In Ephesians 4:24, Paul speaks that every Christian should endeavor to "put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness." He then describes the kind of changes that should be seen in the life of a growing Christian. One of those changes is that a Christian who is pursuing righteousness and holiness will have a different attitude toward his treasure than does the rest of the world.
"There are three conversions necessary: the conversion of the heart, mind and purse. Of these three, the conversion of the purse is most difficult." - Martin Luther
Perhaps the reason for this is that the devil knows that if he can get us to keep us from giving management of our income to the Lord, he has us where he wants us. The Bible says that the love of money leads to,
A. Dissatisfaction in life - "Whoever loves money never has money enough; whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with his income. This too is meaningless." - Ecclesiastes 5:10 (NIV)
B. Divided loyalty - "No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money." - Matthew 6:24 (NIV)
C. Disregard for God’s truth - "The Pharisees, who loved money, heard all this and were sneering at Jesus." - Luke 16:14 (NIV)
D. Disqualification for service - "Now the overseer must be above reproach, the husband of but one wife, temperate, self-controlled, espectable, hospitable, able to teach, not given to drunkenness, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money." - 1 Timothy 3:2-4 (NIV)
E. Disaster in our Christian walk - "For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs." - 1 Timothy 6:10 (NIV)
It’s no wonder then that the writer of Hebrews tells us, "Keep your lives free from the love of money" (Hebrews 13:5).
Though money is a necessary part of our daily existence, it should not be what rules our lives. Christ should rule our lives!
It is important that we understand what our Lord has to say about the stewardship of our treasure. Rather than having money to be the focus of our lives, the Lord ought to be the focus of our lives.
If Christ is the focus of my life, then I will . . .
1. Be Industrious -
A. Demonstrate Character -
“He who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work . . ."
When it comes to earning an income, we must focus on demonstrating character. The Christian should not be a drain on the income of others. The Christian should not seek to take advantage of others, depending on their industry, while they remain idle. Instead, the child of God should seek to earn an honest living - to pay their own way.
1) A Christian should earn the means to live -
Paul would have us understand that there is inherent value in earning an honest living. Hard work reflects honest character. Every Christian should demonstrate character by earning the means to live.
"Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business and to work with your hands, just as we told you, so that your daily life may win the respect of outsiders and so that you will not be dependent on anybody." - 1 Thessalonians 4:11-12 (NIV)
"For even when we were with you, we gave you this rule: ’If a man will not work, he shall not eat.’ We hear that some among you are idle. They are not busy; they are busybodies." - 2 Thessalonians 3:10-11 (NIV)
Again, hard work reflects honest character and brings glory to Christ!
Several years ago in the South African territory of Kwa-Zulu, the government dug irrigation ditches on both sides of a river. This allowed the rich land to be farmed. The Christian Zulus on one side of the river produced lush crops and prospered. The traditional animist worshipers on the other side continued to live in abject poverty, producing almost nothing on the same kind of soil. Why? The Christians believed they were responsible before God to work hard and live soberly. Their pagan neighbors, on the other hand, viewed work as the women’s responsibility, while the men spent their time drinking and fighting.
The contrast that developed between the Christians and the animists in Kwa-Zulu is a contrast that should be repeated the world over as Christians commit themselves to earning an honest living. When a Christian earns the means to live, God is honored, as his hard work reveals honest character.
2) A Christian should endeavor to live within their means -
A chief sin of the church today is covetousness. God promises to provide everything essential for a productive & fulfilling life. But the devil has succeeded in getting many Christians be mixed up about their wants and needs. As a result, many live beyond their means, and God’s money is used to service debt rather than serve Him. Here are some questions to ask in discerning between a want and a need:
1. Am I spending for need or for convenience?
2. Why do I want this item?
3. Does the item have to be purchased now or could it wait?
4. What will become of me if I don’t make this purchase? Will I die?
5. What is the purpose of this purchase? Is there a less expensive way to accomplish this purpose?
6. What would Jesus do if He were in my shoes? Would He make the purchase?
7. What prompted me to consider the purchase of this item?
8. Am I only purchasing because this is such a "good deal?"
(From “Conquering Debt God’s Way” by Bruce Ammons)
B. Develop Competence -
". . . doing something useful with his own hands . . ."
The Christian should pursue competence over compensation. Our ultimate desire should not be to earn a big paycheck, but to earn the respect of others, and ultimately, the praise of our Lord.
