Responsibility of Wealth / Riches

  Wealth has come, in a general sense, to the Spirit-filled church in America, in the last 50-60 years, at a new level.  However, wealth / riches comes with unique responsibilities we must assume or wealth will hurt, not help.  Money / riches is a power tool that will accelerate work, but it comes with danger.  For example, Jesus said it is harder for a "rich" man to enter the Kingdom.  Easier, he said, for a camel to go through the "eye of the needle", referring to the small gate within a big gate of enclosed cities. To get a camel through, you had first strip it of all baggage and then lead it through. Quite a process.   Take a look at just some of the other responsibilities, perhaps baggage, that come with wealth: 

1. God's purpose:    God's purpose is not for you to be wealthy, but to be a wealthy giver so you can help establish the work of God.  No wealth=no giving. The purpose, even of having a job and getting paid is so that you will have to give.  Don't resist tithing.  If the word bothers you, call it giving.  Get a job, gain wealth, with the intention of giving it away as directed by the Spirit.

2. Cheerful giving: It is not just a giver, but a cheerful one God loves. Maintain your joy in giving.   

3. Don't fall in love with your money:  Love of money is still the "root" of all evil.  When you love money, it becomes a treasure you think you can not do without.   If you love riches (mammon) you will serve it and you "cannot" (impossible) serve mammon and God at the same time (Matt. 6).  If money is "treasure" to you (you love it), you eye will follow the money and become dark.  Your heart will follow your treasure and you will miss the leadership of the Spirit.  Money will become your guide.

4. Beware of choking:  If not on guard, riches will choke out the Word, communications with God (Matt.13). Choked, you will find that the only thing God seems to be saying to you about money.  Every passage in the Bible will be about money, your favorite preachers and sermons will all be about riches.  You are choked. Money has grabbed you by the throat.

5.  Always be on guard.  Riches have "deceitfulness" within them.  Riches are well capable of causing missed directions, wrong decisions, wrong motives.

6. Beware of the "Judas" spirit (demon).  The Judas spirit still comes after disciples of Christ.  It will fasten your eye on money.  Judas carried the "bag", the purse and worried over what was in the bag.  He was a money manager and it got the best of him.

7. Make sure your soul is prosperous :  Some receive riches before they have a prosperous soul and the results are not good.  Prosperous soul?  Joyful, free, not in love with money, in love with God, dedicated to the work of God, minding the things of the Spirit of God, etc.

Does God want us to prosper?  Yes!  Yes! And YES!  He wants us to succeed in every area, including finances, but with finances, comes these and other responsibilities.  Looking at the church of America, with it's wealth, it is not hard to see we have not handled wealth but that wealth has handled us.  We aren't building the church, we are building monuments.  We are reaching the lost, we are reaching the found.  Worse, worse, worse, we are measuring spirituality by wealth.