August 07, 2010
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“The creation of wealth is deeply rooted in spiritual realities.” I first read that phrase in a great book entitled Money, Greed and God by Jay W. Richards. If those realities are spiritual, where do I find them in the Bible? I don’t really need another New Age gimmick! We’ll list some Biblical ways to create wealth, but first we must dispel the notion of wealth transfer. Wealth can be created – A very popular misconception in the church and in politics is that wealth is only transferred. It can’t be created because we only have so much money and it must be evenly distributed for fairness. Socialism and one stream of eschatology are premised on wealth transfer, “What great thing can I do with your money?” It’s not Biblical and it’s not practical. John, are you saying God won’t transfer wealth to me? Could God give you a gold coin out of a fish’s mouth? Yes, he could. I’m simply suggesting that He usually doesn’t, and I’m suggesting that if we think He does, and try to live the miraculous life of faith, we end up with chronic financial issues. The Bible has quite a bit to say about creating wealth… nothing about a money tree and nothing about others paying your bills. Priests do live by tithes and offerings, Kings don’t. Wealth is created through desires of our hearts – Ask any person with wealth, and he or she will tell you the first ingredient necessary to create wealth is passion. If you seek wealth, it will elude you. If you pursue the desire of your heart and God’s heart, wealth will flow toward you. We have to enjoy what we’re doing! But
seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will
be given to you as well. Matt 6:33 NIV
This is foundational, yet foreign to many Christians. “Religion” is working against the desires of your heart to please others (like God). A relationship with Jesus is an adventure in pursuing the desires of your heart toward your destiny in building the Kingdom. Your destiny and ministry are intertwined with your ability to create wealth. Abundance is a key ingredient of your spiritual journey, even though many Christians pretend it’s not. (see Escaping Dualism for more details). You
have anointed my head with oil; My cup overflows. Ps 23:5 NASU
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, Eph 3:20-21 NIV
Wealth is created by our words – Christians have a huge advantage in wealth creation, called faith. Once we get a direction from our heart and God’s heart, we can start the creative process. God “calls things that are not as though they were.“ (Rom 4:17) All of creation came into being with a simple phrase, “and God said…” We are created in His likeness, and our words have creative power. It’s not magic, but faith always begins with the right confessions and ends with the right actions. Use Your Words is a great prior newsletter on this topic. Wealth is created by our work – Once our desires, goals and words are in place, “work” is the implementation of our dreams and the fruit of our faith. Do not skip this step pretending to be spiritual. We can’t assume everyone is equally motivated and wise. Some are lazy and foolish and money will always flow away from them. Lazy hands
make a man poor, but diligent hands bring wealth. Prov 10:4 NIV
The
sluggard craves and gets nothing, but the desires of the diligent are
fully satisfied. Prov 13:4 NIV
In
the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, we command you, brothers, to keep
away from every brother who is idle and does not live according to the
teaching you received from us… For even when we were with you, we gave
you this rule: "If a man will not work, he shall not eat."
2 Thess 3:6-10 NIV
Wealth is created by wisdom – Wealth and wisdom are often connected in scripture. People that can manage money are invariably wise, a key ingredient in spiritual maturity. If there is a lesson from the parable of the talents and minas, it is that we have each been given something from God and it’s our job to multiply it. Sitting on ability and money is not the way to please God. How do we get wisdom? We have to ask… in the context of perseverance! The
wealth of the wise is their crown…Prov 14:24 NIV
Perseverance
must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not
lacking anything. If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who
gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to
him. James 1:4-5 NIV
Wealth is created by capitalism – I want to suggest that the enemy has tried to tarnish the image of capitalism as fueled by greed, competition, and corruption. In reality, the entrepreneurial spirit is the essence of Godly creativity, and cooperation and honesty are the norm in free markets. We need a legal system for the exceptions, but the exceptions don’t define or describe Kings functioning in business relationships. They are a delightful group who understand teamwork and know how to get things done. Let me take this a step farther. We see God’s hand in the vastness of the galaxies and in the complexity of biology. As humans, we don’t even understand much of what God has created, and we can’t come close to duplicating it. The complexity of billions of people each voluntarily pursuing their dreams, creating products, and trading goods and services in free markets describes an equally complex, spontaneous economic system that is also a gift from God we call free market capitalism. Goods and services are freely traded in win/win transactions that actually produce wealth. In fact, people are the fundamental source of wealth creation. In God’s economy, people are the most precious resource. However, men often presume that they can match God’s economy with central planning and control. Socialism, communism, and Nazism are recent attempts at such control… all produced serfs instead of Kings with disastrous consequences. Our assignment - When we think of overcoming poverty, wealth creation through the list above is our only hope. Governments can play limited yet important supporting role; establish property rights, the rule of law and free markets. But, since bureaucrats can’t create wealth, they cannot ultimately offer a solution to either poverty or progress. Historically, government planners have more often sent unproductive elements of society to perpetual welfare programs, tenement houses, reservations, plantations, prisons, concentration camps, and ovens. They didn’t have a solution for the poor – we do. We know how to create wealth and manage multiplication… and bless the nations. The
man who had received the five talents went at once and put his money to
work and gained five more. Matt 25:16-17 NIV
"The
first one came and said, 'Sir, your mina has earned ten
more.' "'Well done, my good servant!' his master replied.
'Because you have been trustworthy in a very small matter, take charge
of ten cities.' Luke 19:16-17 NIV
PS: You can view the video version of this newsletter on line.
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