Hey gang, thanks for reading! I know the notes on this sereis have been pretty long and I appreciate you taking the time and pray that you recieve from what you're reading.
Before we get right in the mix, I want you to preface today with the fact that I’ve been on both sides of every lesson that I’ve taught thus far and tonight’s no exception. I lived life where I rejected the Gospel; I did everything that the church told me not to and mocked God with my foolish choices. When I got married to my beautiful and darling wife 12 years ago, I didn’t know how to be a husband and though hurtful words, selfish motives and feeding my weakness and hers I was poisoning my marriage. However thanks to God things are better now than they ever been! Even though it still hurts to say it, I’ve shipwrecked my finances. I “had it all” and then lost it.
So I don’t teach these things tonight with an arrogant attitude. On the contrary, I want you to be able to avoid the catastrophes that I’ve had to deal with. However, the converse of that is since I have indeed wrecked my life in more ways than one I can assure through empirically evidence that if you seriously want to wreck your life just follow the plans laid out in these lessons.
I'm going to wade into another area that is somewhat sticky. Many moons ago when someone mentioned the church people thought of helping hands, walking the saw dust trail and robes of white by the watering hole. Sadly thanks to the likes of Christian TV, granted not everyone is bad, the first thing people think about when you mention the church is, you guessed it, they just want you money. Don’t worry though; this isn’t about “wanting your money” tonight. It’s about wrecking your life. So here go.
When it comes to finances people get fickle. I can remember my pastor sharing a story about a guy who said the church should just use old saw logs for pew and didn’t that they didn’t need “nothing fancy”—yet his home was very posh, full of overstuffed furniture and antiques. People will pay 50 dollars for a ticket to a concert or ballgame, 20 on a meal or 400 for a gadget but 20 bucks in the offering is way too much. Just think when you’ve only got 20 bucks for groceries it’s considered a meager amount; but when the plate is passed 20 might as well be a C-note. Sadly money is at the root of divorce, bigotry, pride, selfishness, envy, covetousness, strife, disappointment and a host of other maladies.
As such the bible has quite a bit to say about money so let’s go straight to the source and set the stage.
1 Tim 6:10
For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.
Now, I understand that the word says the “love of money” and not money and I have no qualms with that. Possessing money is not the problem; money possessing you is a whole other ball of wax. Thankfully Jesus makes a statement that really nails the issue down and sort of confronts those that money has possessed.
Matt 19:24
And again I say to you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God."
Now, I don’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings tonight, and I do believe that God blesses us and enables us to finance ministry and even gives us things to freely enjoy for His glory. However, I’ve often heard this explained away as Jesus speaking of a gate that was called the “needle gate” it was so tiny that the camel had to strip to nothing to get through. I’ve searched and searched and can’t find a single commentator that confirms this and there a numerous accounts of people going to Israel and inquiring about the needle gate. The guides just laugh and shake their heads and tell them the same thing, “there isn’t one.”
Now it’s not my goal to upset so please don’t hear what I’m not saying. A camel is not going to fit through the eye of a needle no matter what angle you try to squeeze it through. It was used to illustrate the fact that more people wreck their eternity and their natural lives on account of money and the pursuit thereof than just about any other thing. However, if we read on Jesus reminds us that it’s not impossible to the God of the universe. Money can be an amazing tool in the hands of a wise man and the path to ruin in the hands of fool.
So, to really just wreck our lives we first reject the Gospel; making the word of God just another book, the church another club and the tenets of the faith just nice suggestions. Then we start destroying our relationships by making it all about us, feeding the others weakness and letting them feed ours and finally by being too proud to ever admit wrong. Then what do we do?
Glad you asked, the first step to wrecking you financial life is to think of it as YOUR money. Jesus isn’t the one working at the Claire or the DC; sweating and dealing with cranky people. It’s my money. I was the one who earned it. It belongs to me. Adopting this attitude is the fast track to ruin.
