Genuine followers of Jesus know that the wisest thing they can do with their money is use it to lay up treasure in heaven. In fact, it was to wisdom that Jesus appealed when He instructed His followers regarding their two investment options:

Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal; for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also (Matt. 6:19-21).

The obvious wisdom in laying up treasures in heaven is that there they are enduring, whereas treasures on earth are subject to decay and loss. So it just makes sense to invest in heaven.

But are not Jesus’ ancient words a little outdated for those of us who live in wealthy, modern nations, where we’ve achieved a bit of “heaven on earth”? That is, our modern fabrics aren’t palatable to moths, Rustoleum and aluminum prevent rust, and security systems and homeowner’s insurance mitigate our concerns of theft. Unlike as in Jesus’ day, we can lay up some earthy treasures without the fear of the same depreciation or loss. So is Jesus’ ancient wisdom inapplicable today?

Actually, no. If Jesus visited earth today, and had He sojourned in one of the world’s wealthy nations, I suspect He would have used other examples to illustrate how even present-day expenditures are still subject to loss through more modern “moths, rust and thieves.” Perhaps He would mention how new cars lose 10% of their value the moment you drive them off the car lot, and as much as 30% during the first year of ownership. Or He might remind us how computers become obsolete in just a few years, or how a few day’s correction in the stock market can wipe out a year’s worth of gains. And I should add that Jesus didn’t even mention in the above-quoted passage the inevitable total loss of possessions that occurs for everyone at death (although He did at other times; see Luke 12:16-21, as did Paul; see 1 Tim. 6:7).

All of this is to say that, when Jesus spoke His commandment regarding laying up treasures in heaven rather than on earth, He was thinking, not just of those who benefit from charity, but also of those who are charitable. And that is one of the many things I so appreciate about God. He gave us commandments because He loves us, just as any good earthly father gives instructions to His children because of his love for them. If we’ll do what God says, our lives (and our eternal lives) will be better. We will experience the built-in blessings of obedience.

What Jesus said about the Sabbath—”The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath”—is true concerning all His commandments. When we interpret those commandments through the filter of such an understanding, we’re much less apt to misinterpret them.

When it comes to laying up treasure in heaven rather than on earth, we need to view our obedience to Jesus’ commandment as a wise investment in our own future—as opposed to the alternative, which is a waste (and loss) of our hard-earned money. More than feeling guilty for laying up earthly treasures, we should feel stupid!

How to Do It

Although many of us understand the wisdom of laying up treasures in heaven rather than on earth, that, unfortunately, is where the application of wisdom stops for us. That’s because our giving, at best, ends up bearing little or no real kingdom fruit, or at worst, harms those it was intended to help. I’ve been guilty of both, and so much so that I consider myself an expert in stupid giving. Lucky for me, wisdom sometimes sprouts in the garden of foolishness!

We need more wisdom regarding giving than “Just do it.” We need to know how, when and where to give. That is what I’d like to focus on in the remainder of this article and the one that will follow. Let’s start with two basic biblical observations.

When it came to laying up treasures in heaven, the early church focused on two avenues of giving: (1) the making of disciples and (2) the relief of suffering. If we’re wise (and biblical), we’ll also focus on those same two avenues of giving. And although various groups within Christendom have sometimes tended to singularly focus on one or the other, wise givers support both the Great Commission and the Great Commandment: (1) Go, preach, teach, make disciples and (2) love your neighbor as yourself. To financially support the spreading of the gospel without caring for the poor is to deny the gospel. To care for the poor without telling them the gospel is to not really care for the poor.

All believers should ask themselves this simple question: Is my giving helping to make disciples and relieving suffering? You don’t have to think about it very long to realize that much of what is labeled as “giving” in Christian circles doesn’t score very high in either of those categories.

For example, most Christians give to the churches they attend, yet their churches often aren’t making disciples, that is, people who obey Jesus’ commandments. Such churches could be better described as Christian Clubs. They might be conducting church services that attract growing crowds once a week. But the “worship” songs are all about the worship experience and the worshippers themselves—not about an awesome God who is seeking, not those who “sing along at the concert,” but who “worship in spirit and in truth” (John 4:23). If someone was to actually lift their hands or kneel out of love for the Lord and obedience to what the Bible teaches about worship, he would inadvertently draw attention to himself because it would be so unusual.

And in too many churches that Christians financially support, sermons are short, entertaining, self-help spiels, not Scripture-filled, Spirit-anointed exhortations that glorify God and elicit self-examination and deeper devotion. Tragically, the big emphasis is on getting repeat customers rather than on getting people ready to stand before Jesus. A good question to ask about your church is, If John the Baptist were alive, would he ever be invited to preach here? If your answer is “no,” you are attending a church where Jesus’ favorite preacher would not be welcome (see Matt. 11:11).

And in too many churches, 90% of the money that is collected is used to service the “customers” who attend, which makes one wonder if such giving can even be labeled as giving (membership dues perhaps?). Hopefully, the 10% that does escape the building doesn’t promote the same kind of “Christianity.”

In contrast with that, a few weeks ago I met a couple in Texas who, 26 years ago, pioneered a house church in their home that used 100% of the tithes and offerings for missions. That couple is supported by their own business and need no salary from their house church, which ultimately multiplied into six house churches. In the first ten years, about 100 people gave over a million dollars to making disciples and helping the poor!

All of this is to say that, if there is no fruit of discipleship—if people are not repenting of their sins and learning to obey all of Christ’s commandments—then there really is no “return on investment” for those who give. Giving to many churches falls into this category, as it is more akin to paying one’s membership dues at the YMCA.

Perhaps the very worst case of Christians flushing money down the toilet is when they support churches that promote the American gospel of licentious grace. Actually, such “giving” is worse than flushing money down the toilet. It is to work against disciple-making. It is to support the furtherance of the devil’s deception and kingdom. Isn’t it tragic to think that, by their giving, some Christians are keeping alive what God is trying to kill?

“ Isn’t it tragic to think that, by their giving, some Christians are keeping alive what God is trying to kill? —DAVID SERVANT

Supporting the Workers

Of course, financially supporting the making of disciples entails supporting disciple-making workers, which would include God-called pastors, teachers, evangelists, prophets, and apostles, as well as those who serve in roles that support those essential, biblical ministries (see 1 Cor. 12:28, Eph. 4:11). All should be evaluated and supported as per their contribution to the making of disciples.

How sad it is that there are likely tens of thousands of God-called evangelists, teachers, prophets and apostles today who are masking as pastors, because that is the only paid avenue they can find for ministry, and mostly because modern church culture dictates mono-ministry rather than five-fold ministry.

