How God Uses Wealth (Including Money)

Debt Free Living God’s Way

By Bob Louder, Christian Post Contributor Thursday, March 15, 2007

Intro

According to the Bible, there are more than 70 different names for God and more than 150 different descriptions of God. The one you probably know best is the one Jesus gives you in the "Lord's Prayer." Here you find that you can call God your "Father." This should help you understand that God is not some genie in a bottle, or a stern taskmaster looking for some excuse to punish you. Rather, as your Father, you should recognize that He loves you and that He has a will, a plan, and a purpose for you. And sometimes God will use money to help bring about that will, that plan, and that purpose. Here are some examples. How many of these do you see operating in your life?

Examples of how God uses wealth (including money) in your life.

1. First, God may use money to allow you to determine your trust in Him. Luke 16:11 says, "So if you have not been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will trust you with true riches?" Be assured, God doesn't need this demonstration to know what's going on in your heart and your finances. The Holy Spirit keeps God informed second-by-second. This demonstration is not for God, it's for you. It's for you to demonstrate your trust to you so that you can see where you are spiritually. It's a thermometer for you to take and read your own spiritual temperature.

And you either trust Him or you don't. It's one thing to say you trust God. It can be quite another thing to actually have to trust God. For example, sometimes in counseling people say, "Sure I trust God, but I can't give up my credit cards. Why, I might have an emergency." When I hear this then look at their credit card spending habits, I feel like saying, "Boy, you sure have had some emergencies in your life!" But what emergency is too large for God to handle if we truly trust Him?

Do you trust God or do you just say that you trust God? God can and does use money to help you answer this question.

2. Sometimes God uses money to demonstrate His power both to you and to other people. The psalmist says, "…sacrifice unto God" (sacrifice means to give up your rights to God) "and pay your vows to the God most high..." (a vow is a promise). You are told to give up your rights and keep your promises, then you will have the right to call upon God in your day of trouble, and He will rescue you because it gives Him honor. He has the power to rescue you and he wants to demonstrate this power.

Remember when Jesus was teaching in the synagogue and listening was a man with a withered hand? Jesus said, "…stand up, stretch out your hand." As soon as the man stood up and reached out his hand, his hand was healed. Jesus released His power when the man acted–he stood up and reached out his hand in faith. God wants to demonstrate his power in your finances. One way to help put yourself in a position to receive this power is to step out in faith. How? One way is to start tithing. Get help to get on and stay on a spending plan. Decide, NO MORE DEBT. Cut up those credit cards. Step out in faith believing, and expect to see God's power working in your finances.

3. God can use money to unify the body of Christ. Paul said you are to share with others in your time of plenty and others will share with you in your time of need. I don't believe Paul was talking about socialism or communism. Paul was talking about oneness. He was talking about the unity that can exist in the Body of Christ if the Body of Christ will use money in ways pleasing to God.

I really love reading Paul. He used such a "soft pen" to teach the Word. On the other hand, James and John also taught the Word, but it seems to me that they didn't much care if you liked what they said or not! Theirs were much "harder pens." For example, James begins his letter by saying, "Hey, you dummies, what are you doing?" (Granted, that's a rather loose paraphrase, but it's the bottom line.) Paul, bless his heart, Paul begins writing to the Galatians about the same kind of problems that James was addressing. But Paul begins by saying, "Greetings in the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ and your loving brother Paul..." you dummies, what are you doing? Same message, just a softer pen.

The Holy Spirit tells you through Paul's soft pen, that God provides enough resources to meet the needs of the Body. The problem is that God's people have a distribution problem. We often position ourselves so we can't "afford" to share with those in need. Many of us are living so far beyond our means that we can't meet our own needs much less share with others.

These are just a few of the ways God can and does use wealth (including money).

Do you see any of these "ways" up and operating in your life? If "yes," you are on the road to "Debt Free Living God's Way." If not, you may still be on the road to financial bondage.

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Bob Louder is the Founder and President of Christian Financial Ministries (www.good-steward.org). Bob is also the author of the new best selling book, "Debt Free Living God's Way," available only on the Internet (www.debtfreelivinggodsway.org). Since 1987 Bob has helped people in hundreds of churches all across the country and in the European military community learn, understand, apply and pass on "Debt Free Living God's Way" principles and practical applications. He has represented some of the top Christian financial authors and ministries to include Larry Burkett, Dave Ramsey, Christian Financial Concepts, and Crown Ministries.

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