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The Gospel of Fast Money and Material Goods
Central to the true Gospel is the truth that Christ suffered and
died for our sins;
Hebrews 9:22-28
22 And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and
without shedding of blood is no remission.
23 It was therefore necessary that the patterns of things in the
heavens should be purified with these; but the heavenly things
themselves with better sacrifices than these.
24 For Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands,
which are the figures of the true; but into heaven itself, now to
appear in the presence of God for us:
25 Nor yet that he should offer himself often, as the high priest
entereth into the holy place every year with blood of others;
26 For then must he often have suffered since the foundation of the
world: but now once in the end of the world hath he appeared to put
away sin by the sacrifice of himself.
27 And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the
judgment:
28 So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto
them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin
unto salvation.
Only by Christ paying the penalty for our sins can a God, who is
perfection in every way, justly forgive us and cleanse us when we
repent and accept Christ as the Lord of our lives.
1 John 1:9
9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our
sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
These great truths, Christ’s payment for our sins which makes
possible our being forgiven and cleansed to live a new and righteous
life in Christ is so very essential in the true gospel message.
Unfortunately, there are many individuals who seek to twist and
pervert the gospel to suit their own personal agenda. These folks
literally come up with teachings that support a gospel that is not
the gospel at all.
Physical health is a
blessing; a good college education and high-powered job is nice;
money and material goods can be wonderful. However, the most
important thing by far, is that first and foremost we have repented
and accepted Christ as Lord.
I am disturbed by certain religious programs whose entire message is
that anyone and everyone watching their program can become a
millionaire. They claim that all the watcher of their program needs
to do is send in money for all sorts of “holy” articles (things such
as “blessed” holy water, and special crucifixes). I have even seen a
man who has been on the television airways for many years, who will
sell you a book that supposedly contains seven steps to MAKE God DO
WHATEVER YOU WANT HIM TO.
During the occasions where I have observed this minister with the
“secret seven steps”, I can never recall him ever giving the simple
message of how to accept Christ. His program shows multi-million
dollar yachts, beautiful homes and gardens, and promises that if you
send him money that you can be rich and have everything you have
dreamed of having by using his spiritual techniques.
I imagine that there are unsaved folks who watch this program. I
fear that unsaved persons (or those new to the faith) might
mistakenly believe that the point of the Gospel is to get money fast
and accumulate material possessions.
Religious teachers like the minister described above know that the
majority of people in the world are not rich and so have needs, or
at least desires, that could be satisfied if they had more money, or
material goods. These teachers, being greedy for money, twist the
scriptures to try and make all their viewers think that it is always
God’s will that all his followers be rich. They even try to make
their viewers think that there must be something wrong with a person
who is not rich. When they have you doubting your walk with God and
thinking that there is something wrong with you because you’re not
one of the super rich, they offer you some solution to get rich that
always involves giving these false teachers some of your money.
It is not so much that these misguided ministers are teaching that
God is pleased to see people give liberally to support those who
spread the gospel. It is not so much that these ministers teach of
the manifold ways that God shows his favor on people for their
liberal attitude. What these ministers seem to be promoting is a
deal making, bargain blessing supermarket; these ministers propose
to all comers a simple business transaction that if you give them
large amounts of your money, they will without question guarantee
specific material blessings. It’s almost as if one is purchasing a
blessing from these ministers – e.g. put your money into the
ministers hand, make your blessing selection, push the button of
faith, and out pops your choice of blessings.
I am reminded of the famous military commander from the Old
Testament, Naaman, who was captain of the host of the king of Syria.
Although Naaman was a man of great influence he had a physical
ailment known as leprosy.
This military commander was convinced to go to see one of God’s
prophets of the land of Israel, the prophet Elisha. In summary,
Naaman came to the house of Elisha. Naaman was instructed to wash
seven times in the Jordan river. When Naaman finally obeyed this
instruction, God miraculously and instantly healed him. From 2 Kings
5:5 we see that Naaman had brought riches with him to give in
exchange for being healed: “...And he departed, and took with him
ten talents of silver, and six thousand pieces of gold, and ten
changes of raiment.”
