Blessings
Sometimes when we think about money in a biblical way we think, “If I give to God, then He will give back to me so much money that I won’t have enough room to store it!” Yes, we are commanded to tithe the firstfruits, and we understand that it is all God’s money anyway, but we can get this false notion that if we give to God, God will bless us with a lot of money. The trouble here is that not only is this a misreading or misunderstanding of the Scriptures, but it can lead to a damaged faith when we faithfully tithe but still find ourselves struggling financially.
“‘Bring all the tithes into the storehouse so there will be enough food in my Temple. If you do,’ says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, ‘I will open the windows of heaven for you. I will pour out a blessing so great you won’t have enough room to take it in! Try it! Put me to the test! Your crops will be abundant, for I will guard them from insects and disease. Your grapes will not fall from the vine before they are ripe,’ says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. ‘Then all nations will call you blessed, for your land will be such a delight,’ says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.” (Malachi 3:10-12)
“Honor the Lord with your wealth and with the best part of everything you produce. Then he will fill your barns with grain, and your vats will overflow with good wine.” (Proverbs 3:9-10)
Neither of these verses specify the blessing as monetary. God says He will pour out a blessing, specifically saying that He will keep insects and disease from your crops and your grapes won’t fall from the vine before they are ripe. He says He will fill your barns with grain and your vats will overflow with good wine. I don’t know about you, but I don’t have crops and grapes and barns of grain or vats of wine, but I do have kids that get sick and need to see the doctor, I have things that break in the house which require repairs, I have mouths to feed multiple times a day, seven days a week on a tight grocery budget. God may not give a monetary blessing all the time, but I have seen things that are broken suddenly begin to work, I have seen sickness go away without a doctor visit, and I have seen big meals come from little food. I have seen God keep the insects and diseases away.
It seems entirely appropriate that God doesn’t tell us He will bless us monetarily since money can be such a slippery slope for us sinful people. Jesus warned us against storing up our treasures here on earth.
“‘Don’t store up treasures here on earth, where moths eat them and rust destroys them, and where thieves break in and steal. Store your treasures in heaven, where moths and rust cannot destroy, and thieves do not break in and steal. Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be.’” (Matthew 6:19-21)
“‘No one can serve two masters. For you will hate one and love the other; you will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and be enslaved to money.’” (Matthew 6:24)
“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)
Our love of money can hinder our service to God. If money is this illusive thing that you feel you need but can never catch, if you find your thoughts dwelling on money and you feel stress from this, you are enslaving yourself to money. If you feel like your concerns dwell mostly on money, if you feel you are pierced with many sorrows because of a lack of money, you might be wandering from the true faith, choosing to serve money rather than God. What then can we do?
“‘Keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened. You parents—if your children ask for a loaf of bread, do you give them a stone instead? Or if they ask for a fish, do you give them a snake? Of course not! So if you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give good gifts to those who ask him.’” (Matthew 7:7-11)
Does it ever feel like you ask and are ignored? You seek and all you get is lost? You knock and the door remains closed? It can certainly feel this way sometimes, and when it does, we are faced with a choice: do we give up, feeling sorry for ourselves and probably a little angry with God for not answering, showing, and opening the door on our timetable? Or do we can keep on asking, keep on seeking, and keep on knocking as Jesus instructed us to do? Jesus doesn’t tell us to ask a few times, seek for a little while, knock three times and then just stand there and wait. He doesn’t tell us to ask, seek, and knock until you get tired of it. “Keep on” is a continual directive. There’s no timetable given, no stopping point indicated. Jesus tells us to keep on asking, seeking, and knocking. This is a test of our faith. When we feel ignored, lost, or alone, are we going to give up or are we going to keep on?
“Don't worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done.” (Philippians 4:6)
Don’t worry about anything, even money. Pray about everything, even money. Tell God what you need, and thank Him for all He has done. Recognize that He is in control and you are not, that He knows what’s best for you. Maybe you don’t need a monetary blessing to pay for that thing; instead, maybe you need a miracle. God’s promise to us is if we are faithful in our giving to Him, He will pour out a blessing so great we will not have enough room to take it in! It may be a blessing of money, it may be a blessing of prevention, it may be a blessing of a miracle healing or repair. Look for how God is keeping the insects and diseases away each day, thank Him for all He has done, choose which master you will serve, and keep on asking, keep on seeking, and keep on knocking.
May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.
—Redeemed
