Last week I said that God’s gift of FREEDOM does not give me a personal right to gain and store wealth for my own comfort and pleasure. Let me try to briefly explain why I made such statement.
Have you ever looked around your home and wonder why God has entrusted you with all the stuff you have accumulated in your house, attic, and garage? Have you ever looked at your bank account, investments, and retirement portfolio and wonder why God so blesses you? Could it be that you have not done so because you think you worked for it and deserve it. Deserve it? I think not!
Henri Nouwen said, “Wealth takes away the sharp edges of our moral sensitivities and allows a comfortable confusion about sin and virtue.”
The biblical answer is grounded in what God said to Abram in Genesis 12:2-3, “I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. … and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.” This tells me that all of us, like Abram, are blessed by God to be a blessing to others.
In fact, Peter tells us that we have been called to use the gifts God has given us to serve others. “Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms.” (1 Peter 4:10). I read “wealth” being included in Peter’s “whatever gift.”
Listen to Jesus’ unexpected, extreme response to the rich, young ruler, who asked Jesus what he must do to inherent eternal life. “Sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” Luke says the young ruler “became very sad, because he was very wealthy. (Luke 18:22-23).
Why was Jesus so extreme in his response? Because Jesus knew this man’s wealth made him comfortable in life and gave him power and prestige. By telling him to sell everything he owned, Jesus was touching the very basis of his security and identity. And let us not forget that accumulated wealth represents and displays a person’s pride of accomplishments and self-efforts.
This man’s love for wealth was a barrier that would keep him out of the Kingdom of God. Why? Because it would make him unable to obey God’s first and greatest commandment, “Love the Lord God with all your heart and with all your soul, and with all your mind.” (Matthew 22:37).
And so, Jesus is saying that the rich, young ruler, must get rid of anything and everything that has become more important than God in his life. Is this not the first assignment that Jesus gives to all of us who desire to follow Him and gain eternal life?
Those that find it difficult to generously love and share with their neighbors are those who are not completely sold out to obeying God’s first commandment. This must happen before we can obey the second commandment of loving my neighbor as myself.
There are many differing responses to what it means to “love your neighbor as yourself.” I propose a very simple, easily understood meaning to be “to love my neighbor means caring for and providing for my neighbor in the same manner and to the same degree that I care for myself.” Did I hear you gulp?
I recently read that few people are more attractive and appreciated than those who find happiness in generosity. It is unfortunate that so many people find the two words “enjoyment” and “giving” to be mutually exclusive. Because our society is so preoccupied with “getting,” we often fail to personally experience the truth of Christ’s saying, “It is more blessed to give than to receive” (Acts 20:35); or to believe that “God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.” (2 Corinthians 9:8).
In the previous two verses, Paul writes, “Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.” (2 Corinthians 9:6-7).
Matthew records Jesus teaching His followers “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, … For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” (Matthew 6:19-21).
The story is told of a missionary who was witnessing to the chief of a very primitive Indian tribe. In response the chief tried to impress the missionary with gifts of horses, blankets, and jewelry. But the missionary said, “My God does not want the chief’s horses, blankets, or jewelry. My God wants the chief himself.” Then the chief smiled and said, “You have a very wise God, for when I give him myself, he also gets horses and blankets and jewelry.”
Undoubtedly, the chief had a much better understanding of “total commitment” than many who claim to be Christian today. So, the issue is not simply how much we have or do not have; the issue is what we do with what we have. Are we free to share our wealth confidently and generously with those in need?
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“Healing Rays of Righteousness” – August 3, 2022
Ray M. Geigley
Healing Rays of Righteousness 
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