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The bleak picture ascribed to the rich in the world, in the book of James, need not be yours. But, it is what can happen when God, and His perspective finds no place in a person’s life. And the words of the apostle describe it by saying, Come now, you rich, weep and howl, for your miseries that are coming upon you ! Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are moth eaten. Indeed the wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, cry out, and the cries of the reapers have reached the ears of the Lord of Sabbath. This happens because of a lack of understanding and application of the truth of God’s word that says, For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sake He became poor, so that through His poverty, you may become rich. [2 Corinthians 8:9].
And progressing in this truth, grace also teaches you how to handle it rightly. Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age. [Titus 2:12] Receiving the word, to apply it in your life, brings about a change in your character that reflects in your handling of finances, for it is to bring about an increase in good works that the grace of God comes to you. As the word declares, He is able to make all grace abound towards you, so that having all sufficiency in all things you will abound in every good work. [2 Corinthians 9:8] A godly channelling of the resources, that come to you by His grace, is what will enable you to avoid the pitfalls of the enemy, that can make you stumble in the path of God’s will for you.
Having a right perspective therefore, one that is in line with the word of God is vitally important when it comes to giving, in giving to God, giving to others, and in satisfying one’s own desires. It all begins with God, who has given you all things. Acknowledging the truth of it, you give to God to,
1. Honor Him by giving Him the first and the very best
2. Worship Him, by bringing to Him an offering
3. As an expression of your faith, for sowing into God’s kingdom cannot be done without faith in Him, and
4. Showing compassion, and thereby reflecting the very nature of God.
Compassion is the key to miracles it has been said, for it does not stop with praying for those in need, but goes on to contribute towards the removal of the need. The home of the one who gives in compassion, distributing freely to the poor, enjoys the blessing of God, and his righteousness endures forever, are the words of the psalmist, one that Paul later on quotes in his letter to the Corinthians. [Psalms 112, 2 Corinthians 9:9] And, giving to God, the offering that you bring to Him, is not merely about the amount. It is all about your attitude too, for what can you bring to a God,who is the Creator and Possessor of all things ?!
The attitude of obedience :
While through the proof of this ministry, they glorify God for the obedience of your confession to the gospel of Christ, and for your liberal sharing with them and all men. [2 Corinthians 9:13] Giving with the right attitude, the attitude of obedience becomes possible only as the confession of the gospel of Christ in you. It witnesses to your salvation, which is God’s saving work of grace in you. Paul explains it in the letter to the Corinthians to encourage them in their giving of their finances, and it is true in every aspect of your life in which you need to give to God and to others. It could be your time, your skill, your talent whatever it may be. There is a vast difference between sowing and burying, for one brings life and the other leads to death. And, in God’s kingdom, the principle of operation is always sowing and reaping.
Why is the attitude of obedience important ?
Obedience to God and His word, need to be the basis for giving, because it was the entrance of sin that birthed in man the rebellious and sinful nature, one that refuses to walk in obedience, and in fact is unable to submit to God. And, it is the work of redemption in you, all by the grace of God that sets you free to walk in the ways of God, by resisting the devil and saying ‘no’ to sin and temptation. Man choosing to play God in his life and also trying to do it in the world around him is the picture of sin. He is then the ‘fool’ that the Bible refers to. It is not the man with the low IQ ! The fool says in his heart, that there is no God, is the description of the fool of the Bible !
And, it is when you receive the gracious gift of salvation by faith and God does His work of grace in you, that you are able to obey what He says to you. And by your giving in an attitude of obedience is displayed the truth that the gospel of Christ is working in and through you. Therefore, it is a character issue that is much more than an act of philanthropic charity that the people of the world indulge in, for many reasons, both good and bad. It is not about negating or downplaying such work either, but with God the attitude of your heart matters. And, when right way of living and giving is there, one that is according to His good and perfect will, you will find that God’s resources that come to you will never be exhausted. But, how easily things can go disastrously wrong even in a man selected by God for a high office, can be seen in the life of King Saul, in the tragic consequences of his act of disobedience.
