned “seven thousand sheep, three thousand camels, and five hundred teams of oxen and five hundred female donkeys, and employed many servants. He was, in fact, the
richest cattleman in that entire area” (Job 1:3 tlb).
b. Abraham was known throughout the ancient world for his wealth. He even had his own private army.
c. David And Solomon. No one had more wealth than David and his son, Solomon. Solomon’s personal wealth ran into the millions of dollars. God was able to give them wealth because they used it for the Kingdom. Their wealth served them, they did not serve their wealth. They used it for God’s purposes, not just their own selfish ends.
However, Solomon’s heart did go astray later in his life because of his many wives.
6. Important Questions To Ask
What is your relationship to your money? Do you have your money or does it have you? Do you or the Lord determine how you will use your money? Does the amount of money you have determine your happiness… your style of living? How do you use your money?
Are you generous toward God. Only when you have a surplus? If you don’t have much money, do you always think about it and dream of having more? Does your desire for money control you? Although these questions make us uncomfortable, they make us aware of how we relate to our money.
This is especially true of those who lead the flock of God. Did you know that covetousness, or the love of money, causes the downfall of many ministers of the gospel?
The love of money is one of the three sins that most often cause ministers’ downfall (1: Females; 2: Fame ; and 3: Fortune).
7. Possession Can Be Dangerous
Possessing money can arouse areas of sin and weakness we have failed to deal with in our lives.
a. Sin And Weaknesses Aroused. Paul says of the righteous law of God, “I would not have known about coveting if the Law had not said, ‘You shall not covet.’ But sin taking opportunity through the commandment, produced in me coveting of every kind… ” (Rom 7:7).
“But sin used this law against evil desires by reminding me that such desires are wrong and aroused all kinds of forbidden desires within me! “(Rom 7:8 tlb).
It is the same way with money as it is with the Law. Paul found that a righteous and good commandment of the Law aroused the sin that dwelt in him. Money is not bad in itself. But, when we have money, the potential for it to arouse covetousness, selfishness and greed is very strong.
As the Lord begins to bless a church leader, he will minister in the power and grace of God. This blessing usually results in an increased flow of finance into the church.
As this church leader’s church continues to receive blessing from the Lord, his sinful nature may become aroused and he may begin to covet and misuse the Lord’s money. The money given him for good becomes a temptation for evil and corrupts the ministry and the church leader.
b. Selfishness Revealed. “But,” you may ask, “how can I know whether I will have a problem with a lot of money until I have it?” I can tell what a man will do with a thousand dollars by what he does with one dollar.
” He who is faithful in very little is faithful also in much; and he who is unrighteous in very little is unrighteous also in much ” (Luke 16:10). How you spend a little money shows how you will spend a lot of money.
In 1950, when I was in training to be a missionary, I moved into a community dormitory at the “missionary boot camp.” (That is what they called the place.) There were seventeen of us in that dormitory.
The trainee serving as cook for the week was to buy the food. Each person was supposed to contribute three dollars weekly to a “food fund.” This would provide fifty dollars a week for groceries to feed the seventeen students.
After the first couple of weeks, only three of us out of the seventeen trainees continued to contribute to the grocery fund faithfully. All the other trainees had some excuse why they couldn’t put in their share. This really impressed me the week it was my responsibility to feed the seventeen. All I had was nine dollars.
During that year, the Lord miraculously provided a large sum of money to us that was divided up among all of the students who were in my dormitory.
Following this, most of the students went into town and came back with cameras, guns and radios. They all reasoned that these things would be necessary when they became missionaries.
But do you know that when we got back to the dormitory routine and our studies, no more were putting their money into the “food fund” than before.
Only three of the seventeen went on to become missionaries. I’ll bet you can guess which three. Although they had convinced themselves the reasons they bought their cameras and guns were good, they had proven to everyone else they were basically selfish at heart, and a selfish person will never be a good missionary.
8. Three Weaknesses To Watch
Three weaknesses usually let us know if we have a problem with the love of money:
• selfishness,
• bad stewardship, and
• not giving to God.
a. Selfishness. There are ministers who use the Lord’s money to buy expensive motorcycles and houses. “We’ll use them for the Lord’s service,” they rationalize.