Although prophets were allowed to receive gifts at the hands of
people they ministered to (see 1 Samuel 9:7), I find it interesting
that in this particular case that Elisha refused the riches that
Naaman offered him:
2 Kings 5:14-16
14 Then went he down, and dipped himself seven times in Jordan,
according to the saying of the man of God: and his flesh came again
like unto the flesh of a little child, and he was clean.
15 And he returned to the man of God, he and all his company, and
came, and stood before him: and he said, Behold, now I know that
there is no God in all earth, but in Israel: now therefore, I pray
thee, take a blessing of thy servant.
16 But he said, As the LORD liveth, before whom I stand, I will
receive none. And he urged him to take it; but he refused.
Elisha appears not to have been a man of wealth; no doubt, Elisha
could have used the silver, and gold, and wardrobe of clothes that
Naaman offered. However, Elisha was possibly concerned that God be
glorified in the miracle that was done. Elisha, no doubt wanted it
to be clear that Naaman was not buying a blessing from God, and
Elisha did not want it to be said that Naaman’s great wealth
influenced Elisha to call upon God to work miracles. Too often today
we see evangelists who call special prayer lines for people who will
give $100 dollars (or even $1,000.00); these evangelists indicate
that they will pray for and minister only to these people as they
bring their large offering forward. What about the poor child with
only a nickel in her pocket who needs a miracle, body racked with
sickness, whose parents don’t have $10 dollars to their name? What
do we do for this one who does not have the money to get in the
thousand dollar line? Why is she treated as a second class citizen
amongst the church folk?
Mark 10:13-16
13 And they brought young children to him, that he should touch
them: and his disciples rebuked those that brought them.
14 But when Jesus saw it, he was much displeased, and said unto
them, Suffer the little children to come unto me, and forbid them
not: for of such is the kingdom of God.
15 Verily I say unto you, Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of
God as a little child, he shall not enter therein.
16 And he took them up in his arms, put his hands upon them, and
blessed them.
Let me ask you a question:
Is God pleased with us when we base our treatment of a person and
our evaluation of them on how much wealth they have?
James 2:1-9
2:1 My brethren, have not the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the
Lord of glory, with respect of persons.
2 For if there come unto your assembly a man with a gold ring, in
goodly apparel, and there come in also a poor man in vile raiment;
3 And ye have respect to him that weareth the gay clothing, and say
unto him, Sit thou here in a good place; and say to the poor, Stand
thou there, or sit here under my footstool:
4 Are ye not then partial in yourselves, and are become judges of
evil thoughts?
5 Hearken, my beloved brethren, Hath not God chosen the poor of this
world rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom which he hath promised
to them that love him?
6 But ye have despised the poor. Do not rich men oppress you, and
draw you before the judgment seats?
7 Do not they blaspheme that worthy name by the which ye are called?
8 If ye fulfil the royal law according to the scripture, Thou shalt
love thy neighbour as thyself, ye do well:
9 But if ye have respect to persons, ye commit sin, and are
convinced of the law as transgressors.
Are there rich Christians? Of course there are! But, to say that
every single person who follows the Bible faithfully is guaranteed
material wealth in this life, is contrary to what we see in the
Bible.
For some of us Christians, having great material wealth would
actually be a hindrance to our focusing our affections on God.
Mark 10:23
And Jesus looked round about, and saith unto his disciples, How
hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God!
Our human nature may cause us to have a tendency to think we don’t
need God when we possess great material wealth. Often times, a rich
person will end up trusting in wealth; riches can give a sense of
self-importance, even self-righteousness. Some wealthy individuals
will even go as far as to say that they don’t need God because they
already have the best material goods that money can buy, not
realizing that material wealth is not the essence of what brings
fulfillment in life, nor can any amount of money purchase life
everlasting.
Mark 10:24
And the disciples were astonished at his words. But Jesus answereth
again, and saith unto them, Children, how hard is it for them that
trust in riches to enter into the kingdom of God!