‘To obey is better than sacrifice..’ :
Saul obeyed, but not completely, for after his victory over the Amalekites he kept back a few of the best of the flock, when God’s instruction was to destroy the Amalekites and all that belonged to them completely. He brought back Agag, the King of the Amalekites, and his men spared the best of the cattle and sheep, to destroy only the worthless ones. And, it was all done to offer as a sacrifice unto God, was the righteous cover up that Saul attempted to put forth to Samuel, after the bleating of sheep exposed his disobedience ! It is what people tend to do even now, by saying that ungodly ways of acquiring money are not wrong, for it is after all going to be used only in things pertaining to God’s purposes in His church. Or they could say that, money coming wrongly into your hands, becomes righteous and legal, when you give a percentage of it to the church ! It does not work that way with God though.
For, Samuel put a stop to the lame excuses of Saul, in words both abrupt and clear. He pointed out the truth underlying the act, and also its consequence. [1 Samuel 15:10-24] And, step by step, from then on, the life of Saul plunged into a path of destruction that saw the kingdom taken away from his hand. It proved to be a very costly mistake in Saul’s life, teaching very clearly, that God is not impressed by the person who trusts in his money. ‘Come now, you rich, weep and howl’, are the words of the apostle James to such a person. But your life need not be so. Your heart, and what is in your heart, your heart attitude is very precious and important to God. He loves you ! The God who is rich in love and mercy, is never unreasonable in what He asks you and I to do. His commandments are never burdensome, and they are always for your good and mine.
Rebellion &stubbornness – witchcraft & idolatry :
Samuel spoke to Saul, giving understanding of the truth of God, to bring clarity in him, concerning spiritual principles that govern the unseen world, for God never does anything arbitrarily, without any rhyme or reason. ‘Has the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord ? Behold to obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams’. [1 Samuel 15:22] It was not money or currency, but cattle, sheep and the fruit of their hands that people brought unto God then as an offering.
But, obeying the word of God is in itself a sacrificial offering unto Him. And, heeding the voice of God in itself implies hearing and doing what it says, or in essence obeying it. It is why the Lord as He taught the multitudes, took care to establish the importance of obeying or doing according to the word that they heard, by saying, ‘He who has ears let him hear’. Hearing in God’s sight never stops with just hearing, but on the other hand, implied in it is also obedience. And, it is seen by God, in the offering that you give to Him.
The other side of the coin ! :
There is a negative side to it, a truth that is revealed when a person walks in disobedience, or partial obedience, which is also disobedience, just as Saul did. For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry.. [vs 23] Covetousness or greed is idolatry, declares the word of God. [Colossians 3:5] Idolatry is in other words godlessness, where the place that He needs to be, is replaced by something else. And, often it can be money, as a person replaces his trust in God, with a trust and dependence on his financial strength. And both cannot co exist together. It is why the Lord has clearly warned about the impossibility of serving two masters. And when you are serving God, when He is your Master, you will become His son. But with money as your master, you will be its slave. In our nation it is so painfully true even today; one that becomes very obvious on witnessing the plight of the bonded laborers, who are literally made to work as slaves, by the masters who had initially given or lent them some money, in their time of dire need.
But, this can happen to anyone in any strata of society, and not just to the poor, is what the Bible makes clear, for in an eagerness to become rich quickly and unjustly, you can end up piercing yourself with many sorrows. For, money will become a snare that deceives you, as you lust after it, replacing your trust in God with a trust in your wealth, possessions and money. The apostle Paul’s somber warning to Timothy remains fresh and true even today, to speak into your heart and mine, teaching us to keep away from the love of money, which is the root of all evil. [1 Timothy 6:9,10]To search and seek after God, and Him only, needs to be the agenda of your life, as you fight the good fight of faith. Running after money, and trusting in it, will find you drifting away from God, who is the source of all good things that need to be in your life. King Saul was the king, chosen by God. But he rejected God’s word to him. It was a betrayal of his trust in God, and in that sense it was idolatry. And, his act of disobedience that followed, one that he tried to justify instead of repenting, led to him being rejected by God, from ruling over His chosen people. For, when you honor God, He honors you. But when you do not honor Him, it in itself becomes dishonor. [1 Samuel 15:23] It was a heavy price to pay indeed, as Saul pierced himself with many sorrows, to ultimately come to bitter and tragic end in his life.