Just in case you need some confirmation that it is indeed not YOUR money, YOUR house, YOUR car, YOUR spouse or really, YOUR anything; let me nail it down for you.
Ps 24:1
The earth is the Lord's, and all its fullness,The world and those who dwell therein.
Hag 2:8
The silver is Mine, and the gold is Mine,' says the Lord of hosts.
Acts 17:25-26
Nor is He worshiped with men's hands, as though He needed anything, since He gives to all life, breath, and all things.
Wowsers! Whose money is it? Well. Simply put, it’s God’s. He owns the worker, the building, the foreman and the wages. It’s all His. We’re just stewards and must serve faithfully as such!
1 Cor 4:2
Moreover it is required in stewards that one be found faithful
In short we really don’t “own” anything and in reality we never will. So the first step to wrecking your finances is to brush those verses to the side be obstinate and consider it your money. Since rejecting the Gospel is relational and affects every area, we can see where this attitude has its genesis. As such it makes it easier to step into the second snare of wrecking your financial life.
Be stingy. If it’s your money and you worked for it, it would make sense that you’re going to get all you can and can all you get. You’ll disregard integrity and ethics in a pursuit to “have it all”. Being stingy can come in 2 forms. The first is simply never giving. Be like Scrooge or Mr.Crabbs or a whole host of fictional characters that are the embodiment of stinginess. “Donate to the children’s fund? What have the children ever done for me?” We often fail to realize that when we are stingy and never give we’re only hurting ourselves.
Prov 28:22
A stingy man hastens after wealth and does not know that poverty will come upon him.
Isa 58:10
If you extend your soul to the hungry And satisfy the afflicted soul, Then your light shall dawn in the darkness, And your darkness shall be as the noonday
Prov 11:25
The generous soul will be made rich, And he who waters will also be watered himself.
Deut 16:17
Every man shall give as he is able, according to the blessing of the Lord your God which He has given you.
One of the ear marks of a Christian is that they are a giver. Some of you are wondering when I’m gonna drop Mal. 3:10, I suppose we’ll get there. I want you to see though, that there are other places where scripture makes this point. At this point we’re talking about being stingy . The bible is replete with many more examples than the ones that I’ve given you. Bottom line, we’re to be givers.
Freely (Mat. 10:28)
Regularly (1 Cor. 16:2)
Cheerfully (2 Cor. 9:7)
That stingy attitude leads to greed and covetousness and God is pretty explicit in Exodus 20 that we’re not to be marked by that kind of heart. Jesus himself warned His disciples against the dangers of greed. As does Paul.
Luke 12:15
"Take heed and beware of covetousness, for one's life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses."
Col 3:5
Therefore put to death your members which are on the earth: fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry.
Put them to death? How do you kill covetousness, greed and stinginess? Well, by giving. Again though this is a series on how to wreck your life, so, you would want to withhold rather than give. It’s hard to draw a real clear line between greed and stinginess and that’s why I’ve overlapped them. The end result of the attitude of “it’s my money and I need it now” is greed and stinginess and since it’s relational it ends up being affecting more than you think.
According to scripture greed results in:
Family Troubles (Pro.15:27)
Disappointment (Ecc. 5:10)
Folly (Jer. 17:11)
Apostasy (1 Tim. 6:10)
Misery (Ja. 5:3)
In the end the “my money” idea is a rejection of God’s sovereignty, He owns it all. What difference does it make if you’ve got all Bill Gate’s cash but lose your soul? However, if you want to wreck your life maintain that attitude and develop a reputation of being greedy and stingy.
For those who want to avoid such catastrophes I leave you with this;
Heb 13:5
Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, "I will never leave you nor forsake you."
You want to safeguard your financial life? Remember we’re stewards. Give cheerfully and regularly as you’re able. Seek to find your fullest satisfaction in the fact that Jesus is your Savior and that the things of this world are all temporal.
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