Contentment

"We should be as much at peace over money as we are over healing and the other benefits of salvation."

(Proverbs 30:8) “Remove far from me vanity and lies: give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with food CONVENIENT for me:”
Convenient, an enactment; hence an appointment (of time, space, quantity, labor or usage): - appointed, bound, commandment, convenient, custom, decree (-d), due, law, measure, X necessary, ordinance (-nary), portion, set time, statute, task.

I have quoted this verse a lot, at least in my head, and tonight, it rises again from something I spotted online. Contrary to what men have said about money, God’s will is not to make us millionaires. Instead, God desires we have all we need personally, all we need to do the work of the ministry, and enough to be exceedingly generous. He expects us to use money wisely. Money is not to denigrate people for having less, to fuel their petty jealousies, not caring who hates you for it.

We should never preach on prosperity to gloat. I personally hate that word, “prosperity,” and it has nothing to do with any belief that we should be poor. Convenience in food and provisions is having more than enough. It’s God giving you what you need to pay your bills and having more than enough to tithe on it. It’s you needing $200, but because He’s God and He loves you, so He sends you $250. It’s Matthew 6:2, where men dressed up like peacocks and strutted into the temple so others would see them give. Other men made a scene when they prayed, and Jesus told them to stop it and pray in secret.

God’s will is our not being hung up on money. Making a joke about how much God’s going to give you means you’re too hung up on it. It should not be a topic to display arrogance just as sex in marriage is not a topic to display our lust. We preach the gospel. We preach God’s desire to heal. We preach provision. We preach soul abundance, that place you get to in your mind where you are not worried about THINGS. We preach Matthew 7, the Father’s generosity toward our needs. So you have a big project that requires enormous amounts of cash, there are large ministries with huge budgets, yet hear the Spirit on it and speak from the Spirit and not from your mind.

Minister Jesse Duplantis added to his employee’s income instead of taking out money for health insurance when he was forced to do so. God enable him to do that. But making people mad over money is not God. Here’s where someone says, “Well, people are gonna get mad.” That’s an excuse to allow you to be arrogant. No, we are not responsible for people’s reactions, but we are responsible for our own. We must teach truth. We tell people we wanted to get out of debt and now we are. Tell them we are on a limited income every year and yet somehow never do without.

We should teach New Testament giving. Jesus fulfilled the tithe. The apostle Paul was urged to give to the poor and was eager to do so. The Philippian church was faithful in their giving to him, and he promised them God’s blessing. We teach people to give as the Spirit tells them without laying guilt on them for the amount. That’s the bottom line. It was the rich young ruler who went away sad because he was too hung up on having money in order to follow Jesus, and the woman who gave every mite she had whose heart Jesus admired. She had only two coins.

The hundredfold seed blessing is not a money blessing. It is a blessing of revelation of the Father, and a picture of Jesus, alongside thirtyfold and sixtyfold, which had specific Hebrew meanings. The Pharisees listening would have known that. But Jesus did say those who gave up “houses, and brethren, and sisters, and mothers, and children, and lands (Matthew 10:30)” would receive hundredfold now, in this life. We should be as much at peace over money as we are over healing and the other benefits of salvation.

“Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content.” (Philippians 4:11)

You cannot preach humbleness of mind and heart and preach the million-dollar sermon. God built Solomon’s temple and blessed him with great wealth because of His promise to David, that the temple would be built by His Son in a time of peace, and because Solmon asked for wisdom and not for wealth. Whenever Israel began to accumulate wealth for wealth’s sake, they strayed from God in worship and other nations robbed them of all they owned. They were restored only when God enabled the restoration. It was His timing, in His method, using His choice of foreign powers to do it.

Preach Jesus. Show men the heart of the Father, a heart of compassion and generosity. Preach meekness and self-control, the obedience of the Son. Preach the freedom of the Spirit who lives in us. In Him, we have liberty from all oppression of mind and spirit, from slavery to men and governments and demonic agendas. In Christ, we have beauty of living and contentment with great gain. Those are the words of the apostle John, that to the extent our soul is health, our finances and our body’s health and our relationships will be also (3 John 1:2). In fact, everything about us will be satisfied, and we can live the rest of our days without a care in the world, our complete trust in God’s faithfulness to us.

“But godliness with contentment is great gain.” (1 Timothy 6:6)

“The secret to real peace and contentment is an abiding trust in Christ—realizing that my strength comes from him; and through the peace, strength, wisdom and perspective that Christ gives me, I can handle whatever happens.” (Philippians 4:13, Remedy)

Image by OpenClipart-Vectors from Pixabay


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Suzanne D. Williams, Author
www.suzannedwilliams.com
www.feelgoodromance.com