Disappointment and Finances

“Money” by Dustin Moore (2007), shared under a Creative Commons Attribution license

Many teachers speak lies about God when they say he always promises material well-being to his children.  Others over-react by claiming we can’t really trust God’s promises of material prosperity (as though they are not promises but mere probabilities).  Both views contain a kernel of truth, and both views represent a mis-characterization of God’s promises.  Gods promises are true, yet he promises so much more than more stuff.

Again, my comments will follow the pattern described here.

Honor the Lord with your wealth
And with the firstfruits of all your produce;
Then your barns will be filled with plenty,
And your vats will be bursting with wine (Prov 3:9-10, ESV).

Command: Be generous with your stuff.

Consequence: You’ll have plenty of stuff to be generous with.

Our meager expectation: People who give money away (to help the poor or to support Christian ministries) deserve to receive stuff back from God.

God’s unbelievable reward: overflowing contentment.  Those who honor God with their wealth always have more to share.  Be careful here: God does not promise to multiply your possessions or increase your bank account balance.  The next section will make clear that wisdom’s riches are not the same thing as getting more money (Prov 3:13-18).  God’s promise here has more to do with contentment than with fortune (Prov 16:8).  For the wise, who honor the Lord, whatever they have will be enough (Prov 30:7-9).

Echoes: To give a picture of this financial contentment, God often lavishes his people with plenty of wealth (Gen 13:2, Ex 12:35-36).  But one’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.  If you expect God to reward your faithfulness (especially your generosity) with financial stability or excess, you will be disappointed.

Essence: Jesus’ most precious possession was his people (Heb 12:2), so he gave up everything else to win them (2 Cor 8:9, Phil 2:5-11).  Those who set their hope on worldly riches find only uncertainty and disappointment.  But those who set their hope on God find they already have everything they need, and plenty to share as well (1 Tim 6:17-19, Phil 4:10-20).  Beloved children of God see themselves as rich, no matter what their account statements say.  When God promises full barns and bursting vats, he doesn’t encourage love for riches, but love for Christ who is our bread and wine (Matt 26:26-29), our very life (Col 3:4).

How might Jesus’ poverty help you refashion your disappointment when you don’t have as much money as you’d like?