somebody once told me that if i was going into ministry to get rich, i was going in to the wrong line of work. well... they were right. the good news is, money is not the reason i do what i do.
but let's back up for a minute. i mean, what exactly qualifies as rich? how do we define it? what i've come to understand is that our definition is often far from accurate.
in fact, by God's definition, i am rich simply because i have more than i need.
think about that for a minute. in a world where people literally go to bed hungry, without clothing or adequate shelter, i have more than i need. i mean, have i ever really stopped to think about exactly why that is? if i'm honest, not really. instead, i generally look around and see all of the things i don't have.
but i wonder what would happen if i stopped for a moment to try and figure out why God chose to give me more than i need? for what purpose do i have this abundance, when others have so little?
because having more than i need, an abundance, is only the first part of God's definition of being rich. the second part is sharing that abundance with others. the first part is easy... i have more than i need - great! the second part - not as easy.
i once heard andy break it down like this... the reason we have more than we need is simple. we have more than WE need because somebody else is IN need.
if we hoard all we have, then by God's definition we are anything but rich. in the eyes of God, our abundance should go to two things - the needs of others and the advancement of the kingdom.
hmm... i didn't see anything about a bigger house, or a new car, or a giant tv in God's definition... did you? in luke 12 verse 15, Jesus said "watch out! be on guard against all kinds of greed; a man's life does not consist in the abundance of his posssesions."
what God is saying is that the amount of stuff we have does not define us. there's nothing wrong with having stuff or being rich... that's not the problem. the problem is, we don't understand why we're rich. we assume that the abundance we have is because of us. we assume that the abundance we have is for us.
when we're able to realize that the abundance we have is from God and that He has given us more than we need so that we will share it with others, our lifestyle will quit chasing our income.
until then, we're just greedy.
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