It can be exactly the same immature self-centered thinking as the fellows in the boot camp dormitory. Buying a one hundred dollar camera or a ten thousand dollar sanctuary can be the same, different only in the amount of money it takes.
The minister who says, “There is nothing too good for the ‘man of God'” as he spends God’s money unnecessarily on himself, only justifies his selfishness. In the missionary training school he would have bought a camera rather than put money into the
“food fund.”
Someone who is faithful in a little, will also be faithful with a lot, and someone who is unfaithful in a little will also be unfaithful with a lot.
Do you want to see how you will handle an abundance of money if the Lord should give it to you? Just look at how you use what you have right now. If you are selfish with that, you would be selfish with a million dollars. Unless you repent, money will always be a problem to you, no matter how much or how little it may be.
b. Bad Stewardship. A second way we can discern that we have a problem with the love of money is our failure to realize that what we possess is not our own. A characteristic of the early Church was, “not one of them claimed that anything belonging to him was his own” (Acts 4:32).
What we possess belongs to God and we are stewards of it. “It is required of stewards that one be found trustworthy” (I Cor 4:2). One day we are going to give an account to God for the way we have used all He’s entrusted to us: Not only money, but our talents, time and relationships will all come under the scrutiny of His Word.
When this grips us as it should, our rationalizations will sound as unconvincing to us as they do to the Lord. It doesn’t take very much effort for us to convince ourselves God wants us to spend money the way our carnal, selfish natures want to use it.
But when we realize that we are going to look into His piercing, all-knowing eyes and give account to Him, our excuses begin to seem a little weak. It is very easy for us to think of the things we want as being what we need and lose the ability to see the distinction. Let’s pray that the Lord will help us keep a correct perspective in this regard.
c. Not Giving To God. Finally, it is evident we love money if we fail to learn diligence and discipline in the matter of giving.
We cannot begin to learn how to give at too early an age.
Faithfulness in tithes and offerings is not an option in the Kingdom of God. If you aren’t tithing, start right away. Ten percent of everything you receive belongs to God. Be diligent in this because failure to do so is robbing God (Mal 3:8-10). He doesn’t bless
“thieves” in the ministry.
We often think, “I have so little money and so many needs; I can’t afford to tithe.”
The truth is we can’t afford not to tithe. The real question according to Malachi 3:9, is
“Do I want a cursed 100 percent of my income or a blessed 90 percent?”
Once we have begun to tithe, we then need to start giving additional offerings.
Jesus said, “For if you give, you will get! Your gift will return to you in full and overflowing measure, pressed down, shaken together to make room for more, and running over. Whatever measure you use to give — large or small — will be used to measure back to you ” (Luke 6:38 tlb).
Jesus was dealing with a very important principle in this statement about giving.
If you give to the work of the Lord by teaspoonfuls, God will bless you by teaspoonfuls. If you give to the work of the Lord by cup fuls, God will bless you by cupfuls. If you give to the work of the Lord by bucketfuls, God will bless you by
bucketfuls. “Whatever measure you use to give — large or small — will be used to measure back to you. ”
When I was in Papua New Guinea some years ago, I was challenging the preachers to teach their people to give tithes and offerings. “Oh! “they said, “the people are too poor to give.”
While Papua New Guinea is not one of the richest countries in the world, it is better off than most. I saw no starvation or hungry people as I have seen in many nations.
The people were all nicely dressed — and looked in good health.
I said to the leaders, “The problem isn’t financial poverty. It is spiritual poverty.
The people are just like you leaders. You have no faith to give, so the people have no faith to give.”
D. GIVING: A SOURCE OF GOD’S BLESSING
Giving is a matter of faith, not a matter of what we have. As an example, here is a spiritual principle you will disagree with unless you have faith.
After you have given one dollar in tithe out of your ten dollar income, the nine dollars left — with God’s blessing on it — will go farther toward meeting your needs than the ten dollars without God’s blessing. (Go back and read it once more.) No mathematics teacher in the world (unless he is a tithing Christian) would agree with this principle. The natural understanding of man says, “Ten dollars will provide you more than nine dollars.” That is true unless the Lord’s miracle of multiplication is on the nine dollars which are left. (It will be, if you tithe regularly.) When the little boy in the Bible gave Jesus a faith offering of his five loaves and two fishes, it was all he had (John 6:9). What happened to the little boy? Did he go hungry? No!
