I've often wrestled with this question and I've been thinking about it again this week. Where's the balance when it comes to working a lot to make enough money, and trusting God to provide?
I know many people who work 2-4 jobs to make sure they and their families live a comfortable life - not necessarily wealthy, but comfortable. That means they can take a vacation, put their kids in sports and music lessons, go out to dinner once in a while, etc... They still trust in God of course, but financially they're pretty secure. It's nice because they feel good and they are providing for their families. (Just to clarify, they still make sure to spend time with their families)
But my question is, is that too much? Do we need all those extras?
The other way to live is to trust that God will provide for those who love Him. So work one job where you make enough to pay the bills and that's about it, and then trust God for the rest....
I wrestle with this. I don't know where the balance is - I'm not sure where we as Christians should stand. Christians around the world (who are far more passionate about Christ than we are in the west) would likely say it's all about God, so give everything to Him and trust Him to provide - forget the luxuries. Should we think the same way? Isn't the whole point of this life God and spreading His good news?
Perhaps it's different for every Christian, and I think it likely is. In fact, I think it can change in one's lifetime. At one point in your life you could be in a position where God is telling you just to trust Him to provide, and then there are other times when He gives opportunities for you to make lots of money. So perhaps we each have to find the balance for ourselves.
As I said, I wrestle with this, so leave me a comment, let me know what you think!
I know many people who work 2-4 jobs to make sure they and their families live a comfortable life - not necessarily wealthy, but comfortable. That means they can take a vacation, put their kids in sports and music lessons, go out to dinner once in a while, etc... They still trust in God of course, but financially they're pretty secure. It's nice because they feel good and they are providing for their families. (Just to clarify, they still make sure to spend time with their families)
But my question is, is that too much? Do we need all those extras?
The other way to live is to trust that God will provide for those who love Him. So work one job where you make enough to pay the bills and that's about it, and then trust God for the rest....
I wrestle with this. I don't know where the balance is - I'm not sure where we as Christians should stand. Christians around the world (who are far more passionate about Christ than we are in the west) would likely say it's all about God, so give everything to Him and trust Him to provide - forget the luxuries. Should we think the same way? Isn't the whole point of this life God and spreading His good news?
Perhaps it's different for every Christian, and I think it likely is. In fact, I think it can change in one's lifetime. At one point in your life you could be in a position where God is telling you just to trust Him to provide, and then there are other times when He gives opportunities for you to make lots of money. So perhaps we each have to find the balance for ourselves.
As I said, I wrestle with this, so leave me a comment, let me know what you think!
I think we get caught up in this dilemma because we have split focus in our culture. We have assumed many things about what it means to be a Christian, and what it means to be a "responsible citizen", and more than this, what it means to have our needs met. We have raised the needs bar so high, that if we only earn what we really need we are considered poor. But did God not tell us that everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or lands, for His sake, will receive a hundredfold and will inherit eternal life? That leads me to believe that full abandon is more highly sought after in God's economy then maintaining the status quo. In fact Jesus said no one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God. I believe that reveals where real focus must be. And in Haggai it says “Is it a time for you yourselves to dwell in your paneled houses, while this house lies in ruins?" What house are we focusing on now? Is it our own little comfortable kingdom, where we work to consume, to find pleasure, enjoy leisure, or at least live up to the level of the surrounding Jones,while giving perhaps a nominal nod to His house which is the broken world around us, dying without hope, and suffering often needlessly, while we add another big screen TV to our freshly painted living rooms. I too have pondered where I fit between these two points, but I do know this, I do take the warning of James to heart, "Come now, you rich, weep and howl for the miseries that are coming upon you. Your riches have rotted and your garments are moth-eaten. Your gold and silver have corroded, and their corrosion will be evidence against you and will eat your flesh like fire. You have laid up treasure in the last days." In summary, we could all use a wakeup call and seriously ponder 1 Timothy 6:17 "Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment." Perhaps then it is not a matter of figuring out a magical balance, but a change in priorities from comfort to full surrender.
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ReplyDeleteI think Christians that have a poverty mentality are missing out.
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Money is a certificate of service received. When you do something to serve someone, they give you money to say thanks.
I believe God cares more about the person we become than how much we make. You can still be a mean, greedy, hateful S.O.B. if you're poor. You can be a kind, generous. loving person if you're wealthy.