- What has been accomplished for eternity through my use of all this wealth?
- Financial goals are valuable only if the goals are Biblically sound. Otherwise it’s rowing a canoe towards a waterfall.
- Never self-inflict suffering to cover guilt. Were called to accept Christ’s atonement, not repeat it.
- If everyone took a vow of poverty, who would support missions?
- Inconsistent to describe the production of material goods as secular, while spiritualizing those who produce nothing but depend on those that do.
- If production of income is sinful, we end up contributing to poverty and not alleviating it.
- We were made for Heaven and Christ. Nothing else can satisfy us.
- Today’s choices forge your future life! The foolish man acts as if there is no eternal tomorrow.
- “…You who are sweeter than all pleasure.”
- Ezekiel 28:4-5
- If heaven is the ultimate blessing, and it’s harder for a rich man to enter than a camel through the eye of a needle, we can’t imagine that wealth is always a blessing from God. May be a curse.
- Endless string of “if onlys”
- Materialism is the mother of anxiety.
- A focus on earthly riches deprives others of help.
- Ecclesiastes: Whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with his income.
- Why have faith in God when you have so much faith in yourself?
- Self sufficiency is the great enemy of prayer and faith!
- Wealth insulates us from our need.
- It takes time to hover over things, and that time must come from somewhere.
- Every possession I add is another thing to talk about, think about, clean, repair, etc.
- Does God want me to own this or that, based on the money AND time resources it will take?
- Share the cross in this life and share the crown in the next.
- God is not glorified when we keep for ourselves, no matter how thankfully.
- Invest in eternity.
- God expects us to act out if enlightened self interest. Give for others and God’s glory, but also our future good.
- Heavenly rewards are inexhaustible!
- Your heart will be wherever you out your money.
- Being oblivious to eternity leaves us experts in the trivial and novices in the significant.
- In the steward parable, the master being gone is significant. It’s a long distance relationship and delayed accountability. Maintain his standards even if he’s not around to immediately correct or reward.
- Children need to see parents regular systematic giving to understand infinite debt to God and the need to worshipfully give.
- A tithe is God’s. It’s not a gift, but a repayment.
- 10% tithe obligation, but voluntary joyful giving beyond that.
- Not a tip mindlessly thrown, but a meaningful expression of dependence.
- Shift focus from how much do I give to realizing I’ll have to give an account for what I kept!
- Giving is a reflexive response to God’s grace
- We’re not to feel guilty for our blessings. But we are to feel responsible to use our abundance to help the poor, even though we’re not responsible for causing their poverty.
- Caring for the poor shows the world we operate on a totally different value system.
- Put yourself in the place of the poor and deal with him as you would have god deal with you.
- Be careful to give to poor caused by lack of natural resources, climate, lack of knowledge, lack of tech, catastrophies, oppression, exploitation. Don’t give to poor causing their situation with laziness or wasteful indulgence. Take care when giving to poor caused by personal choices.
- Feeding the lazy is sin and any system that does so is corrupt.
- Encourage family members to care for their own, rather than take over responsibilities.
- More gravity of needs in areas without access to the gospel.
- Our assets are multiplied so we can distribute them, not keep them.
- We’re commanded to simultaneously feed and evangelize. Important to focus on Christian relief orgs that do both.
- Work done in God’s way will never lack supply. If it constantly begs for money, may not be the case.
- The Epistles give the most context for modern day living, post Ascension. Quoting isolated texts demanding people to leave everything is misleading.
- The Twelve left things behind due to the nature of traveling mission work. But they retained homes and possessions. The point was they followed Christ.
- Levi the tax collector is a better model, using his home and possessions for the kingdom, rather than simply giving them all away.
- Two kinds of disciples: ministry with little income/possessions, or generating income and supporting ministry.
- Those that happen to be rich, not those that want to be rich, have done nothing wrong
- Purposely earning just enough to provide for your family is selfish. Called to earn enough to share.
- Is using debt and not cash to purchase something God’s way of telling me it isn’t his will to buy it?
- Debt = we need more than God has given
- Any savings, retirement, or insurance that diverts attention from God also undermines our independence on him.
- Involve our kids in our giving choices. Consider giving them a chunk, having then research orgs, and give it away.
- Proverbs call to give an inheritance was based on the old testament times of subsistence farming. The land was vital for later generations survival.
- A large inheritance these days signifies financial hoarding happened.
- Dangerous especially to daughters, whose husbands need to care for them.