And, even in the life of the rich young ruler, who came to Lord Jesus with the right question, the Lord loved him and corrected him. [Mark 10:21] How beautifully it shows the need that needs to be in your heart and mine, not to disobey His word to us by justifying our action, or foisting the blame on others, but in repentance come out from trusting in worthless idols, that can lead us to forfeiting the grace that could be ours ! ‘Lead me in the everlasting way’. Your prayer therefore, needs to be that of the psalmist, that He would reveal all that is wrong within you, and lead you in the everlasting way. For, when He shows you the place where you need to change yourself, He will also show you how you can rectify yourself in that area, and empower you to come in alignment with His word, and His specific will for your life. And, if left unaddressed, the wrong attitude in you will end up causing harm not just to yourself, but also harm others, as it happened in the life of Jonah in his journey of disobedience, that saw him ultimately being thrown into the sea !
Idolatry therefore, is not just about bowing before a work of stone. It is a trust issue ! The rich young man went away sad, because he trusted in his possessions, and could not part with it. [Mark 10:22] In management parlance, it has been said that, you cannot keep on doing something in the same manner, and expect to get a different result. Therefore, you need to change yourself and your attitude sometimes, in order to put an end to your problem. And, for justifying your own ways to end, it may take a long time. And, obedience may need to happen in any area of your life, not necessarily only in the financial realm, before God can lift you higher in life, to the next level.
When the disciples were surprised on hearing the Lord say that it is difficult for the rich to enter the kingdom of God, and Peter started pondering on their own fate, the Lord lovingly reassured them to clarify and to give a right understanding of the truth, that it is those who put their trust in their riches, who will end up becoming like those whom the apostle James describes. And, just as Saul’s obedience was partial, so was Ananias and Sapphira’s in the early church. And, their lie stood exposed before the Spirit of Truth ! [Acts 5:1-11] But, how different it was in the life of Zaccheus, who repented of what he had done unjustly in his eagerness to acquire wealth. He was able to receive the Lord into his heart and into his home joyfully, and to hear the Lord proclaim the blessing of salvation upon his house. [Luke 19:1-10] And, being obedient to the gospel of Christ was seen in his words of giving, when he said that he would restore fourfold all that he had taken wrongly.
Obedience to the gospel & giving – the connection :
What you give, is a proof for the obedience of your confession to the gospel of Christ in you. It is the immeasurably deep revelation truth that Paul declares, one that can touch you and transform you, as you meditate upon it. God never asks you to do anything that He has not done for you already. It remains forever the majestic truth of redemption and love, before which all of humanity can only bow and surrender in wondrous awe. God so loved the world that He gave His Only Begotten Son, to die for our sins on the Cross that you and I may have eternal life. [John 3:16] And, in his letter to the Philippian church, Paul declares that you can have the mind of Christ.
And, what is the mind of Christ ?
The glorious passage in the same epistle, describes it in brilliant and specific detail, to say, And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself to become obedient to the point of death, even death on the Cross. [Philippians 2:8] It was death, and a death that was shameful to the core. And, it was for you and I, He carried the sins of the whole world, that now, you too can say like Paul, ‘He loved me and gave Himself for me’. [Galatians 2:20] And, it was because He was obedient to His Father’s will, in the giving of Himself, that today you have received the gospel, or the good news of Christ.
