We live in a world run by money and our natural inclination is to worry about whether we will have enough. Jesus taught the principle of seeking first the Kingdom in a passage about money and possessions, to lift our eyes from the natural to the supernatural. Father does not want His children in poverty barely getting by but He particularly wants us to be a blessing as He blesses us. The thing here is that God, when we are in right relationship and seeking after Him and His Righteousness, will add to us the things we need. Jesus said we are not to worry about food or clothing and certainly no father would see his children poverty stricken and starving. I noticed though this scripture says that these things shall be added, and not multiplied, to us. I thought it strange for a God who is into multiplying and not adding, especially when He desires our prosperity and health above all things as the King James Version says.
3Jn 1:2 Beloved, I pray that
you may prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers. (NKJV)
God knows
exactly at what stage of our walk we are with Him and as the parable of the
talents teaches, He gives to each according to their ability. One of the first things we note in this parable
is that the Master gives His servants His goods. So Jesus gives us our abilities and gifts to serve
in His Kingdom. The parable goes on to tell us that one servant received 5
talents, another 2 and the last 1. Each
one was given the option whilst the Master was away to work with that which
they had been given and each was rewarded according to the “fruit” they
produced. Two doubled what they had
received but the one servant who had a wrong concept of the Master’s character
did nothing with what he had been given.
The other two were commended by the Master whereas the last one had what
had been given to him taken away.
Mat 25:29 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. I believe that as we grow in the Lord and are trustworthy with little, He begins to trust us with much more, as Jesus said in this same parable:-
Mat 25:21 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.'
Going back to
Matthew 6, the passage teaches that our eye is the lamp to the soul. A pure eye lets in light but an evil eye, darkness. I thought that this was a bit strange to have
this concept in the discourse about money and possessions but realised that it
is through the eye gate that we develop greed, covetousness and
dissatisfaction. Living in a world where
the rich and famous are revered and celebrated, where we are constantly
bombarded to have this or that latest fashion, best car etc, we lose our
contentment in having enough food and clothes as God promised He would
provide. We have become a society of
waste and are seemingly always restless for more. Jesus is teaching us to be satisfied and
content with our daily needs even though I believe God still wants to prosper us
beyond this to be a blessing to others and to nations. He wants us to have enough for “every good
work”.
2Co 9:8 And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work.
God needs to
be able to trust us with more. Will we
hold onto what we have and become a hoarder of our wealth or will we indeed
release it to where it is meant to go?
Success can be a huge battle ground for pride. God desires to bring us
into the Promised Land; a land that is flowing with milk and honey, where there
are streams and pools of refreshing water and an abundance of wheat, barley,
grapes, figs, pomegranates and olives.
This passage in Deuteronomy speaks of abundance, fullness and rest.
Deu 8:11-18 Beware that you do not forget the LORD your
God by not keeping His commandments, His judgments, and His statutes which I
command you today, lest—when you have eaten and are full, and have built
beautiful houses and dwell in them; and when your herds and your flocks
multiply, and your silver and your gold are multiplied, and all that you have
is multiplied; when your heart is lifted up, and you forget the LORD your God
who brought you out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage; who led
you through that great and terrible wilderness, in which were fiery serpents
and scorpions and thirsty land where there was no water; who brought water for
you out of the flinty rock; who fed you in the wilderness with manna, which
your fathers did not know, that He might humble you and that He might test you,
to do you good in the end—then you say in your heart, 'My power and the might
of my hand have gained me this wealth.' And you shall remember the LORD your
God, for it is He who gives you power to get wealth that He may establish His
covenant which He swore to your fathers, as it is this day.
It is very
pertinent that God give us this warning because pride is a blemish, a darkness
on the soul, and it causes us to become unthankful and forgetful of the Lord’s
blessing. Pride is so insidious that
often we don’t even know that we have it.
God will gift us, and as we seek His Righteousness and are “character-developed”, He can increase His anointing on us to do even more. We need to have character to keep and carry what is precious to God, His anointing, and what should be extremely precious to us too. Samson was anointed by God as a judge in Israel to bring freedom from the enemy. But Samson was a pampered and spoilt brat who did not practise righteousness. He broke the laws, catering to his fleshly desires and defiled himself on many occasions. He did not treasure the anointing on his life and grieved the Holy Spirit of God, dishonoured his parents, touched the unclean and ended up blind and mocked in captivity in the enemy’s camp. God still used him to destroy some of Israel’s enemies but one wonders how much more God could have done through Samson if he was not ruled by his passions and lusts. Samson had a strong anointing on him but he did not have the character to carry that anointing to accomplish even greater things during his lifetime. The race he ran was shortened by his own folly and he did not “strip off every weight that slows us done and the sin that so easily hinders our progress” Heb 12:1
There is a world of hurt out there that needs the touch of God through our time, our love, our resources and our faithfulness to use the gifts and abilities God has given us. Let us seek His face and His Righteousness and allow His Spirit to flow through us according to the grace He has bestowed upon us in Jesus Name. Amen?
