Can we ever ensure that God will make us wealthy?
Deuteronomy 4:39-40“So remember this and keep it firmly in mind: The Lord is God both in heaven and on earth, and there is no other. If you obey all the decrees and commands I am giving you today, all will be well with you and your children. I am giving you these instructions so you will enjoy a long life in the land the Lord your God is giving you for all time.”
Our dealings with God can never be mechanical or manipulative. When God makes conditional promises of blessing, we cannot forget the human factor: We will never be able to keep our end of the arrangement. The amazing thing is that in spite of our shortcomings, we can always count on God’s mercy and grace. A phrase like “all will be well” may indicate a measure of health and wealth in this world, but it certainly doesn’t guarantee it.
Malachi 3:6-15“I am the Lord, and I do not change. That is why you descendants of Jacob are not already destroyed. Ever since the days of your ancestors, you have scorned my decrees and failed to obey them. Now return to me, and I will return to you,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. “But you ask, ‘How can we return when we have never gone away?’ Should people cheat God? Yet you have cheated me! But you ask, ‘What do you mean? When did we ever cheat you?’ You have cheated me of the tithes and offerings due to me. You are under a curse, for your whole nation has been cheating me. 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.
Here God’s promise is given to a nation rather than individuals. There is no recipe here for us to assume God will perform certain works of abundance because we have “primed the pump” by giving a tithe or claiming to serve him. There is instruction here that applies individual obedience, but God’s blessings may take various forms and may never come as material wealth.
2 Corinthians 9:1-8I really don’t need to write to you about this ministry of giving for the believers in Jerusalem. For I know how eager you are to help, and I have been boasting to the churches in Macedonia that you in Greece were ready to send an offering a year ago. In fact, it was your enthusiasm that stirred up many of the Macedonian believers to begin giving. . . . Remember this—a farmer who plants only a few seeds will get a small crop. But the one who plants generously will get a generous crop. You must each decide in your heart how much to give. And don’t give reluctantly or in response to pressure. “For God loves a person who gives cheerfully.” And God will generously provide all you need. Then you will always have everything you need and plenty left over to share with others.
The principles of generosity that Paul uses in this passage to the Corinthians are not a blueprint for achieving personal wealth. He is not asking those believers to give him gifts so that they can be rewarded by God. His goals are to encourage them to provide for other believers in need and ultimately to see their own generosity as an action that brings glory to God. The promise that we will receive God’s provision may include our receiving wealth but it also may not. Any giving with the objective of securing greater blessings from God for ourselves is not actually cheerful or generous giving.
Luke 12:13-21Then someone called from the crowd, “Teacher, please tell my brother to divide our father’s estate with me.” Jesus replied, “Friend, who made me a judge over you to decide such things as that?” Then he said, “Beware! Guard against every kind of greed. Life is not measured by how much you own.” Then he told them a story: “A rich man had a fertile farm that produced fine crops. He said to himself, ‘What should I do? I don’t have room for all my crops.’ Then he said, ‘I know! I’ll tear down my barns and build bigger ones. Then I’ll have room enough to store all my wheat and other goods. And I’ll sit back and say to myself, “My friend, you have enough stored away for years to come. Now take it easy! Eat, drink, and be merry!”’ But God said to him, ‘You fool! You will die this very night. Then who will get everything you worked for?’ Yes, a person is a fool to store up earthly wealth but not have a rich relationship with God.”
The greatest wealth is “a rich relationship with God” (Luke 12:21). God never puts a limit on that kind of wealth. And when we substitute the pursuit of other kinds of wealth for intimate knowledge of God, we have set our hearts on the fragile treasures of this world which sooner or later will be lost.