I have actually seen cases where material things caused people to
have trouble following God. As an example, let’s consider the true
story of a young woman we will call: “Mary.” Mary was a woman of
very modest means. She was given the gospel message and decided to
repent of her sins and accept Jesus as her Lord.
Mary placed her membership with a sound Bible-believing church.
Despite the fact that Mary did not own any form of transportation
(i.e. automobile), she was quite faithful in ensuring that she made
it to church.
Mary was quite faithful in attending church whether she had to get a
ride from fellow Christians, catch the city bus and/or walk with her
own two feet. Eventually, Mary was able to buy a car. It was such a
pretty little car; brand spanking new. It was a shiny little compact
car – very fashionable and sporty looking.
Mary began ripping and running around town in her new little car.
Now that she had a car, Mary found that there were so many places
she wanted to go, things she wanted to see, and stuff she wanted to
do. Very soon after getting her car, Mary found that going to church
was just cramping her style; going to prayer meeting, Bible study,
and even worship service, just cut too much into her time she needed
to hang out with her associates all around the city. Needless to
say, Mary soon left the Lord.
If the circumstance of receiving a nice car was too much for Mary to
have without losing focus on the Lord, what do you think would have
happened if she had received a much larger portion of material goods
and monetary wealth? Mary might have left the Lord even sooner than
she did.
In Mary’s particular case, I think she would have been better off
without the car, for the car seems to have facilitated her spiritual
downfall. Many people can handle having a nice car and being a
Christian. However, some cannot handle having a nice car, or fancy
big house, or lots of money, and etc., without forgetting about God.
I have seen so many people come to the church in the most
spiritually and financially impoverished condition. Some of these
had destroyed their lives through drug abuse, alcoholism, and other
destructive behaviors. You have those who make a confession to live
for Christ who go on to lead beautifully productive godly lives.
However, you have a certain percentage who start out very faithful;
but, when God begins to bless them with a warm place to live, a nice
job that pays much more than necessary to feed their family, they
feel that they nor longer need to fellowship with their local church
and they feel they no longer need God.
Consider the man who wanted eternal life. He seemed to respect Jesus
but not enough to part with his riches when told by Jesus to sell
everything.
Mark 10:19-23
19 Thou knowest the commandments, Do not commit adultery, Do not
kill, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Defraud not, Honour
thy father and mother.
20 And he answered and said unto him, Master, all these have I
observed from my youth.
21 Then Jesus beholding him loved him, and said unto him, One thing
thou lackest: go thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the
poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, take up the
cross, and follow me.
22 And he was sad at that saying, and went away grieved: for he had
great possessions.
23 And Jesus looked round about, and saith unto his disciples, How
hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God!
Yes, God can save a rich person and allow them to enjoy wealth;
there is no inherent sin in having nice clothes, a nice home, a nice
cars, and lots of money in the bank.
I am not saying the every person who follows Jesus must sell off
their possessions and give it to the poor. However, every true
Christian must love God more than his/her money and possessions.
And, if God does require some in specific instances to sell
everything, we still better be willing to do it lest we be found to
love money.
1 Timothy 6:7-10
7 For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can
carry nothing out.
8 And having food and raiment let us be therewith content.
9 But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and
into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction
and perdition.
10 For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some
coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced
themselves through with many sorrows.
Verse 10 above is not saying that we should be lazy and neglect to
be honest workers providing sustenance for our family. What it is
saying is that persons who lust after money and material things will
soon find themselves involved in all sorts of evil practices in
order to obtain material things.
And, this verse is not just speaking about those who don’t go to
church, but many people who claim to be Christian are some of the
most notorious people who lie, cheat and steal to make more money.
Don’t be fooled, society often imagines some poor person with hardly
any money as the one likely be tempted to fall into a love for
money. Over the past few years we have seen people with hundreds of
millions of dollars break the law to gain more money; they just
cannot seem to satisfy their lust for money and will do whatever it
takes to get more. One billionaire (that’s right, someone with 100s
of millions of dollars) was convicted of breaking the law as part of
an effort of the billionaire to illegally gain what amounted to
thousands of dollars (an extremely small sum of money compared to
what the billionaire possessed). The billionaire has more money than
can reasonably be spent in a lifetime, yet ended up being punished
by the government over a relatively small sum of money.