"Slaves, obey your earthly masters in everything; and do it, not only when their eye is on you and to win their favor, but with sincerity of heart and reverence for the Lord. Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving." - Colossians 3:23-24 (NIV)
Remember who you work for. In his book, The Longest Day, Cornelius Ryan relates the experiences of many American soldiers involved in the D-day invasion of Europe. He tells that by war’s end Ranger Bill Petty had fought across France and through Germany. He earned two Silver Stars, but he gave both away. "I didn’t fight for medals," he said.
When the days are long, when your critics are loud, when the pay is low, when the work is laborious, remember who you-work for. You’re not working for medals. You work for the Lord. If one day you hear him say, "Well done, thou good and faithful servant" (Matt. 25:21), it will be reward enough.
But if we are to be rewarded by the Lord, we must pursue competence in the work we do. There are four levels of competence:
Level 1: I am unconsciously incompetent - I don’t know what I don’t know. The boss needs to provide me to with Motivation.
Level 2: I am consciously incompetent - I know what I don’t know. The boss needs to provide me to with Information.
Level 3: I am consciously competent - I know what I know. The boss needs to provide me to with Affirmation.
Level 4: I am unconsciously competent - I don’t know what I know. The boss needs to provide me to with Appreciation.
A Christian should be inspired to be as competent as possible by his relationship with the Lord, who is, after all, his real boss! He can provide me with the motivation, information, affirmation, and appreciation I need to be the most competent worker for Him I can!
If I seek to be a competent worker for the Lord’s glory, He will see to it that I will be rewarded, because, quite frankly, there seems to more incompetence than competence nowadays.
This is because the world is filled with people who are more determined to assert their rights, rather than assume their responsibilities.
Richard L Evans, in his book An Open Road, said: "It is priceless to find a person who will take responsibility, who will finish and follow through to the final detail - to know when someone has accepted an assignment that it will be effectively, conscientiously completed."
Christians should seek to be the person most qualified for the job!
2. Be Generous -
". . . that he may have something to share -with those in need."
When it comes to the income I earn, I should focus on making a contribution. Pursue significance over success.
We spoke in this series about settling the Lordship issue with respect to sharing our testimony. Christ has given us our marching orders. We are to be witnesses for Him (Matthew 28: 18-20). There are three ways we can be involved in fulfilling the Great Commission:
A. With our lifestyle
B. With our lips
C. With our legacy
Thank God for the legacy left to us at First Baptist Church! Because of the faithfulness of past generations, who didn’t just think of how they could spend their income on themselves, but willingly made sacrifices that have made our present ministry possible, hundreds of people have had their lives changed by God! Now the torch has been passed to us. Now it is our job to continue with the fulfilling the Great Commission.
Obeying the Great Commission is not an option, though some Christians seem to think that it is. Often I hear Christians speak as if the size of our church is up to us. It really isn’t, if we are serious about obeying the Great Commission. Our job is to obey the Great Commission, and let God determine how large our church is to become.
In one of his sermons, John Maxwell said, “Many churches in America have decided to stop growing. The average size of the local churches in America is 75 people. The reason why that happens to be the average size isn’t because God loves 75. The reason that happens to be the average size is that for 75 people, you can have a couple of acres of ground somewhere, you can have a church building and pay a salary for a pastor, and have a part-time secretary, and you can survive.
75 is the level that a church can survive on so when they get to that level, when they have "us four and no more," they say, "Let’s stop growing, let’s not reach any more people, we’re all right, we’re O.K., we have our pastor, we have our church, we have our place to come, let’s let the rest of the world go to Hell! Who cares? We’ve got enough for ourselves.
In every age there comes a time when a church must come forward to meet the needs of the hour. Therefore, every church is given an opening to grow and reach more people. Sadly, not every church seizes the opportunity. Why? Because of selfishness, unwillingness to change, lack of commitment, or lack of leadership."
A pastor told his people he had good news and bad news. “The good news is that God has provided all the money we need to fund the ministry of our church,” he said. “The bad new is that it is still in your pockets.”
It sounds like that church is the kind of church that John Maxwell was talking about.
I don’t know about you, but that’s not the kind of church I want to be a part of. I want to be part of leaving the kind of legacy that says when it came to seeing people know Christ, I was willing to do whatever was necessary, and I willingly put my money where my mouth was!
How about you?