But how wonderful it would have been to have had the blessed opportunity to financially support the ministry of the apostle Paul, Philip the evangelist, Apollos the teacher, or Agabus the prophet, and share in their fruit and reward! I would challenge every Christian to not only support their disciple-making pastor (if he needs financial support), but also prayerfully seek to support a God-called and disciple-making evangelist, teacher, prophet or apostle, all who are generally itinerant and don’t have, like pastors, a congregation to support them. They deserve to be supported just as much as any pastor.

You can, through Heaven Family’s National Missionary Ministry, or through other similar ministries, find such ministers to support in other nations who live on very little and who are working in regions that have never had a chance to hear the gospel. I’m personally blessed to support several evangelists in Cuba who are leading, on average, 100 people to the Lord every month (and establishing their converts in local churches)!

But four notes of caution:

(1.) Don’t support overseas pastors. They should be supported by their own congregations, for at least two reasons.

First, if a congregation doesn’t sense the importance of financially supporting their own pastor for the time he invests (part- or full-time) in their spiritual growth as disciples, then why should an outsider support him? What kind of disciples is that pastor making? This is true even in poor nations. Ten disciples who each give 10% of their income can support one pastor at their average standard of living.

Second, when congregations know their pastor is being supported by outsiders, they are disincentivized to give. So the outside giver, wanting to help a poor church and pastor, actually hurts them both. One rule wise givers always follow is this: Never do for others what they can do for themselves.

(2.) Don’t support anyone who is not accountable. Only God knows the number of Scripture-quoting “evangelists,” “indigenous missionaries” and “orphanage directors” in poor nations around the world who have no actual ministry, yet who are regularly supported by well-meaning Christians whom they’ve befriended (and deceived) on Facebook. They send photos, tell heart-touching stories, and can even send copies of their non-profit’s registration with their nation’s government. But it is all just a show.

If you can’t travel overseas yourself to verify the truthfulness of what you are being told, you take a huge risk. So utilize the services of a ministry you can trust that has an on-the-ground, in-country presence, that is personally acquainted with the disciple-making ministers being supported. One that requires regular reporting. The administrative costs incurred will be more than worth the benefit of being sure you are not supporting a charlatan.

(3.) Don’t support any “worker” who is not already working. When God has a job for someone to do, He never looks among those who are standing in the unemployment line. He finds someone who is being faithful in what He has already called him to do, and He promotes him.

We should follow God’s wisdom in that regard. Worker support should help workers do a better job at what they are already doing.

(4.) Don’t forget that the goal is always sustainability. Ideally, workers should be supported by those who benefit from their ministries, not those who live on the other side of the ocean. If workers are actually making disciples, their disciples should support their ministries. Growing disciple-making movements, no matter where they are in the world, don’t need continual outside financial support, as has been repeatedly proven around the world. In fact, outside money can actually destroy growing disciple-making movements. I have witnessed this firsthand. The resources for the church’s expansion are in the harvest.

The Most Strategic Investment

In my humble opinion, and based on four decades of full-time ministry around the world, the most strategic kingdom investment one could make would be training trainers who train more trainers. As Paul wrote of generational disciple-making to his disciple, Timothy:

The things which you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, entrust these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also (2 Tim. 2:2).

Training disciples to make disciples is, far and away, the most valuable thing anyone can financially support, because it multiplies fruit in every way. Disciples make disciples, and all true disciples obey Jesus and bear fruit, so the end result is kingdom expansion and care for the poor, such as widows and orphans.

I’m writing these words at 3AM (due to jet lag) in the southeastern African nation of Malawi. For the past three days, two Heaven’s Family staff members and myself have been meeting with 12 wonderful workers from Malawi, Zimbabwe, Kenya and Uganda. (There would have been two workers from Rwanda as well, but they were declined visas.)

All of them have been trained to teach an agricultural method called Farming God’s Way (FGW) that, when practiced, lifts subsistence farmers from deep poverty into relative prosperity as they exponentially increase their harvests. The method requires work, but it works like magic. It is revolutionary. I’m convinced it is the solution to Africa’s rural hunger problem.

Here in Malawi, those who are applying Farming God’s Way methods universally report to us that they previously suffered—all of their lives—through an annual “hunger season,” the weeks or months between the exhaustion of the previous year’s harvest and the ripening of the new year’s crop. But now that they are “farming God’s way,” they grow more than they can consume in a year. That means they have crops to share and to sell, enabling them to send their children to school, purchase medicine and edge their way free of poverty’s grip.

However, Heaven’s Family’s 14 FGW workers from Malawi, Zimbabwe, Kenya, Uganda and Rwanda are more than agricultural trainers. They are also disciple-makers. All those under their training start by getting on their knees in their fields and repenting of their sins, asking God to forgive them and remove the curse from their land. And FGW farmers are required to attend weekly home-based “God’s Love Groups,” where they not only learn additional farming techniques, but also learn how to follow and obey Jesus. And once they begin to prosper, they use their abundance to care for widows and orphans (and not by building senior living centers and orphanages, but by taking widows and orphans into their own homes). Our God’s Love Groups are comparable in many ways to little New Testament house churches.

Now let me tell you a great story about how this all began.

In Malawi, our original FGW trainer is named Charles. When we met him seven years ago, he was a very poor subsistence farmer and pastor, just barely surviving. Now he testifies that he is rich, and he is, by local standards. From his farming profits, he has built several simple concrete homes, one of which he rents, and he has purchased more farm land. He owns a car. His children all attend school. He feeds the poor.

Through his FGW training and the training of others whom he has trained, almost 1,000 Malawian farmers are now lifting themselves from poverty. They gather in about 65 God’s Love Groups. And the curriculum Charles has used to teach his disciples and disciple-makers is from a book titled The Disciple-Making Minister, which I wrote years ago to help poor ministers in the developing world succeed in their ministries, as so many have had very little biblical training.

It was through that book that Charles was first introduced to the ministries of Heaven’s Family. He found a copy that was for sale at a cheap price in a Presbyterian Christian bookstore in the nearby town of Blantyre. (I have no idea how that bookstore got a copy, especially one that was not printed in Africa, but in the U.S.) The teaching Charles read in its 500 pages changed the direction of his life and ministry. He subsequently contacted Heaven’s Family, requesting that I visit him to train pastors. I never made it, as I receive too many such requests to respond to. Eventually, however, a few of our staff members were able to visit, and that led to our training Charles in the FGW methods, which are now exploding into an agricultural revolution in his region while also launching a disciple-making movement. And it all started with Charles finding a book titled The Disciple-Making Minister.

