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Problem With Wealth. Money can motivate us
to ignore God, to depend on ourselves, and to trust in our own
abilities. People who are wealthy often serve their “money”
and not God. Their money, their home, their standard of living,
and their status in life as wealthy person are things that most
people want. Some people want more. It does not matter how much
or how little money we have. The desire for more can be a problem
because it takes our eyes off of God, and we start to trust
in the things of this world. Most people are usually not willing
to have less. A comfortable life style was a major problem with
the church in Laodicea (Revelation 3:14-22).
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I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot;
I wish that you were cold or hot. So because you are lukewarm,
and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of My mouth.
Because you say, "I am rich, and have become wealthy,
and have need of nothing," and you do not know that
you are wretched and miserable and poor and blind and
naked . . .” (NASB) Rev. 3:15-17
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These Christians did not sense a need for anything. The Holy
Spirit says they had “need of nothing.” They were
content. They were content with the life that their money provided.
So why did they need God?
How Do We Share? So how do we give? We
need to give some of our money to God. All we have comes from
Him anyway. Second, we need to make sure that we are taking
care of our family’s needs before giving to others. In
fact, God says that we are worse than a non-Christian if we
do not provide for our family.
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But if anyone does not provide for his own, and especially
for those of his household, he has denied the faith and
is worse than an unbeliever. (NASB) 1 Timothy 5:8
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Yet, even here we can buy things for our family that they do
not need. God wants us to leave some money to give to others.
Conclusion:
God has given each of us the amount of money He wants us to
have. It is a blessing from the Lord whether it is little or
much. No matter how much He has given to us He wants us to give
some back to Him as well as to others. God actually does not
need the money nor do others. He can meet anyone's needs. But
giving is good for us because it is His plan. He expects us
to give to Himself first, to meet the needs of our family
second, and then to help others last.
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