“For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. And some people, craving money, have wandered from the true faith and pierced themselves with many sorrows.” (1 Timothy 6:10 NLT)
Do you have money or does money have you? And please don’t misunderstand, you may not have a lot of money, but if the goal of your life is to pursue wealth apart from a saving knowledge of Jesus, you’re wasting your life. The purpose of wealth isn’t greed, it’s generosity, and whatever level of wealth He allows, it’s His, not yours to do with as you please.
According to Jesus, the goal of our life as a believer is to “Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and He will give you everything you need.” That doesn’t necessarily mean He won’t allow us to have more than enough money, but, as a rule, He gives more to those He knows He can trust to use it wisely.
Jesus said in Luke 12:21: “Yes, a person is a fool to store up earthly wealth but not have a rich relationship with God.” The closer our walk with Jesus the more open our heart should be to share with others, whether with time, money, or anything else He gives us. Everything we have is a gift from God, and to hoard it for ourselves is to misunderstand the purpose for which it was given.
So, what does all this talk about money have to do with “Reason or Revelation?” Quite a lot, actually. In Luke 21 we gain insight into the heart of Jesus as He watches people put their offerings in the collection box. Seeing that Jesus is watching, many rich put in more than they might otherwise have given in an effort to impress Him. But what draws His attention is a poor widow who gives everything she has to live on.
What if that poor widow had come to you and asked: “Friend, all I have are these two small coins to live on this month, but God has laid it on my heart to put them in the offering. What do you think I should do?” What would you tell her? Would you use reason to conclude she was making a foolish mistake? Or would you trust her revelation that God spoke, and she should do what God has directed her to do?
Shortly after my divorce I was literally penniless, but someone had given me ten dollars. I was sitting in church, listening to a missionary tell of their work on foreign soil, sharing the great need that the people he was serving had. My plan was to use that ten dollars to get myself something to eat after church, but I decided to put it in the offering. I’d love to tell you that I had a revelation to give that money and I gave it in obedience to the Lord, but the truth is, I was hoping He would see my faith and have someone at church slip me a $20 on the way out of church.
He saw right through my “scheme,” so I went hungry that night, but I learned a valuable lesson. I learned that when I have a need, whether for money, food, or anything else, I just need to trust Him to provide it and He will. “Yeh,” you might be thinking, “but He didn’t provide a meal for you.” No, He didn’t, but He gave me something far more valuable. He gave me a peek into my own heart, putting on full display my own greed and selfishness, enabling me to see clearly that Jesus isn’t our proverbial “genie in a bottle” who provides our every whim just because we think we need it.
God, our heavenly Father, desires faithfulness from us that builds character that allows us to follow His will and desires ahead of our own. Reason is inadequate to understand the heart of God. Only revelation will give us insight into why He gave His only Son for sinful and selfish human beings. And only revelation will enable us to understand what He desires us to do with the wealth He has provided.
One thing I know with certainty: when He gives us an insight or understanding about something we should do, say, or think, the only reasonable thing to do is obey Him.
Blessings, Ed 😊
Walking With Jesus 