Yesterday, Charles showed me his well-worn copy. He told me he never lends it out, because he depends on it for teaching material, and he can’t risk losing it.

Raising funds to translate and print a disciple-making tool named The Disciple-Making Minister has always proved to be next to impossible. I have never been able to convince many people of the value. But just think of what has occurred in Malawi because someone invested $3 to print a single copy that is now owned by Charles. And similar stories have been repeated on different scales many times around the world.

The 25 translations of The Disciple-Making Minister we’ve posted at DavidServant.org have received visits from 9,600 new visitors every month over the past year. (That does not include returning visitors, but only new visitors.) During that same time period, 130,000 visitors have read 200,000 translated chapters. If any of those visitors are applying what they’ve learned, that is fruit, and fruit that has cost us very little to gain.

A few months ago we clandestinely printed 2,000 Spanish copies of The Disciple-Making Minister in Cuba. They’ve since been distributed to Christian leaders serving under many denominational banners all over the island for just about $4 per book.

This is all fruit that we rarely talk about. With some more investment in helping seeking people find our online translations (search engine optimization), additional translations, book printings and strategic distributions, we could bear even more fruit.

Heaven’s Family’s Farming God’s Way Ministry does not pay the salaries of any of our 14 African trainers. They all support themselves, either from their own successful farms or some other means. But we do reimburse them for expenses they incur as they travel to train others. It costs us about $­­­­­3,500 per month, and we’ve struggled to raise those funds. We need investors who will see the value of supporting it. In my thinking, it is a no-brainer, as our Farming God’s Way Ministry is both making disciples and lifting the poor (and not through handouts).

Heaven’s Family’s 73-year-old director of Farming God’s Way, Dick Samuels, lives off of Social Security, and has never taken a salary from Heaven’s Family. He has been training his successor, Jerry Jefferson, who will be taking the reins of directorship in April. But Jerry is in his 30s and has a family to feed. (And he won’t be eligible for Social Security for a few more decades!) We need some investors in eternity who will see the value in supporting Jerry’s ministry, even though he is not a pastor!

All of this is to say, once again, that the most strategic investments seem to be the rarest investments. Thank God for the believers who don’t just give, but who give strategically! Oh how I wish I could divert all the money that Christians give to what bears little or no kingdom fruit into what produces unstoppable harvests! If we all gave wisely, we might be able to “hasten the coming of the day of God,” as Peter wrote (2 Peter 3:10-13).

So that covers some of what I’ve learned over the years about one of two New Testament avenues of giving, namely, the making of disciples. Next month we’ll consider some wisdom about relieving suffering. Thanks for reading. — David

The post Think Before You Clink! (And Maybe Bring Jesus Back Sooner!) Part 1 appeared first on David Servant.

Is there something that you could give to someone that is better than money? I’m going to continue from some of our thoughts from our previous two little lessons where we were talking about wealth, riches and righteousness.

I want to share something with you today that might be a little bit surprising to you. If not surprising, at least it might provoke your thinking a little bit to look at giving in a little different way than perhaps you’ve ever looked at it before.

The Blessing of Microcredit

The ministry that I’m so blessed to be the founder and director of, Heaven’s Family, works in about 40 countries, and we’re involved in lots of projects trying to do as much good as we possibly can, and one of the main things that we’re doing around the world is the establishing of Christian micro-banks. We’ve got a certain method that we use.

In a nutshell, we lend money to people that we trust, and they in turn lend smaller amounts of money to people whom they trust, and with that money they start small businesses and begin to prosper.

It works beautifully and we’ve learned a lot over the years as to how to be the most effective in making those kinds of loans. It’s called microcredit, and what a blessing it is.

Getting Some Capital for the First Time

When I’ve been involved in meeting with our micro-bankers, of which I think we have close to 100 at this point in time scattered around 14 different countries, I want to encourage them that what they’re doing on our behalf and on behalf of the kingdom of God is something that’s very praiseworthy.

And often these are people who are poor, particularly poor by Western standards, but they often are poor even by the standards in their own countries, and for the first time in their lives they’re getting their hands on a little sum of money which they can use for good, some capital that they can invest.

As far as the micro-bank is concerned, investing in the lives of small stake entrepreneurs, and the end borrowers investing in agricultural businesses like buying a couple of pigs and feeding them and taking care of them, and then selling them for a profit, or growing corn or something like that.

Five General Ways to Get Money For Yourself

So I explain to our micro-bankers that I can think of essentially five general ways that you can get money for yourself, and all of them, I think we can judge them based on how well they fulfill the commandment to love our neighbor as ourselves, starting with the lowest on the ladder.

Here’s a way you can get money: you can steal. Now, how does that fit the commandment to love your neighbor as yourself? It doesn’t fit at all. You’re not loving your neighbor at all. You’re taking from your neighbor what he or she gained, we assume by his or her hard work, and in essence you’re saying to that person, “You are my slave. You work for me. I don’t work. You work for me, and I get the benefit and you don’t,” and so there’s no love for your neighbor at all in stealing. Everybody always nods their heads when I say this.

I then say, “Well, here’s the next step. This is a step above the step I just gave you. This is the next rung on the ladder. This one might surprise you. It might even hurt some of you. The next way to get money is by begging.”

Now, that is a step above stealing because at least the person who’s giving you money is willingly doing it, but still how does that fit into the commandment to love your neighbor as yourself? Well, you’re being a burden on your neighbor. Still you’re expecting your neighbor to work. He or she is kind of your slave.

“You work. You get money, and then I beg and you give it to me. I’m not performing any valuable service whatsoever that benefits anybody. I’m just a beggar.”

A lot of Christian leaders around the world, when they hear me say that, it kind of makes them quiet because they recognize that they’re beggars of sorts themselves. They’re always coming with their hand out looking for some free giveaway.

Getting Money and Loving Your Neighbor as Yourself

I said, “Let’s go to the next step, the next rung up on the ladder.” This is when you’re finally getting into loving your neighbor as yourself, when you use your God-given brain, your God-given muscles, your God-given opportunities to work so you can earn enough money to take care of your own needs so you’re not a burden on anyone else.

Now you’re walking in love because you’re not like the thief who expects other people to work and the thief benefits, or like the beggar who’s in the same category. You’re not a burden upon anybody, and this is contained in the scripture where Paul tells people to “work with your own hands that you won’t be a burden upon others,” (see 1 Thessalonians 4:11-12), so if you’re able to be self-supportive, then that’s great.