Let’s look at some more of the verses from the sixth chapter of
First Timothy:
1 Timothy 6:5-6
5 Perverse disputings of men of corrupt minds, and destitute of the
truth, supposing that gain is godliness: from such withdraw thyself.
6 But godliness with contentment is great gain.
The false teachers would have you believe that the complete method
of determining how pleased God is with your life is by counting how
much money you have in the bank and by estimating the net worth of
your material assets (cars, boats, houses, fur coats, and etc.). Oh
yes, and these false teachers will sing your praises on world wide
television if you are willing to give them a big fat offering –
despite the fact that you may be the biggest sinner in town. You
don’t believe me? Well, why is it some of the biggest and riches
entertainers who make violent movies, or make profane and sexual
songs are given a platform to speak at churches and in Christian
media? These people often profess to be Christians without ever
giving up making movies and songs that are contrary to biblical
values, and certain in the Christian arena trip over each other
trying to get these people to join their church or to be on their
Christian program.
Psalms 37:16
A little that a righteous man hath is better than the riches of many
wicked.
No matter how many of the false teachers try to spiritualize and
justify their materialistic way of thinking, the true gospel of God
as laid down in the Bible does not guarantee material riches
(rubies, and diamonds, and gold) in this present world for every
true believer in God. God does not want the hunt for riches to be
the focus of our lives. There is no salvation in having a room full
of cash money and gold bars.
And, if God does allow some of you to become rich through honest
means, you are to remember what the Apostle Paul told Timothy:
1 Timothy 6:10-11
10 For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some
coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced
themselves through with many sorrows.
11 But thou, O man of God, flee these things; and follow after
righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness.
1 Timothy 6:17-19
17 Charge them that are rich in this world, that they be not
highminded, nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God,
who giveth us richly all things to enjoy;
18 That they do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to
distribute, willing to communicate;
19 Laying up in store for themselves a good foundation against the
time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life.
In brief, don’t think you are better than anyone else in God’s eyes
because you may have obtained more of this world’s goods. And, you
should be very faithful in using your wealth to do good works and to
see after those in need.
Use your money to serve godly purposes and do not be a slave to your
money. I heard of one married couple who had an abundance of this
worlds goods who were so obsessed with fear that someone might break
into their beautiful fancy home that they each took separate
vacations from each other. This allowed one person to stay at home
to make sure no one bothered all their nice things. Is there no one
in their entire church community that they could trust to watch
their house for them so the man and wife could have a family
vacation together? Has this couple become slaves to their material
wealth?
We cannot be slaves to our material possessions and be true servants
of God at the same time. I recently saw a documentary about a very
rich man who had accumulated millions of dollars. Though the man was
very rich, he would regularly shoplift (steal) various household
items that he needed for his home from the stores in his town in
order to avoid having to spend his own money. The documentary showed
the big fine mansion that he lived in; however, the man was reported
to throw his urine out the window, to avoid having to flush the
toilet; and thereby eliminate the need to pay for the water required
to flush his bodily waste into the sewer system.
If the man had a good day in transacting business and making money,
he would be happy. When the man would not have a good day at making
money he would be abusive even to the point of physically assaulting
his wife for no apparent reason. The man was obsessed with making
money, even though he had enough to live very comfortably. The man
fretted day and night over new ways to make more money.
When his wife decided to divorce him, he decided to hire an assassin
to have her killed for fear that he would have to share part of the
riches that he was hoarding. Of course, every person who has fallen
into the sin of loving money may not attempt murder. However,
anything besides the true and living God, that we make the focus of
our entire life, will cause us to fall short of making it to heaven.
Again, we cannot be slaves to our material things (e.g. mammon) and
be true servants of God at the same time.