When Jesus got through blessing his offering, it fed five thousand, plus the little boy. Then Jesus took up another offering of the bread and fish left over — and it filled twelve baskets full.
The little boy gave five barley loaves and two fish and got back twelve baskets of bread and fish. That is how God multiplies back blessing and wealth to the giver.
I explained these principles to the church leaders in Papua New Guinea. I asked them if I could preach on giving during one of their services, after the offering was taken.
They agreed.
They took the offering and about two hundred dollars was given by two hundred people who were present.
1. Faith And Giving
I got up and explained to the people that God asks us to give because He wants to bless us. He isn’t poor. He doesn’t need our money — but, we need His blessings.
“Without faith it is impossible to please him, for he that cometh to God must believe…”
(Heb 11:6).
We will never have His blessings without faith. God asks us to give to teach us faith. It takes faith to give. So when we give, we are exercising faith. This pleases God, so He blesses us.
If you don’t need God’s blessings, if you don’t want God’s blessings, then don’t give. Keep your money, and the curse that goes with no faith will be yours.
But you can give your money to God and watch Him “… open the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there will not be room enough to receive it”
(Mal3:10).
a. An Offering Taken. After the message I asked the people, “if I had preached on salvation this morning, what would you expect me to do next?”
They said, “You would give the sinners a chance to get saved.”
I asked again, “If I had preached on healing this morning, what would you expect me to do next?”
They replied, “You would pray for the sick and give them a chance to get healed.”
I continued, “I’ve preached on giving this morning — what should I do?”
“Take an offering!” they shouted. So that is what I did.
When it came in and was counted, it totaled one thousand two hundred dollars.
This was six. times as much as the first offering, and it all was given “by those poor Papua New Guinea people.”
I said to the leaders, “You see! The reason the people are not giving is because they are waiting for you to teach them the Word of God. ‘Faith comes by hearing… the word of God‘(Rom 10:17). When their faith is released, they will give.”
I repeated this demonstration in a second church in a rural area with the same results. The leaders were amazed how big the offerings were when the people gave in faith.
b. Double Tithe. God challenged me to give a double tithe (20 percent of my personal income) when I was getting about ten dollars a week as a preacher.
Through that experience, I learned the principles I have just shared with you. God kept His word to me. He blessed me, my family and the ministry with so many miracles of His provision — I could not recount them all.
2. The Measure Of Our Giving
The greatest giver in the Bible was a little widow who only had two mites (about one penny) — and she gave it. Jesus said, “… this poor widow has given more than all the rest of them combined” (Luke 21:3). God measures our giving by what we have left, not what we put in the offering.
I have seen many church leaders who want their members to give to support them and the church. But they do not tithe or give offerings.
They complain about how short of money they are all the time. No wonder! They will never have the blessings promised to the givers until they practice what they preach.
Covetousness can easily overtake us if we don’t learn this important principle in Kingdom economics: “Give and it shall be given unto you!”
If we hold on to our lives, we will surely lose them (Luke 17:33), and if we hold onto our money, we will end up losing that too. By giving away what we have we will experience God’s increase as never before.
Many of us have very little because we are not generous with what we have. Jesus says , “give and it shall be given unto you. ” There is no better way to overcome covetousness than by learning to be generous with what you have.
Our attitude toward money is all-important. If we are faithful to learn and observe some basic principles of Kingdom economics, we will begin to see our money problems disappear.
a. All Money Is God’s. “The earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof!” (Ps 24:1; 50:12).
“The silver is mine, and the gold is mine says the Lord” (Hag 2:8).
Even the money that the sinners have ultimately belongs to God and will one day be turned over to the people of God (Hag 2:8; Prov 13:22; 28:8). God made everything of value and has never abdicated that ownership.
In this fallen, sin-dominated world, most wealth is controlled by sinners. This is because the world systems are under the control of wicked spiritual authorities. But one day God will speak a word and all of the world’s wealth will be poured into God’s Kingdom.
b. God Gives The Money.
