God wants us to live abundantly
| By: David Abram | |
God wants us all to live a life of abundance in all things. Many people today believe that material wealth is not Christian. That is entirely untrue for a number of reasons. Living a life of abundance is NOT just about material wealth. It’s about an abundance of good friends, loving relationships, being close to God and yes; material things as well.
God has told us that he wants us to live abundantly. Second Corinthians 9:8 "Moreover, God is able to make every grace abundant for you, so that in all things, always having all you need; you may have abundance for every good work." John 10:10 "I come so that they may have life and have if more abundantly." Is material wealth a bad thing? That depends on the individual. If a person makes the acquisition of wealth an all consuming passion in their life, if they acquire wealth dishonestly or neglect the poor, then obtaining material wealth is, in fact, a bad thing for them. If a person is obsessed with the acquisition of wealth, they need to seriously rethink their passion. That person is at risk of making material wealth their god and creating an emotional and spiritual trap for themselves. Psalm 106:36; They worshiped their idols, which became a snare to them. God wants us to work honestly and fairly. He does not want us to act dishonestly in our business dealings. Proverbs 11:1; The LORD abhors dishonest scales, but accurate weights are his delight. It is our responsibility to care for the poor and the unfortunate. This is clearly stated in the Bible on several occasions. Deuteronomy 15:11; There will always be poor people in the land. Therefore I command you to be openhanded toward your brothers and toward the poor and needy in your land. To shirk our responsibility to the poor can have serious consequences. Proverbs 21:13; If a man shuts his ears to the cry of the poor, he too will cry out and not be answered. The Bible is filled with accounts of righteous, wealthy people. Read the stories of Solomon, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, David and Joseph of Arimathea, and many others. Wealthy people in the Bible were NOT condemned for their wealth. Some wealthy people in the Bible were condemned for the way they acquired their wealth, or for not helping the poor. In fact, God rewarded righteous people with wealth and land on numerous occasions. I am sure that each of us sees the need to help those that are less fortunate. We can provide clothing, food, shelter, and medical care to those in need, but all of those things cost money. If a person really wants to help others, they should make lots of money! Then they can give generously and help many people. If a person doesn’t make a lot of money then they can only help a few. If a person doesn’t have a lot of money they can still volunteer their time and that is very commendable. It is our responsibility to use our God given talents to help others as well as ourselves. Each person should use their talents to help others and if you use your talents to acquire wealth, you can help many in the process. |
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