I’m currently in a season of life where I work from home for a Christian company. I also live in an area that is predominantly French-speaking. (My neighbor can’t say “hello” in English. My conversational French is, to put it mildly, weak. The only unsaved person I know with whom I can speak English is my esthetician (and she will be saved soon).
It’s often frustrating for me, because I want to be a soul-winner. But instead of making excuses or complaining that I don’t have any opportunities, I can decide to do something about it. (Other than buying Rosetta Stone to try and learn French properly). I can choose to sow into ministries who are getting the gospel out to more people in a day than I’ll encounter in a year.
“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 .” – I Timothy 6:10
Money is a contentious issue in the church, because for some reason, we tend to have a poverty mindset. That is, when it comes to offerings and giving, not in our personal lives, because I doubt any anti-prosperity teachers are living in cardboard boxes and searching for food in the dumpster.
Any preacher who talks about giving money, or how God wants to bless us, is immediately labeled a heretic and a false teacher. Is that because the Bible really does teach against prosperity? Or is it because we love our money so much that we need to find a reason not to have to give it away.
Are there individuals who abuse their position of ministry, and manipulate people to give money for their own personal gain? There are, but that doesn’t mean we should abandon the principles of scripture.
“Those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction.” – 1 Timothy 6:9
The love of money and the desire to gain riches in order to satisfy ourselves and hoard it unto ourselves and become so obsessed that we begin to use dishonest means is certainly wrong. I’m not debating that. But the Biblical principal of prosperity has nothing to do with loving money or making it an idol.
“He who loves money will not be satisfied with money, nor he who loves abundance with its income. This too is vanity.” – Ecclesiastes 5:10
When you desire wealth for selfish reasons, you’ll never have enough. The rich young ruler valued his money and his possessions more than he valued his salvation. The funny thing is, ministers who encourage giving are essentially telling you to give your money away to the Kingdom of God, and yet so many Christians will refuse to give, in the name of avoiding “false teaching”.
“Honor the Lord with your wealth, with the firstfruits of all your crops; then your barns will be filled to overflowing, and your vats will brim over with new wine.” – Proverbs 3:9-10
“Those TV Evangelists, all they want is your money.” Have you ever stopped to wonder why? Again, I’m not arguing that there are some dishonest people out there and we need to be mindful of where we’re investing.
“Whoever is kind to the poor lends to the Lord, and he will reward them for what they have done.” – Proverbs 19:17
“They’re always talking about getting rewards for giving, and that’s not what it’s about.” You’ll have to take that up with God.
“Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the LORD Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it.” – Malachi 3:10
“But tithing isn’t for today.” Of course we would try to find proof in the Bible that would justify us not giving. That way we’ll have more left over to invest in Starbucks, or Netflix, or Disney+. Instead of trying to find reasons why we don’t need to give anymore, shouldn’t we be looking for reasons why we should?
Jesus talked numerous times about giving, and sacrificial giving. The early church didn’t whine and say, do I have to give? Rather, they gave generously and without complaint. They saw it as a blessing to bless others. Jesus rebuked the Pharisees for using their tithe as a form of religious advancement, rather than seeking internal change. But he still made a point that tithing is necessary.
Again, this comes down to a condition of the heart. The Bible says, “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” (Matthew 6:21). If you love your money, you’ll want to spend it on yourself and your own needs. If you understand that all money comes from God, you’ll have no trouble investing it back into His Kingdom.
“You may say to yourself, “My power and the strength of my hands have produced this wealth for me.” But remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth, and so confirms his covenant, which he swore to your ancestors, as it is today.” – Deuteronomy 8:17-18
Nobody wants to feel bound to give their money away, so they mask it in skepticism. Yes, the Bible does warn us a lot about being careful not to chase wealth, and not to be obsessed with gaining money. But that’s because it can easily become an idol, and it can easily ruin our lives. That fact doesn’t change the reality that God wants to bless you. That is the principle of sowing and reaping.
“Give, and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For with the measure you use it will be measured back to you.” – Luke 6:38
“For I command you today to love the Lord your God, to walk in obedience to him, and to keep his commands, decrees and laws; then you will live and increase, and the Lord your God will bless you in the land you are entering to possess.” – Deuteronomy 30:16
“The Lord is my shepherd, I do not lack anything.” – Psalm 23:1
Why should the wicked be the ones who have all the wealth? If you barely have enough money to survive, how is that helping anyone? The early church had so much that they could give away everything and still be blessed for themselves.
True ministers don’t want your money for themselves. But everything costs money. Travel, accommodations, food, supplies. Either you want to see the gospel advanced on the earth or you don’t. If you’re able to witness to thousands of people each week on your own, great. But for the rest of us, we need to sow into ministries that get the gospel out. We need to sow into ministries that help the poor and needy. We need to sow into programs and projects that help advance churches.
“The blessing of the Lord brings wealth, without painful toil for it.” – Proverbs 10:22
The resistance to prosperity only exists when it comes to Christians. Nobody cares how much money athletes and celebrities have. No, we just pour our own money into their bank accounts, but then if a Pastor asks for anything, how dare he!
“For land that has drunk the rain that often falls on it, and produces a crop useful to those for whose sake it is cultivated, receives a blessing from God.” – Hebrews 6:7
“But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ Your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” – Matthew 6:30-33
“And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus.” – Philippians 4:19
God doesn’t want you poor. He just wants you to value Him more than you value material things. And how does that happen? By investing into the Kingdom. The result will be blessings from God, because He loves us, and He wants to give us good things. Don’t resist that truth. If you sow, you’ll have more than enough to finance the work of the Lord on the earth, and live in abundance. Either you’re giving your money to God, or you’re giving it to the devil.
* Great Bible-believing ministries to give to: Salvation Now, Revival Today, Lost Lamb. *