Well, the next step in love is to use your God-given brain, your God-given muscles, your God-given opportunities to earn enough where you can not only meet your own needs, but the needs of say, your family if you’re married. You’re taking care of your spouse. You’re taking care of your kids. That’s a praiseworthy thing. You’re working and you’re showing your love.

You’re earning more than you personally consume, so you’re able to provide for others. Let’s call that exactly what it is. It’s a praiseworthy thing that you are doing, and let’s go one step further in step number four. You’re using your brains and muscles and opportunities not only to take care of yourself and your own family, but you can also meet the needs of a widow or an orphan to categorize the people who generally can’t take care of themselves.

So you see, every one of these things is a step up in greater love. And it involves work, doesn’t it? It involves gain, doesn’t it? It involves using your muscles and your brains and your opportunities.

The Highest Way to Get Money and Love Your Neighbor as Yourself

Well, the highest step, the fifth step in this ladder that I share with our micro-bankers is to make them really feel good about what they’re about to do. It’s when you use your God-given brain and muscles and opportunities to make enough money that you can save some money and then invest that money in starting a business so that you can offer other people jobs to get them off of the first and second rung of thief and beggar to where they’re taking care of themselves, and they’re using their brains and their muscles to contribute.

They’re adding value, bringing value. That’s why they’re getting paid. Praise the Lord! Okay? So the highest level of love in my example to those micro-bankers is, you’re giving people opportunities. You’re not just giving them handouts. You’re giving them opportunities to prosper themselves, and that is better than giving somebody money.

What would you rather do if someone came to you with a need? Would you rather say to them, “Well, here, let me open my wallet and give you some money that’s going to take care of that need temporarily,” or would you rather say, “I’m an employer and I’ve got a job, and I could use your skills. You could be valuable to me. I’ll pay you to work for me”? That is a greater act of giving.

Well, that’s a new way of looking at things, isn’t it? It certainly is, and one that’s worth pondering today. Thanks so much for joining me on this little lesson. God bless you.

The post Could You Give Someone Something Better Than Money? appeared first on David Servant.

Today’s Little Lesson is a continuation of our previous Little Lesson, talking about the potential of being righteous and at the same time being rich. We’re trying to do our best to answer that question, not from one verse taken out of its context in the Bible, but by looking at a little bit more context.

Looking at James’ Condemnation in Context

Currently, we’re looking in James 5, which starts off with James saying in verse 1, “Come now, you rich, weep and howl for your miseries which are coming upon you.” This seems like a carte blanche condemnation of anybody who has any degree of wealth.

As we continue reading, we see that James is targeting a specific group of wealthy people, those who have had no concern for the poor. They have not used their richest to help the poor. They’ve got rotting food. They’ve got moth-eaten garments. They have food and clothing that could have helped the poor, but they didn’t care. They just let it rot. It benefited the bacteria. It benefited the moss.

And the same thing with their gold and silver. It’s piled up and it’s not being given to anybody. It’s not being invested to help anybody.

Getting Rich from Extortion

It gets even more clear what kind of wealthy people James is condemning in verse 4: “Behold, the pay of the laborers who mowed your fields, and which has been withheld by you, cries out against you; and the outcry of those who did the harvesting has reached the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth.”

Now, we find out James is condemning wealthy people who gained their wealth on the backs of the poor whom they employed and never paid. Well, that’s wrong.

But what a blessing it would be if they had paid them and provided those folks with an opportunity to earn money. And that would have been totally the opposite of what they did do: employ but not pay them. This is the one thing that the wealthy do have the blessing of being involved in is providing opportunities for other people and to help an economy to grow by giving people chances to be employed and to use their skills and to pay them what they’re worth as is determined by the marketplace of their hard work, and so forth.

Using Money Selfishly

Again, the condemnation continues in verse 5, “You have lived luxuriously on the earth and led a life of wanton pleasure.”

These are the guys sitting on their couches plucking the grapes and plopping them into their mouth as somebody fans them. The type of rich people living luxuriously in wanton pleasure because they happen to own some lands so they don’t have to work. They can just cash in on employing other people who they don’t ultimately pay.

“you have fattened your hearts,” James continues in verse 5, “in a day of slaughter.” No doubt these are the kind of folks that Jesus was also condemning when He talked about “Woe to you who are rich and well fed and laughing now” (see Luke 6:24-26).

The Height of Evil

James continues, finally verse 6, “You have condemned and put to death the righteous man; he does not resist you.”

Here we have the height of evil in these wealthy people whom James condemns. They have been condemning righteous people to the degree of casting their vote against them. I suppose during their jury duty or, in some context. “Putting to death the righteous man, and he does not resist you,” as James says.

You can see just to carte blanche condemn all wealthy people would be a mistake based upon what James wrote in James chapter 5:1-6.

A Wealthy Man James Complements

Now, interestingly, reading in the wider context of James, we find that James is very complementary towards two very wealthy people who are not like the wealthy people he described in his fifth chapter. In James 2, well, James talks highly about Abraham who is a perfect example of a man whose faith in God showed up in the actions and the deeds and the works of his life.

James goes so far to say, “Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up Isaac his son on the altar? … and the Scripture was fulfilled which says, “And Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness,” and he was called the friend of God” (vv. 21 and 23).

There’s a guy who was righteous and rich. In fact the Bible talks about how God made Abraham rich. and James goes on, “He was called the friend of God.” He says very complementary things about a very wealthy man. He was righteous in God’s eyes, declared righteous by God’s eyes even in his wealth, and he was called the friend of God.

An Absurd Objection

Now some folks say, “Well, of course, the New Covenant, that’s all changed.” Come on now, use your brain, please! To say that fundamental moral ethical principles change from the Old Covenant to the New Covenant is utterly absurd.

It’s like claiming that God himself has fundamentally morally changed. God cannot look at something as respectable a hundred years ago that He abhors today, right? Right. Because God doesn’t change. He’s perfect in His morality and in His justice and His ethic.

Another Wealthy and Righteous Man

Well, another guy whom James complements rather highly, a real rich guy, is in the same chapter that we read about his condemnation of the unrighteous rich guy. Look at James again at James 5. He’s encouraging his readers to endure their trials and so forth. And he says,

We count those blessed who endured. You have heard of the endurance of Job and have seen the outcome of the Lord’s dealings, that the Lord is full of compassion and is merciful. – James 5:11

Well, if you read the Book of Job, in the end, he had twice as much as what he had in the beginning and, in the beginning, he was a millionaire. But read Job’s testimony very closely in the Book of Job and you see that he was a guy, a righteous rich man who had no need, like the rich ruler, to liquidate because he was liquidating all the time, taking care of orphans and widows and those who are less fortunate than the poor. Plus, employing perhaps hundreds of people in his business and with all of his livestock and so forth, he couldn’t take care of it himself.