The Lord has assured us that He will provide for His children’s needs, including food, clothing, shelter, and all essential life requirements. Our work is a form of service to Him, as He grants us the jobs we have to sustain our income.
The resources we receive are intended to help us fulfill His purpose on Earth. It is our responsibility to manage the money entrusted to us wisely, as diligent stewards.
However, we often reverse this principle: we tend to love money and use people, whereas God wants us to love people and use money. Imagine the profound impact if we all allowed the Lord to guide our financial choices. If each of us Christians committed to working diligently and earning income to share generously with one another, there would be no lack among God’s people anywhere!
c. Either God Or Our Love Of Money Will Determine How We Live And Minister. Some preachers will preach only because they know they will get paid.
This is what Jesus called a “hireling” in John 10. A “hireling” does what he does for pay. He has no commitment to the sheep under his care. He only cares about the money.
Nothing is more unethical. Nothing is more corrupting than such tactics — and they are very widespread.
Such practices quickly identify the “hirelings” and the “hirers” — and both shall take the mark of the beast. “…No man might buy [hire] or sell [hireling] except he that had the mark… of the beast” (Rev 13:17).
“And I saw thrones, and they that sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them… who had not worshipped the beast… neither had received his mark… and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years” (Rev 20:4).
1) No Hirelings. There will be no hirers nor hirelings in (hat holy ruling company. These religious “traders” will be part of the dead who live again when the thousand years are over. They will be raised at that time to give account before Him,
“who judges the living and the dead. ”
Paul asked, “Who is qualified to preach the gospel?” He answered his question in these words, “Only those who, like ourselves, are men of integrity, sent by God, speaking with Christ’s power.
“We are not like those hucksters — and there are many of them — whose idea
in getting out the gospel is to make a good living at it” (2Cor 3:17 tlb).
So many want to make a “trade” of the Word of God.
Zechariah prophesied of a glorious day when “every container in Jerusalem and Judah shall be sacred to the Lord Almighty; all who come to worship may use any of them free of charge to boil their sacrifices in; there will be no more grasping traders in the Temple of the Lord Almighty” (Zech 14:21).
Corrupt priests in Zechariah’s time made “deals” with local merchants to sell
“officially sanctified” animals and boiling pots in which to prepare the sacrifices to be offered in the Temple. The corrupt priests got a “percentage” of every sale.
It was against these corrupt traders that Zechariah (and five centuries later, Jesus) railed.
At no time did Jesus display such anger as He did against those who were ” buying and selling in the Temple. ” He took whips and drove them out. “My house shall be called a house of prayer… but ye have made it a den of thieves” (Mark 11:17).
At the beginning and at the end of His ministry, Jesus purified the Temple by driving out the “traders.” I believe that is prophetic of the Church age. At the beginning of the Church age, the Lord dealt very harshly with this (Ananias and Sapphira — Acts 5).
I expect to see His judgments falling on the “traders” in these last days at the conclusion of the Church age.
So, leaders — BEWARE! “The times of this ignorance, God winked at, but now
commandeth all men, everywhere, to repent! “(Acts 17:30).
National church leaders and evangelists, don’t sell your gift to anybody, no matter what he is willing to pay you. A true man of God will always say to the “hirers,” “Thy money perish with thee, because thou hast thought that the gift of God may be purchased with money” (Acts 8:20).
2) Seek First The Kingdom.
God will provide for you. When you “seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, all your needs will be met” (Matthew 6:33). While it’s true that a worker deserves their pay, they should never act merely as a hired hand. A genuine shepherd is willing to sacrifice for their flock, unlike a hireling who abandons the sheep at the first sign of danger (see John 10:12,13).
This principle applies not only to church leaders but to all Christians. Many believers make decisions about their careers and living situations based solely on financial incentives, rather than prioritizing God’s kingdom and His will in these aspects of their lives. Jesus pointed out that this perspective mirrors that of unbelievers and is ultimately sinful. If you’re choosing this path, you risk missing out on God’s true purpose for you.
