There are some basic things we have to understand before we can successfully begin to manage our finances in God’s kingdom. [pay]If you haven’t taken the time to read “Christian Prosperity Bible Basics” by Dan Brown, I would strongly suggest you give it a least a brief skim-over.[/pay] You can find it on the “Give-aways” page. It’s totally free to download. While it doesn’t go into a great deal of depth, the general ideas you’ll find there are important ones, and it’s definitely worth the read! And with that…we begin our study on finances, both in the kingdom of the world and in the kingdom of God. We’ll learn why we struggle financially as Christians, as well as some practical steps we can take to break out of those chains!
First of all, again, keep in mind that there are two different kingdoms that we’ve been exposed to…the kingdom of the world, and the kingdom of God. Like our earthly kingdoms, each has it’s own set of “laws”, or principles, that “govern” its citizens. One of the biggest problems we face is this particular understanding of the fact that there are, indeed, two separate and entirely different sets of principles for these two kingdoms! We live IN the kingdom of God, assuming you’ve received Jesus as your Savior, but we’re still trying to live BY the laws of the world because they have been so deeply ingrained in us!
If you haven’t noticed it just yet, most of the time, it just plain ol’ doesn’t work! That’s why we have many of the problems we have and many of the struggles we go through. It’s interesting to note here, that there are many people that aren’t saved, living in the kingdom of the world, that are unintentionally following certain principles of the kingdom of God and they are receiving blessings, simply because that’s what those principles produce! While this is true in other areas, as well, in this particular post, we’ll be concerning ourselves primarily with finances, so to give a brief example of this statement in action…
The kingdom of the world encourages us to be greedy and to hang on to everything we have so we can have “more”. The kingdom of God teaches us that, in order to have more, we have to give what we have. Ever noticed how some people, even those of the worldly kingdom, just seem to attract blessings? Ever noticed how so many wealthy people seem to gain more wealth without ever seeming to try? Have you ever considered the fact, that many wealthy people give a lot of money to different charities? Sometimes it because they want to help others. Sometimes it’s because they want the tax write-off. Doesn’t really matter WHY they give. What matters, is that they give…and the blessings are (by the principles of the kingdom of God) returned to them!
“Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.” Luke 6:38
A good measure. Pressed down, shaken together and running over. It’ll be poured into your lap. It doesn’t say you have to be a Christian to receive this blessing. In fact, the Bible says, “What if some did not have faith? Will their lack of faith nullify God’s faithfulness? Not at all! Let God be true, and every man a liar.” (Romans 3:3,4). In other words, whether we acknowledge God or not, He is faithful to fulfill His Word. And His Word simply says, “Give, and it will be given you.” Those that give, receive.
Now before you start thinking that I’m suggesting that everyone who struggles financially is struggling because they are selfish, that’s not the case, at all! There are many reasons we struggle. This is only one of them. Just because someone may struggle financially does NOT mean they don’t give! In fact, I know some very generous people that are struggling right along with the rest of us…some of them BECAUSE of their giving! But we’ll look at all that a little later. There are a good many principles that we violate out of ignorance, that make it hard for us to find our freedom. And we usually end up blaming God for our troubles, when the troubles weren’t brought on by Him, but by our own lack of understanding!
The point I’m trying to make here, is that even for people that don’t acknowledge Jesus as their Savior, the laws of God’s kingdom work in their lives when they follow certain guidelines. In this case, the guideline is simple. Give. God’s “law” is, if you give, He will give you more! Pressed down, shaken together and running over! That’s not to imply that you should run out and give away everything you have. It means, again, that God’s kingdom has certain laws and principles that work in our lives, just as those of the worldly kingdom do! We’ll touch more on giving, along with a lot of other things as time goes by…but for now, please try to understand the concept of two kingdoms…two sets of laws or principles!
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