Money and Your Witness

The Bible is clear about the value God places on possessions in this world, through numerous instructions on wealth, poverty, riches, prosperity, commodities, and even skills. God is not against us having worldy wealth. He's against them having us. Jesus taught very plainly about money:

Luke 16:11 (AMP) "Therefore if you have not been faithful in the use of earthly wealth, who will entrust the true riches to you?"

In our witness to God, money plays an important role. Money becomes our servant when we realize this and plan accordingly. Putting money to work for the purposes of the Gospel is an amazing way to live. When we do this, we actually become co-laborers with God, and he rewards us tremendously for our willingness. Understanding the role of money in becoming a witness deserves an entire book. But here are three principles we can apply:

First, before we use our money in witness to the Gospel, we must first offer ourselves to God. Do not give your money to God if you have not given yourself. You must begin with yourself. You can not buy a good relationship with God. Once we have given ourselves to God, the giving of our money establishes our righteousness. That means whatever we do with money for God is now protected because we have put God first.

Second, our motives must be clear. Nothing has destroyed the Christian Ministry at every level, like financial scandals. Honest believers who loved God but had not yet had their hearts tested realized they didn't really know themselves. The time of testing came, and they failed woefully. It can happen to any of us. We must lay our hearts before the Father and ask him to purify it so that what began as a witness doesn't end up as an INC.

Finally, we must be faithful to the spirit of the story. When we do things God's way, we are bound to see some heavy results. The temptation arises to develop a legend for ministry. Legend in the sense that we create labels for ourselves: this is Jesus, those are angles, that is the supreme god and other innocent fantasies. They can become dangerous. Order and hierarchy matters. Excellent organizations have learned how to put them in their proper perspectives. Then we get to enjoy life on this planet, as we see God's original intentions and how far we strayed from those intentions as a race. It gives us confident expectations that there's more ahead.

#Grace

#Faith

#Love

#Gospel

#Goodworks