Matthew 6:19-34
19 Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and
rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal:
20 But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth
nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor
steal:
21 For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.
22 The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be
single, thy whole body shall be full of light.
23 But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of
darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how
great is that darkness!
24 No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one,
and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the
other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.
25 Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye
shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye
shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than
raiment?
26 Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they
reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them.
Are ye not much better than they?
27 Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his
stature?
28 And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the
field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin:
29 And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was
not arrayed like one of these.
30 Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day
is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more
clothe you, O ye of little faith?
31 Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What
shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?
32(For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your
heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.
33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and
all these things shall be added unto you.
34 Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall
take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is
the evil thereof.
This passage should help us not to be overly burdened, occupied, and
worried each moment about accumulating material things. It is not,
however, a license for us to be lazy and nonproductive. See what the
Apostle Paul said to the Thessalonians:
2 Thessalonians 3:7-12
7 For yourselves know how ye ought to follow us: for we behaved not
ourselves disorderly among you;
8 Neither did we eat any man's bread for nought; but wrought with
labour and travail night and day, that we might not be chargeable to
any of you:
9 Not because we have not power, but to make ourselves an ensample
unto you to follow us.
10 For even when we were with you, this we commanded you, that if
any would not work, neither should he eat.
11 For we hear that there are some which walk among you disorderly,
working not at all, but are busybodies.
12 Now them that are such we command and exhort by our Lord Jesus
Christ, that with quietness they work, and eat their own bread.
Now lets return to the false claim that a person being poor is
always the result of some deficiency in a person, such as the person
not having enough faith to get rich. I would like to point you to
the life of Jesus. Some try to mischaracterize the earthly ministry
of Jesus and act as if Jesus was walking around staying in the best
hotels, dining in the most luxurious restaurants. Jesus, the son of
God, though he deserved better than the best accommodations that
earth could provide, decided to come in a lowly fashion and made
himself accessible to even the poorest of humanity, because he loves
us so much.
Philippians 2:6-8
6 Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal
with God:
7 But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a
servant, and was made in the likeness of men:
8 And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and
became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.
Being poor in many cases is not a matter of something being
spiritually wrong with a person. Every real Christian must admit
that Christ, as he walked the earth during his earthly ministry,
exemplified perfection and had no flaw in his character. Yet, he did
not live according to all the finery this material world has to
offer.
Look at Jesus’ birth (Luke 2:12-16); after being born, he was placed
in a manger that substituted for a bed. A manger is a box or trough
from which people feed animals such as donkeys, cows, and etc.
Fast forward to Jesus’ public ministry and we see Jesus describing
the severe conditions in which he chose to perform his public
ministry:
Matthew 8:19-20
19 And a certain scribe came, and said unto him, Master, I will
follow thee whithersoever thou goest.
20 And Jesus saith unto him, The foxes have holes, and the birds of
the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his
head.
Jesus makes it clear to the scribe that he could not count on having
comfortable luxurious accommodations if he chose to follow him.
Though the lowliest of creatures have houses befitting their nature,
Jesus indicates that he does not have an earthly house, cabin, nor
even a hut.
Jesus did not walk around with pockets full of money. This is one
reason why many whom had been blessed by Jesus’ powerful ministry
contributed from their substance to the material support of Jesus
and his disciples:
Luke 8:1-3
8:1 And it came to pass afterward, that he went throughout every
city and village, preaching and shewing the glad tidings of the
kingdom of God: and the twelve were with him,
2 And certain women, which had been healed of evil spirits and
infirmities, Mary called Magdalene, out of whom went seven devils,
3 And Joanna the wife of Chuza Herod's steward, and Susanna, and
many others, which ministered unto him of their substance.
Jesus allowed himself to be poor showing us, for one thing, that we
should not think ourselves better than those who have less of this
world’s material goods.
Dare we say that Jesus was poor because he had some deficiency? Dare
we say that the Son of God walked the earth in material poverty
because he lacked faith, or because the “Secret Seven Steps” being
sold by the televangelist mentioned above were hidden from the Son
of God?