These are some things to think about. Can you be righteous and rich? You can, but you’ve got to love God all your heart, you’ve got to love your neighbor as yourself. And, if you do, it’s going to show up in what you do with your money. Thanks so much for joining me. Until next time, the Lord bless you.

The post Is It Possible to Be Rich and Righteous? – Part 2 appeared first on David Servant.

We’re going to continue talking about money on this episode. We know that the Bible warns that the love of money is the root of all sorts of evil (see 1 Timothy 6:10).

So there is a great danger there with money, and wealth, and riches. Most teachers and preachers who will mention the fact that Scripture warns against the love of money will quickly point out, and rightfully so, that it’s not money itself that is the root of all sorts of evil, but it is the love of money that is the root of all sorts of evil.

Money is a horrible taskmaster, but it can be a great servant, right? That’s important to remember.

Jesus warned that you can’t serve two masters (see Matthew 6:24). You’re going to love one, and hate the other, or vice-a-versa, right? He, specifically, then tagged money. He said you can’t serve God and money. Money is a great competitor against God for people’s hearts. God wants us to love him with all of our heart, mind, soul, and strength. God wants us to love our neighbor as ourselves. When we love money more than we love God, or more than we love our neighbor as ourselves, we got our love on the wrong thing.

“ Money is a horrible taskmaster, but it can be a great servant. —DAVID SERVANT

Can You Be Righteous and Rich at the Same Time?

Okay, is it possible to be righteous and to also at the same time be rich? Well yes, but with a little disclaimer: the person who is laying up treasures for himself, as not rich towards God, as Jesus warned about in the parable of the rich fool, he’s not righteous.

If you’re going to be righteous and rich, you have to be submitted to God, and if you are submitted to God, then you’re going to be using your money to do his will. And then it can be a wonderful, wonderful blessing. As I said, money can be a wonderful servant, it’s a horrible taskmaster.

Looking at All of Scripture

Oftentimes we find some folks who love to just focus on one or two verses of the Bible and build their theology on those. For example, where Jesus said, “But woe to you who are rich, for you are receiving your comfort in full.” (Luke 6:24).

If that verse was spoken in a vacuum, we might conclude that it’s just evil to be rich. But it wasn’t spoken in a vacuum, it was spoken within the context of everything else that Jesus said, and everything else that God said in the entirety of the Bible.

In fact, it might not hurt us just to read a little bit of the context of that statement by Jesus.

Jesus’ ‘Woe to You’ Statements in Context

But woe to you who are rich, for you are receiving your comfort in full. Woe to you who are well-fed now, for you shall be hungry. Woe to you who laugh now, for you shall mourn and weep. Woe to you when all men speak well of you, for their fathers used to treat the false prophets in the same way. – Luke 6:24-26

Well, was Jesus condemning all wealthy people? If He was, He was condemning a lot of biblical people, right? Sure, and He was condemning some folks who were helping Him in His own ministry, because Scripture makes it plain that Jesus was supported by the contributions of those who appreciated his ministry.

“ If you are submitted to God, then you’re going to be using your money to do his will. —DAVID SERVANT

There’s also a condemnation of anyone who’s not currently hungry, and they’re well fed. Well, woe to a lot of us if there’s no deeper meaning, or perspective, that we ought to take by looking at the entirety of Scripture here.

Jesus also said, “Woe to you who laugh now,” yikes, “for you shall mourn and weep.” So He’s condemning everyone who’s not mourning and weeping right now. Well obviously, looking at that in the context of all of Scripture, these can’t be carte blanche condemnations of everybody who’s smiling and laughing, and everybody who’s got a full belly, who just completed a meal, and then for that same reason, for everyone who’s rich.

When Riches Are Sinful

Jesus is talking about a specific instance, a specific time, when His followers were being persecuted, and suffering because of it, and those who were not His followers who were having a party at the expense of His followers. Now, James similarly, whose writing mirrors what you find in the Sermon on the Mount perhaps more than any other epistle, wrote something similar.

He said in James 5:1, “Come now, you rich, weep and howl for your miseries which are coming upon you.” I always believe that the best commentary on what Jesus said in the gospels as recorded by Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John is found in the epistles, right? These guys were the closest ones to Jesus.

Was James across the board condemning anyone who had some degree of wealth or riches? Well, he goes on and becomes more specific on who he’s condemning in this fifth chapter of James.

Description of the Greedy

“Your riches have rotted,” so that means you’ve got more food than you need, that could have been shared with the poor, but you didn’t care about the poor, your food, that you’ve got stored up has rotted, and it’s not good for anybody now. “And your garments have become moth eaten,” well that’s right out of the Sermon on the Mount where Jesus warned about laying up treasures on this earth where moths, and rust consume.

“ Money is a great competitor against God for people’s hearts. —DAVID SERVANT

The moths that eat the garments of the wealthy, those are garments that the wealthy aren’t wearing. In other words, it’s an incrimination against the wealthy. You’ve got more clothes than you need, you could be clothing the naked, but you just have clothes stored up in your closet, and you never wear them, and the moths are benefiting, but the poor are not benefiting from your wealth.

Then he goes on, “Your gold and your silver have rusted.” So you’ve got piles of stuff that is not being put to use, it’s not being invested, it’s not being given to anybody to help the poor, or to give opportunities for people. It just piling up.

“Their rust will be a witness against you, and will consume your flesh like fire. It is in the last days that you have stored up your treasures,” so clearly this is a condemnation of a certain group of wealthy people. Not generous wealthy people like Job, who used his wealth to take care of widows and orphans, and to employ people, and to put them to good service and use in a functioning little economy. This is just wealthy greedy people piling up their treasure on the earth, okay?

Well, this is a Little Lesson, and how time flies. So we’re going to have to do part two in our next Little Lesson. Thanks for joining me, hope to see you then. God bless.

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Sometimes when you look at really wealthy people, you’re tempted to think, “They’re bad people. They’re evil people.” That very well could be true, because sometimes wealth can be an indication of evil on a couple levels.

One, if a person gains their wealth through unscrupulous, immoral means, well, their wealth represents evil, doesn’t it? Obviously, the rich guys in the mafia, they’re rich because of their evil, their corruption, and so forth.

And drug pushers and people who make money by exploiting other people and taking advantage of other people, or selling products that hurt other people. If you got wealth from that, you’re going to have to answer to God.

