It's not a new problem, and it probably started almost immediately. How did Peter, the struggling fisherman, feel about Matthew the wealthy tax collector? Did the disciples have debates about money on top of their usual arguments about who would be the greatest?
Probably since before the beginning of the Christian church, there have been discussions about prosperity. The questions of whether or not a person can be rich and spiritual have probably been raging for millennia, maybe even since the beginning of man's existence. And the idea that wealth was the sign of God's favor on a person's life was prevalent even in Jesus' day.
The September 18, 2006 edition of Time Magazine had a cover picture that was the front of a Rolls Royce with a cross as a hood ornament. The title of the cover article was: "Does God Want You To Be Rich?"
All in all, the article was pretty much what I would expect from a magazine like Time. The bias was somewhat toward that idea that the current resurgence of "Prosperity Theology" is not a good thing, and that it's just a handful of American mega-churches that are preaching it, while more "mainstream" pastors find the whole idea ridiculous, if not downright evil. I found it a bit disappointing that the writer felt the need to comment on one "prosperity" preacher's expensive shoes.
No matter where it got started, the idea that truly spiritual people are the ones who have forsaken worldly riches and pleasures is definitely firmly entrenched in the minds of many people. And for those involved with the prosperity teachings, the idea is that God does want His people to have all the worldly goods and heaven too.
Whether they are believers, or scoffers, isn't so much the issue. The real question is: What does the Bible teach us about being wealthy? Does the Bible really teach us that it's wrong to be rich? Or does it really say that poverty is sin and everyone should be rich? And, if we are supposed to be rich, what does that really mean?
In this short introduction to prosperity, we will take a look the general idea that it's not so much a matter of being rich, in terms of our possessions, but that prosperity really has to do with being faithful with what we have been given. And because it has to do with being faithful, it applies not only in American mega-churches, but also all over the world.
In Luke 16:10-12 Jesus says, "He who is faithful in what is least is faithful also in much; and he who is unjust in what is least is unjust also in much. Therefore if you have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches? And if you have not been faithful in what is another man's, who will give you what is your own?"
There are a couple of points in this particular statement that we need to highlight in terms of this discussion. The first is that Jesus is saying our faithfulness with "what is least" affects how faithful we will be with much, or more. He then goes on to point out a couple of "least" things: "Unrighteous mammon" and "what is another man's".
When I read these verses, I hear Jesus telling us that our faithfulness with money affects every other area of our lives. And if we have not been faithful with money, and the things that don't belong to us, we will never enjoy true riches or have real responsibility (things that are our own).
And, when it comes to what belongs to another man, we should always remember that nothing really belongs to us, it all belongs to God.
Many people will say that money isn't that important, but Jesus is telling us something very different. When we look at what Jesus says here, we see that our attitudes towards, and use of, money are extremely important. Jesus tells us that our faithfulness with money will control the degree to which we are entrusted with the true riches.
But what does it mean to be faithful with money?
For the answer to that question, and a few other important questions, let's take a look at the parable of the talents in Matthew 25.
God is the source of everything
The parable of the talents begins with: "For the kingdom of heaven is like a man traveling to a far country, who called his own servants and delivered his goods to them. And to one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one, to each according to his own ability; and immediately he went on a journey." (Matthew 25:14-15)
Jesus begins this parable by telling us that He is describing the kingdom of heaven, God's kingdom. Anyone who considers himself a believer in Jesus Christ is a part of God's kingdom. As a member of God's kingdom, this parable teaches us valuable truths that help us understand our rights and privileges, as well as our responsibilities, in His kingdom.
The parable teaches us that the man, who represents the Master, or God, gives His goods to His servants. His decision about how much to give each servant is based on the servant's ability. That ability is a combination of the servant's own skills, and the opportunities that are, and will be, available to the servant.
God has not set us up for failure. He knows what we are capable of doing, and He knows about the opportunities that we will have throughout our lives. The question for us is: Are we willing to use what God has given us? As Paul tells us in 2 Corinthians 8:12, "For if there is first a willing mind, it is accepted according to what one has, and not according to what he does not have."
God gives us, just like the master in this parable, everything we need for success. He provides for us out of His riches in glory (Philippians 4:19). He is not limited by the economy, the government, or even our jobs. He has given His goods to us, and He is expecting us to be faithful with what them, He is expecting us to succeed.