Gospel – the good news of Christ :
Gospel is the good news of Jesus Christ; what He has done, what He is doing now, and what He is going to do in the future. He has on the Cross of Calvary, carried away all your sin and curse, and provided all that you will ever need in your life, to walk in victorious freedom. And now, His Spirit is in you, healing you, and He is with you, that you may appropriate all that He has accomplished for you on the Cross of Calvary, through the one perfect sacrifice. Finally, He is preparing for you a home in heaven, and is going to come back once again in glory to take you to be with Him forever, It would be the redemption of your physical body, resurrected in greater glory, never to die again. Instead of trusting in such a God, trusting in money is idolatry. And, giving to such a God is a reflection of your obedience and love for Him, as you bring to Him a free will offering.
Free will offering – expression of obedience and love :
Before the Cross, you had no option but to sin. [Romans 8:7]. But on the Cross, it is for freedom that Christ has set you free. [Galatians 5:1] And you now have the freedom to say ‘no’ to sin, for the rebellious sinful fleshly nature has no dominion over you. Therefore, what you bring to God now, is out of your own free will, and testifies towards your salvation, the gospel of Christ in you, for it comes out of your obedience and love, and not out of compulsion. [2 Corinthians 9:7] It is not about the amount; it is the spirit with which you give, knowing that giving to Him is a privilege; it is an attitude of obedience and love that pleases God. Giving to a God, who has given Himself for you, in love and obedience towards His Father’s will, can be nothing but a privilege ! Living for Christ is a privilege. Christ living in you is a great and precious privilege.
And, the more you understand the truth of His giving, the more obedient you will become to His will in giving to Him. Obedience to God is always an indicator of your spiritual maturity. It comes through growth and excellence, as the more you obey, the more mature you become. And, the more mature you become, the more you will obey. And through it all will be your love for the Lord, who has laid down His life for you in love. God indeed loves the cheerful giver.
Growing in maturity and obedience :
Abraham, was the man called out by God, and began his walk with God in a step of obedience, that progressed with growing maturity, in a close and personal covenant relationship, that God Himself entered into with him. And step by step, Abraham grew more and more in his obedience to God and in his maturity, until when asked to offer up his son as a sacrifice on Mount Moriah, he had the confidence to declare in obedience, that God will take care of it all,for He is Jehovah Jireh. [Genesis chapter 12 – chapter 22] In your life too, step by step as you grow in your walk, in your relationship with God, in obedience and love, you will be able to say in the coming days that, He who did not spare His own Son, but gave Him up for us all, will He not together with Him freely and graciously give us all things ? [Romans 8:32] ‘I know in whom I have believed’ will be your confident assurance too, saying, ‘I am thoroughly persuaded that He is well able to guard all that I have entrusted to Him, until the day of Christ Jesus’. [2 Timothy 1:12] As Paul has declared, you may have given in the midst of your suffering, but you will not be put to shame. When you give to Him, it is a place of security.
Children are your inheritance from God; and like Hannah you can say, ‘For this child I prayed, and the Lord has given him to me; and therefore I give him back to the Lord, for as long as he shall live’. [1 Samuel 1:28] David offered himself to the Lord, saying, ‘I give myself to You, for You have given life to me’. The Savior Himself, on the Cross offered up His life unto His Father, and He was not disappointed, for God raised Him up on the third day in a glorious resurrection, and He is seated now at His Father’s right Hand interceding for us as the High Priest of our confession. The loving Father who loves you with an everlasting love will guard all that you have offered and entrusted into His hand, to make everything beautiful in its time.
It is not about the amount, but about your obedience. Let all disobedience depart therefore from within you, as you submit, surrender and offer unto Him yourself, your spirit, soul and body, and all that is yours. And, when you know, believe and offer to the Lord in obedience, and the love that you have for Him, surely it will all end well, surely there is a future, and your hope will not be cut off. Give thanks unto the Father, for enabling you to give, as you submit yourself to Him. And thank Him for keeping perfectly and completely safe, all that you trust and obey to give unto Him, acknowledging that you have received it all from His loving hands.
In the Name of Christ Jesus Amen.