But we do find people in the Bible who were wealthy whom God did not condemn them for their wealth and so it must be possible to be wealthy and not be evil.

“ We have to answer to God for the way we gain our wealth in this life.

When Wealth Is Not an Indication of Evil

How would that be possible? Well, it would be possible if you earned your wealth by a righteous means, doing something or doing things that are not displeasing to God. And of course there’s lots of ways to make money that are not displeasing to God.

If you’re offering a good or a service to people and they’re paying for it. They’re paying what they value it at or else they wouldn’t be buying your goods or services. And you’re providing them a service. If you make profit over that, well then there’s nothing wrong with that whatsoever. So number one, as long as we’re not making our money by some immoral means.

Then secondly, once you’ve gained those profits, what should you do with them? Well, of course you have to provide for your own needs, the needs of your family. But beyond that, as we’ve talked about in previous Little Lessons, you want to lay up as much treasure in Heaven as you possibly can, because that’s the only place it’s going to last. And so Scripture condemns those who are hoarding their wealth.

The Evil of Hoarding Wealth

Jesus told a story one time about a rich guy whose farm really prospered (see Luke 12:13-21). And he said, “What should I do? I think I’ll just tear down my barns and build bigger barns and live a life of ease. Eat, drink, and be merry.”

And God said, “You’re stupid. You’re a fool because tonight you’re going to die.” You’re not rich toward God. You’re just rich in yourself. You’ve got earthly treasures piled up, nothing piled up in Heaven. What a fool he was. And that’s what God said about him, “You fool, you’ve laid up all your treasure on Earth, you’re not rich toward God.”

So if you make money in a legitimate way—a way that doesn’t displease God—and then you are generous with it to serve other people with it, and lay up treasure in heaven, help the genuinely poor, and try to help them get out of their poverty (not making them dependent upon you or actually hurting them in the process), honestly helping them, and if you’re helping to spread the gospel around the world, supporting missionaries and Evangelists and apostles and so forth, well that’s great.

One of the Richest Men in the Bible

One example that comes to mind of a guy who fit that description, to a degree at least anyways, was the Old Testament patriarch Job. You can’t argue with this because God said personally about Job, “There’s nobody like Job who fears me and turns from evil.” I mean, he was God’s number one guy on the face of the Earth.

And yet he obviously by that day’s standards could be considered a millionaire in what he owned in livestock and the employees that worked for him.

Then that’s another blessing about many wealthy people, is that they are creating opportunities for other people. That’s how they get wealthy. By creating opportunities for other people who then they join together to collectively work together to produce goods and services that benefit others who are willing to pay for those goods and services. That’s called a corporation, a company. More than just a sole proprietorship where one person who’s doing the work and charging a fee for his work.

Fair Wages

We’re talking about organizing people, giving them opportunities. I’m not here to say that what we’re seeing currently in at this state in the Western world, the compensation that is received by some very, very high paid executives compared to what’s received by the others who contribute to the overall wealth of the entire corporation.

I’m not here to say that because I think that there could be some moral implications there when the CEO is making literally hundreds of millions of dollars, and the others who are quite valuable and contributing their own gifts and talents are making so little. I think that every corporate executive and every board of directors needs to think about that. On the other hand, when there’s free markets, companies have to compete for the top executives.

So that’s why some of these people are paid so much because they bring that much value and other people in those corporations are benefiting by the value that is brought by the top person.

Christians, Rich and Poor

Generally speaking, some people get their money easily who are wealthy, but it’s not usually the case, not usually the case. I’m blessed.

I know people all over the world. I’ve stayed with the poorest people on this planet in their little wood shacks and huts and remote places, and I’ve stayed with people in very palatial homes who I sense have the Spirit of God and are very much concerned about the kingdom of God.

And people who are extremely gifted and talented and hard working and who have added value to other people’s lives and they’ve benefited from it. They’re not just indulging themselves. They’re laying up a lot of treasure in heaven, so I’m not going to be their judge. Okay?

Make All You Can, Save All You Can, Give All You Can

“ Make all you can, save all you can, give all you can. – John Wesley

I like what John Wesley said about money. “Make all you can, save all you can,” not save up a bank account. Be frugal. So don’t spend so much. And then, “Give all you can.”

Well, there’s a lot of Scripture packed in that little maximum. “Make all you can, save all you can, and give all you can.” I think that’s a good Christian viewpoint, a biblical viewpoint, of the subject of money.

Thank you so much for joining me on today’s Little Lesson. See you next time.

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Is it wrong or is it right for Christians to invest in the stock market?

We’re continuing from our previous Little Lesson’s question about investing in the stock market. This is something that is widely practiced because, at least from a natural standpoint, it certainly does make a lot of sense to save money for the future.

Now, I began to speak yesterday a little bit about the whole idea of saving. We have to question why we would be saving. You have to be saving for a legitimate reason. If you’re just piling up treasures on this earth so that you can just grow your wealth and enjoy more, that’s a questionable practice.

But, investing a portion of what you earn to guard against the future, and the eventualities of old age is extremely wise and could be considered again, as just an act of love towards the people that you love, so you’re not a burden upon them.

Saving to Start a Future Business

There are other valid reasons to save. You may be saving to start a future business in which you need some startup capital. Doesn’t it make more sense to save and earn interest and dividends then it does to borrow money and pay interest? That shows some self discipline, some prudence. And then when the time comes, you have enough money, some capital to start a business.

Because every business, generally speaking, needs some capital to start, even the smallest business. If you have a lemonade stand, you’ve got to have the water and the lemons and you’ve got to have a little table.

That being said, there are legitimate reasons to save for business. But again, if you’re not submitted to God, if you’re just trying to save money to start a business so you grow filthy rich and live a life of luxury, that’s wrong. That’s very, very wrong.

But if you’re trying to save so that you can start a business and support your family and help your kids get a start in life and take some of the earnings from your business and—as much as possible, if God blesses it and you work hard enough—that you could give a whole lot for the sake of Gods Kingdom. Well, that’s praiseworthy, that’s virtuous. So it all comes down to what’s really in your heart in this case.

Saving Purely to Give

You can also save purely to give, and that’s from the New Testament. I just pulled up a verse in the Bible from 1 Corinthians 16 where Paul is writing about a collection that he’s taking amongst all the churches for the very poor and struggling saints in Jerusalem:

Now concerning the collection for the saints, as I directed the churches of Galatia, so do you also. On the first day of every week each one of you is to put aside and save, as he may prosper, so that no collections be made when I come. – 1 Corinthians 16:1-2

So what he’s saying is, “I’m going to be coming by in a few months, and if you save weekly from what you earn every single week, when I come, it’ll be a huge blessing, and I can take your gift to Jerusalem.”