4. God Loves To Bless Us
Jesus taught that when we prioritize His Kingdom, He will provide for our needs. While He may put us to the test for a time, those who make Him and His Kingdom their top priority will ultimately receive His blessings.
God desires for us to thrive in every aspect of our lives (3 John 2).
However, many of us hinder our financial prosperity by neglecting fundamental principles of money management. One reason some struggle with poverty is their reluctance to contribute to God’s work, fearing that giving towards the gospel will leave them worse off.
Genuine financial freedom is achieved when we manage our resources according to God’s guidance.
a. Practice Kingdom Principles.
Conversely, church leaders in some of the poorest regions of the world are witnessing God’s blessings manifesting in increased financial resources for themselves and their communities.
Why is this happening? It’s because they adhere to Kingdom finance principles, as previously discussed, by giving joyfully and sacrificially.
The first step towards this transformation is to begin tithing to your local church or evangelist fund. If there is currently no opportunity for others to contribute, initiate that opportunity. Shift your prayers from requests centered on personal desires to prayers that seek God’s blessings for others. Isn’t this what James alludes to when he states,
“You ask and do not receive because you ask with wrong motives, so that you may spend it on your pleasures” (James 4:3)?
God will not fulfill our requests for additional financial resources if our intention is solely for personal gain. He will only entrust us with greater abundance when we have repented from selfishness and embraced a spirit of generosity.
E. CONCLUSION
Covetousness is akin to idolatry because when our lives are dominated by greed, we prioritize our own interests above all else.
This leads us to follow the desires of our flesh rather than the guidance of the Lord God. Engaging in covetousness subtly places something before God in our lives; we prioritize our desires over His and those of others, inadvertently aligning ourselves with Mammon.
We must confront this truth: our covetousness is directly proportional to the extent that we allow the love of money to control us. This love is the root of various evils. When we allow money to dictate our actions, we neglect to listen to God.
If we don’t let God teach us how to manage our finances, we open ourselves to the influence of evil. The economic landscape of this world thrives on covetousness, with many conflicts stemming from nations’ greed and most crimes arising from individuals satisfying their own greed at the cost of others.
Society is often divided based on differing economic perspectives, but Christians can escape the world’s financial control by adhering faithfully to God’s economic principles.
Let’s briefly revisit these principles:
1. Choose to Serve God, Not Mammon!
Jesus made it clear: “You cannot serve God and Mammon.” You must make a choice between the two. Resolve that finances will not dictate your decisions. Treat your finances as a matter of prayer, just as you would any other aspect of your life and ministry.
2. Confront the Love of Money Head-On!
“The love of money is the root of all sorts of evil” (1 Timothy 6:10).
The more you harbor a love for money, the more evil you will encounter in your life. Loving money exposes you to demonic influences associated with it. Paul urges Timothy, “flee from these things, O man of God” (1 Timothy 6:11).
3. Commit to Living by God’s Financial Principles!
True financial freedom comes from obeying the Son, who truly liberates us! Begin to operate from a Kingdom perspective by unwaveringly following God’s principles:
Give!
“Give and it shall be given unto you!” Make a firm decision to break the cycle of poverty through tithing, regardless of your financial situation.
Ten percent belongs to God, and neglecting to give it steadily will invite the “devourer” to claim it, along with penalties. Additionally, free-will offerings play a vital role in the giving God expects from us. Be generous to others, and in turn, God will be generous to you.
4. Avoid Being a Hireling!
Follow the Lord’s guidance rather than succumbing to the pressures of those who may corrupt your ministry. Maintain your faith; God is faithful and will supply all your needs.
Do not let financial incentives dictate your lifestyle or ministry. Serve God wholeheartedly, not money! We can only serve one master. Will it be Jesus or Mammon? The choice is yours, as you cannot serve both.
Prayer: Lord Jesus, I am grateful for Your faithfulness and the assurance that You will provide everything I need for life and godliness.
Thank You for revealing that serving money equates to serving Satan. I affirm now that You alone are my God, and I choose to trust You for all my needs. I know You will meet all my requirements as I commit to serving You with my finances.
Lord, grant me the strength and grace to uphold this commitment to Your will. Thank you for guiding me towards true financial freedom. In Jesus’ Name, Amen!