Everything that we have in our lives, from our abilities, to the opportunities and resources that are available to us, all of it has been given to us by God. And He has some expectations about what we should do with them.
God expects us to "be fruitful and multiply"
"Then he who had received the five talents went and traded with them, and made another five talents. And likewise he who had received two gained two more also. But he who had received one went and dug in the ground, and hid his lord's money." (Matthew 25:16-18)
The first commandment ever given to man in Genesis 1:28 was that we were to "Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth."
Even though this parable in Matthew doesn't tell us what the Master told His servants, it seems that they understood what was expected of them. They knew that they were to use their Master's goods and increase them. They even went beyond that and two of them doubled, or multiplied, what they had received.
A lot of people will seek God and ask Him to bless them financially. I don't know about the rest of you, but I know that it would be a lot easier if the answer to that prayer were a bag full of money that drops right in my lap. But that's not what God does.
If we learn nothing else from Lottery winners, one thing we should learn is that being given a bunch of money, without first growing in our ability to handle money is a recipe for disaster. Many lottery winners end up worse after their wins then they were before them.
Ephesians 3:20 tells us, "Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us..." We see that God wants to do so much more in our lives. He doesn't just want to give us a million dollars; He wants us to give us much, much more than that. But He doesn't want to ruin us in the process. He wants us to grow into our wealth, to learn how to be productive and multiply it, so He gives us something that is better than money.
Proverbs 8:10-11 says, "Choose my instruction instead of silver, knowledge rather than choice gold, for wisdom is more precious than rubies, and nothing you desire can compare with her." And when we receive God's wisdom, we will have: "Riches and honor, enduring wealth and prosperity." (Proverbs 8:18)
God's first command has never changed. He is expecting each of us to use what He has given us so that we can be fruitful, or productive, and multiply what we have. God not only gives us the skills, opportunities, and resources, but He also offers us His wisdom. Everything we need has been given to us, and our success is guaranteed, if we are faithful and use it.
Two servants had been faithful with money
Jesus tells us, "After a long time the lord of those servants came and settled accounts with them. So he who had received five talents came and brought five other talents, saying, 'Lord, you delivered to me five talents; look, I have gained five more talents besides them.' His lord said to him, 'Well done, good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.'" (Matthew 25:19-21)
Now we come back to our original question: What does it mean to be faithful with money? The answer is: Being faithful with money means using it and multiplying it.
The story is the same for the two servants who had multiplied what their Master had given them. They both reported what they had done, and that they had multiplied their Master's wealth. And they both received the same reward. They were praised for being faithful "over a few things". In other words, they were praised for having been faithful with "that which was least".
When we are faithful with our money, some very interesting things happen. For one, it pleases God and He praises us. But the next thing that happens is even more interesting.
Because these two servants had been faithful with their Master's money, money that wasn't their own, they each became a "ruler over many things." They went from servants to rulers because they had shown that they could be trusted. They had lived up to their Master's expectations, and their reward was to be given authority, or ownership, over many things.
And their reward didn't stop there because they were invited to "Enter into the joy of your Lord." Because they had been faithful with money, that which is least, they received the true riches of God's joy.
Zig Ziglar likes to say that money may not be the most important thing in life, but it ranks right up there with oxygen. Jesus tells us that our faithfulness with money will open the way for us to grow from servants to rulers, from stewards of God's wealth to masters of our own. When He said that money was least, He didn't mean that it was of least importance, but that it was the first thing we need to get right. And when we get money right, we please God and He blesses us beyond anything we can imagine.
Even though we've answered the original question, there are a couple of additional principles that we should learn about money from this parable.
Money that is not in circulation is worthless
When we read about the other servant, the one who had received only one talent, it says, "Then he who had received the one talent came and said, 'Lord, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you have not sown, and gathering where you have not scattered seed. And I was afraid, and went and hid your talent in the ground. Look, there you have what is yours.' But his lord answered and said to him, 'You wicked and lazy servant, you knew that I reap where I have not sown, and gather where I have not scattered seed. So you ought to have deposited my money with the bankers, and at my coming I would have received back my own with interest.'" (Matthew 25:24-27)
Even though this servant understood that his Master expected him to increase the talent that he had been given, and even though the Master had only given him what he could handle, the servant had hidden the talent. His fear had caused him to disobey his Master, and now he was trying to push the blame off onto his Master by accusing Him of being a "hard man."