That’s an illustration of saving money in order to be a blessing. To give money, to serve others. And you can do that in the short term or the long term, as in the example that I previously made.

Starting a business at some point in the future, having the business capital to start up, you have to save to get there. But, your ultimate goal is to be a blessing. Maybe one day you could be a millionaire, and you can give away millions of dollars and lay up lots of treasure in Heaven.

So you can see that saving money could be on the path to laying up more treasure in Heaven, which is what Jesus wants us to do and what, of course, all followers of Christ want to do.

How to Invest in the Stock Market

There are valid reasons to save, but, regarding the stock market, again, it’s not a short term investment. If you want to invest in the short term, like you’re saving up to buy a car in two years, I wouldn’t personally recommend the stock market. Because there’s a chance you could lose money. And nobody wants to lose money. And God, I don’t think, wants us to lose money.

Now, people try to beat the stock market. One of the ways to do it is of course to spread your investment out over the entire stock market. These are called Index Funds where you basically are investing in the top 100 biggest companies in North America, for example. Those are actually the safest and in one sense the smartest mutual funds to invest in, but the trouble is, as I mentioned on our previous little lesson, you’re very likely to be investing in a few companies where what they’re doing doesn’t please God.

So I’m not encouraging investment in Index Funds, but I am certainly encouraging, if you’re going to invest for the long term, spread out your investment. Don’t put all your eggs in one basket.

No One Can Predict the Future of the Stock Market

People also try to beat the stock market by predicting the future. There are a lot of really, really smart people who have trying to figure it out this as their business. And the next thing they’re trying to figure out is how to convince you that they can predict the future. None of them can.

This year’s great stock picker is often next years major loser. Because you could you say, “Well, last year my investments returned 100%, I doubled my money so listen to me.”

Well, it wasn’t because he was so smart. It was because he was so lucky! Luckiness has a way of turning into unluckiness, so my advice is to be conservative investing in companies that have proven track records, that are definitely providing goods and services that benefit people and are evolving with the times. And the stock value goes up and they’re paying the dividends.

Investing in the Stock Market is Participation in a Functioning Economy

You think about it, what an opportunity it is to be a part-owner of a business that is providing goods and or services for which people are willing to pay a fair price. It’s the investors that make it all possible. All the blessing that comes from an economy, a functioning economy, comes from the people who’ve invested, who are part-owners in those companies.

For you to say, carte blanche, it’s wrong to invest your money. That would be like saying it’s wrong to participate in a functioning economy. No, it’s the investors that make it all possible. Those are the people who consume less than what they earn, so they’re living below their means, as it were, but seeing the wisdom in preparing for their future. And at the same time, have the blessing of participating in a functioning economy which blesses everybody in that functioning economy.

Alright, well, that’s enough. This is a Little Lesson. There’s so much to be be said about this, but, I thought I’d just give you my two cents.

Thanks for listening! God Bless.

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We’ve got a great question to answer today about investing in the stock market. Some Christians are very concerned about this for a couple of reasons, and actually for a couple of very good reasons.

When Christians Should Not Invest in the Stock Market

One of them would be investing in a company or a business that is doing something or producing a good or a service that’s not so good. Particularly something that would be offensive to God. I think it goes without saying that the Lord would not want any Christians investing in and therefore profiting by a company that, for example, produces pornography, right? Right.

If they’re harming people by the “service” that they’re providing and people are paying for, or harming people by “goods” that they’re manufacturing, then Christians don’t want to be in partnership with that and profiting by that.

I personally would never want to invest, for example, in a cigarette company. I mean, honestly, what is there good to say about the whole cigarette industry? It causes people to get lung caner and to die prematurely. So you don’t want to be invested in some cigarette manufacturing company, all right?

Isn’t Investing in the Stock Market Storing Up Treasures on Earth?

Another reason that Christians are concerned about this—and rightfully so—is because Jesus talked about not laying up your treasures on earth, but laying them up in heaven. Because where your treasures are, there is your heart also (see Matthew 6:19-21).

But I don’t think that Jesus meant by that that we shouldn’t own anything on this earth, right? We have to have a place to sleep, we have to have a place to live, we have to have clothes to wear. And so obviously we have to decide what we actually need and what we really don’t need.

And all the things that we really don’t need, it would be best to take the money that we would use to buy those things and lay the treasure up in heaven. Because it’s yours forever then. That’s the best investment, right?

Anything that you invest on this earth, anything that you accumulate on this earth, one day you will not be the owner of it. But if you invest in heavenly treasures, as Jesus said, you never lose them. So that’s the best investment. Everybody has to draw the line and wrestle with what should be laid up in heaven and what should be kept on this earth.

When Investing in the Stock Market is Wise

So why would anyone want to invest in the stock market in the first place? Well, simply because it’s a potential means of saving. And better than that, it’s a potential means of investing so that the value of what you invest eventually goes up. So in the end you have more than what you started with.

Now let’s consider a couple of facets of that. One thing is of course, why would you want to save up? What would be valid reasons for saving up?

Well, one is to prepare for things in the future that you might otherwise not be prepared for. Things happen. Calamities happen. It’s just wise to be prepared. One thing that’s going to happen to all of us is that we’re going to get older. In fact, right now you’re getting older, and if you notice, I’m getting older too. One day we eventually die.

Investing in the Stock Market to Prepare for Old Age

We’d all like to think that Jesus is going to return before we die and so therefore we’re not going to go through old age, but I notice that most people in human history have gone through old age and its accompanying challenges.

I just wheeled my own 86-year-old father out of my house where he lives, in his wheelchair, out to the car, so he could go to his regular therapy session to help him once again be able to walk (which he hasn’t been able to do since he had a stroke some months ago).

So it’s a good thing my dad was somewhat prepared for this time in his life financially or else he would have been forced to have been a burden on somebody else. So saving for old age can be an act of love and an act of love toward the very ones that you love the most, your own family members. Because they’re the ones who are naturally going to assume responsibility for you in your latter years. Okay?

The Stock Market Is Not a Good Short-Term Investment

Now the stock market specifically is not a good short-term investment. Because it goes up and down. And stocks of individual companies, their value goes up and down all based on the fear and the greed of all the rest of the stockholders.

So if you’re going to get into the stock market, you’ve got to think in terms of a length of time that makes sense, where you have a reasonable chance of not losing your money. The stock market goes through bull and bear phases where sometimes it’s generally going up and sometimes it’s generally going down. You don’t want to get on that at the wrong time, because then yours goes down and it would have been better that you had never invested.

So that’s why a lot of people use the stock market to invest for retirement. Because if you start early, in your 20s or 30s, then in the end, the chances are it’s going to be worth more than what you put in it.

Why I Avoid Investing in Mutual Funds

I have more to say on this in our next Little Lesson. But something that I think that I’ve felt I needed to avoid in my savings plan for my elderly years is investing in mutual funds.

It’s very wise to spread your investments if you’re investing in the stock market over a wide range of stocks, because then if some go down others will probably go up. And you have a better chance of not losing your money and actually making some money.

But the trouble with mutual funds is, someone else is in control of which companies they invest in. And you might, inadvertently, through a mutual fund be investing in some companies that are doing things that God hates, okay? The products they manufacture are not good, the services that they provide are not good.

Those companies I think are a minority, but people are sinful and they buy sinful products and sinful services. And we don’t want to be a part of that profiting over that. Okay, more to say on our next little lesson. Thank you so much for joining me. God bless you.

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What do disciples of Jesus do with their money? For the past few episodes, we’ve been talking about the very important subject of discipleship, what it means to be a disciple.

Hopefully, you’re in full agreement with me that there are no two categories of Christians, believers and disciples. That, in fact, all true believers in Jesus are disciples. Because if you believe in Jesus, you’re going to follow and obey Him and be willing to pay whatever price that you have to in order to successfully follow Him.

Counting the Cost of Being a Disciple of Jesus Christ

Although His commands are not burdensome (see 1 John 5:3) and His yoke is easy and His burden is light (see Matthew 11:30), that’s primarily because He’s given us the Holy Spirit to help us bear the burden.

And fitting that in with the rest of the Scripture, sometimes, there’s a huge price to pay for following Jesus. There have been millions of people who have suffered the ultimate for following Christ. They gave their lives.

But those of us who haven’t necessarily had to give our lives, it’s cost us friendships, it’s cost us family members because we love Jesus the most. And if our family doesn’t like Jesus, they’re not going to like us anymore either.

Some of us, it’s cost us our job because we were unwilling to do something unethical that was required of us in order to be employed at a certain place.

What About Our Money?

It certainly has cost every disciple money, and why do I say that? Well, I say that because that’s one of the requirements to be a disciple. Everything comes under Christ’s Lordship, including all money and all possessions.

We’ve been reading in Luke 14, Jesus’ three requirements to become His disciple. One is you’ve got to hate your loved ones. The second one is that you’ve got to carry your cross. I believe that’s symbolic for being willing to embrace suffering.

“ Everything comes under Christ’s Lordship, including all money and all possessions. —DAVID SERVANT

What Jesus Taught About True Discipleship

Jesus continues in Luke 14 about the whole idea of counting the cost,

For which one of you, when he wants to build a tower, does not first sit down and calculate the cost to see if he has enough to complete it? Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who observe it begin to ridicule him, saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish.’ Or what king, when he sets out to meet another king in battle, will not first sit down and consider whether he is strong enough with ten thousand men to encounter the one coming against him with twenty thousand? Or else, while the other is still far away, he sends a delegation and asks for terms of peace. – vv. 28-32

The whole point of those two illustrations that Jesus gave were simply, don’t start unless you’re willing to see it through to the end. Don’t get into the battle if you don’t think that you can win. Count the cost.

When evangelists call people to make quickie decisions for Jesus and pray a little sinner’s prayer, they’re really doing them a great disservice. They ought to be telling them to consider, “If you decide to follow Christ, here are what could be the consequences. Because here’s what Jesus said that it takes to be His disciple.”

The Financial Cost of Following Christ

Now, let’s continue. Because I don’t want to forget what we were talking about, the whole idea of our money. In verse 33, Jesus says,

So then, none of you can be My disciple who does not give up all his own possessions.

We have to love Jesus more than our loved ones, more than our own life, more than our comfort and convenience. And now, last, we have to love Jesus more than our possessions. As obedient disciples, everything that we thought we owned, now He owns. And we have to listen to Him as to what to do with it.

Well, we know, of course, that Jesus has things for us to do with our money. And one of those, of course, is to care for the “least of these”.

Caring for the “Least of These”

Remember in Matthew 25 where Jesus talked about the future judgment of the sheep and the goats? The very thing that determined whether or not people were saved and were welcomed into the Kingdom or unsaved and cast into hell was, did they sacrifice their time and their resources for the least of these, Whom Jesus defined as those who were suffering within His body. People who didn’t have food or clothing or water, people who were sick, people who were imprisoned, and so forth.

There’s no escaping this. No, no escaping this. Are you a disciple of Jesus Christ? Well, you can answer that question by answering this question: does my checkbook reflect that I’m a disciple of Jesus Christ.

Because nobody can say to you, God requires this percentage and no more or no less. I mean, some people try to focus in on the tithe, but Jesus said, “Don’t lay up treasures on this earth” (see Matthew 6:19-20). A true disciple is trying to lay up little on this earth and a lot in Heaven because that’s what Jesus taught. That’s what He commanded. Don’t lay up treasures on earth. Lay them up in Heaven.

Wrestling With Jesus’ Teachings on Money and Possessions Individually

Everybody has to wrestle with this individually. I know that, and so I’m not going to set any rules or regulations or percentages or tell you what kind of a car you can or cannot drive. Or how big of a house or that type of thing.

But if this is not a part of your Christianity, that is, stewardship…

Which I want to submit to you, honesty, it’s not part of a lot of people’s Christianity. They don’t ever care. They never talk about caring for the poor within the body of Christ. And their checkbook doesn’t reflect that they care.

Jesus said, “When you do it to the least of these, my brethren, you’ll do it unto me.” And to the goats, He said, “You didn’t do it for me, and you didn’t do it for the least of these, so you didn’t do it for me.”

This is our opportunity to show our love for Jesus by loving the “least of these” in whom He is dwelling. Suffering brothers and sisters in Christ.

Believing in “Bible Jesus”

You can see, I hope, from these Little Lessons that a lot of people who think that they’re believers in Jesus aren’t really believers in Jesus. They’re believers in some kind of Jesus, but not in “Bible Jesus”. Because if they believed in “Bible Jesus”, they’d be disciples of Jesus, and it’d be reflected by their lives and what they do with their time and their money and so forth.

Thank you so much for joining me. Good things to think about. Take a look yourself at Luke 14:25-35, and our next lesson, we’ll finish this out. God bless.

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