Have you ever wondered what would have happened if this servant had used the talent and lost it? It's interesting that Jesus never tells us. And as much as I don't like to draw conclusions from things that the Bible doesn't say, this almost seems to indicate that they only way for us to fail is if we let fear make our decisions, and if we don't use what we've been given.
Once we understand that God has given us exactly what He knows we can handle, and that He expects us to take full advantage of the skills, opportunities, resources, and wisdom that are available to us, we then must have the faith to act. God has given us everything we need to succeed, everything we need in order to be prosperous, but we have to believe it.
The time will come when we will all stand before God and give an account of what we did with His goods. And we don't want to be like this lazy servant who knew that he was supposed to multiply his Master's talents, but didn't.
By looking at what the Master tells this servant, we learn an important lesson about money: Money that is not in circulation cannot increase, and is worthless.
When we take money and turn it into possessions, we can no longer trade with it and increase it. The secret to the success that the other two servants had was that they had used the money. They did business with the money, they took it into the market and traded with it, and were able to multiply it.
If the servant with the single talent had at least left the money in circulation, even if he had left the management of that money up to other people (the bank), his money would have increased. It would not have doubled, but it would have grown.
In Proverbs 24:27 says, "Prepare your outside work, make it fit for yourself in the field; and afterward build your house."
In America we tend to get this backwards. Rather than making sure that our field is planted and producing wealth for us, we start building our houses, usually with borrowed money. The result is that we then become slaves to our lenders (Proverbs 22:7), and we end up giving all our income to pay for a rented lifestyle.
But if we make building wealth our first priority, we will then be able to enjoy that wealth and be able to "build our house." We will be able to enjoy the fruits of our labors, even have possessions, because we have been faithful with the goods we receive from God.
The rich get richer
The parable of the talents ends with the Master saying, "So take the talent from him, and give it to him who has ten talents. For to everyone who has, more will be given, and he will have abundance; but from him who does not have, even what he has will be taken away. And cast the unprofitable servant into the outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth."
The servant ends up losing what the Master gave him, and it is given to the one who had turned five talents into ten. When we say, "The rich get richer and the poor get poorer," we usually see that as an indication of how unfair life can be. But when we look at this parable we see that this is actually God's plan.
The other benefit of keeping money in circulation, and creating wealth, is that it increases the supply of wealth that is available to everyone. The Bible tells us that Solomon was the wisest man that had ever lived. His wisdom not only brought him great wealth, but in 2 Chronicles 1:15 we read about Solomon "he made silver and gold as common in Jerusalem as stones."
God is a Creator, and His desire is to see everything bring forth more and more fruit, even multiply. The reason is that He wants to increase the blessings that are available to everyone. He does that by giving us everything we need in order to create wealth. He expects us to do it because He knows that it will benefit everyone around us.
When God puts money into our hands, He expects us to have the faith to ask Him for wisdom. When we receive His wisdom and increase our wealth, He will give us more. He gives more wealth to those that can multiply it, even if they don't know Him. Proverbs 13:22 tells us that even the wealth of the sinner is "stored up for the righteous."
When it comes to money, creating wealth should be our first priority because it is God's first priority. He will even allow sinners to create wealth because the time will come when He will give that wealth to the righteous. But I'm sure that He would rather have the righteous create the wealth in the first place.
Throughout the history of religion, people have wondered if someone can be both rich and righteous. And many religions have taught that money is evil, and that a truly holy person is someone who had denounced all worldly goods and pleasures.
The Bible tells us that Jesus came so that we would have life and abundance (John 10:10). And that God has given each of us, no matter where we are, everything we need in order to be successful.
Our success isn't measured by our possessions, but by our faithfulness with the wealth God has entrusted to us. He expects us to be faithful with money before He will give us the true riches, and that means that we are to multiply our wealth. No matter where we are, whether in an American mega-church, or a house church in the poorest country of the world, we can be faithful with what is available to us. We can all seek God for His wisdom, and find ways to bring blessing to those around us. We all have our talents, and we can all multiply them.
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I have been talking about this subject a lot lately with my father so hopefully this will get him to see my point of view. Fingers crossed!
Posted by: Cybil | December 30, 2011 at 12:06 PM