Even in the book of Acts as the church began to grow and expand, we
don’t find all of the Apostle’s walking around in thousand-dollar
suits with wallets bulging with money.
Acts 3:1-10
3:1 Now Peter and John went up together into the temple at the hour
of prayer, being the ninth hour.
2 And a certain man lame from his mother's womb was carried, whom
they laid daily at the gate of the temple which is called Beautiful,
to ask alms of them that entered into the temple;
3 Who seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple asked an
alms.
4 And Peter, fastening his eyes upon him with John, said, Look on
us.
5 And he gave heed unto them, expecting to receive something of
them.
6 Then Peter said, Silver and gold have I none; but such as I have
give I thee: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and
walk.
7 And he took him by the right hand, and lifted him up: and
immediately his feet and ankle bones received strength.
8 And he leaping up stood, and walked, and entered with them into
the temple, walking, and leaping, and praising God.
9 And all the people saw him walking and praising God:
10 And they knew that it was he which sat for alms at the Beautiful
gate of the temple: and they were filled with wonder and amazement
at that which had happened unto him.
The Apostle Peter in verse 6 above indicated that he (and no doubt
John) did not have silver and gold (i.e. money) to give to the lame
man. Yet, Peter and John had such confidence that God would heal the
man that they began to help him get up. With such faith, could we
accurately say that Peter and John did not have money to give the
lame man because Peter and John did not have faith?
We cannot blindly say that every person who is not financially
wealthy is in that condition because of lack of faith.
Some might try and hypothesize that Peter simply did not have any
money on his person to give the lame man; some might try to falsely
claim that Peter did have a freezer full of money at home, he just
did not have anything on his person to give to the lame man.
If you still believe that every Christian with a good amount of
faith is supposed to live the lifestyle of the rich and famous, I
ask you to examine the life of that powerful man of God, the Apostle
Paul.
People often consider it arrogant or foolish for one to proclaim for
public display the sufferings one has endured for the cause of
Christ and the gospel’s sake. However, I believe we should by no
means frown upon Paul’s recounting of his struggles to the
Corinthian church. Although Paul’s opponents may think the Apostle
Paul to be an arrogant fool who is bragging on himself, or maybe the
unsaved world thinks him a fool to endure such hardship as he
endured, Paul is no braggart. Further, Paul is wise far above most
men because he understands the supreme value of doing God’s will,
contrary to those false ministers who would trick us into thinking
the main aim of accepting Christ is to fill our wallets and purses
with money.
2 Corinthians 11:23-27
23 Are they ministers of Christ? (I speak as a fool) I am more; in
labours more abundant, in stripes above measure, in prisons more
frequent, in deaths oft.
24 Of the Jews five times received I forty stripes save one.
25 Thrice was I beaten with rods, once was I stoned, thrice I
suffered shipwreck, a night and a day I have been in the deep;
26 In journeyings often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers,
in perils by mine own countrymen, in perils by the heathen, in
perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the
sea, in perils among false brethren;
27 In weariness and painfulness, in watchings often, in hunger and
thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness.
Let’s look at some of what the Apostle Paul said he endured:
- In verse 24 he talks about how he received a physical whipping of
39 lashes (i.e. stripes) on multiple occasions (i.e. 5 times) from
his own countrymen.
- In verse 23 we see he endured being imprisoned on multiple
occasions, and he was prone to having his life threatened.
- In verse 25 he speaks of being beaten with rods three times (i.e.
thrice), he was stoned, he was shipwrecked three times.
- In verse 27 he speaks of enduring severe hunger and thirst; he
even mentions the times where he had insufficient clothing to
shelter him against the elements and cold.
Yes, God bestows material blessings upon his people. Yes, there are
some who have even become materially wealthy through God’s blessings
while managing honest business enterprises. However, the key focus
of our heart and mind should be to live righteously, pleasing God in
all we do whether rich or poor. If we don’t make sure that the focus
and love at the center of our desires is to serve Christ’s purpose,
we will come up short; the Apostle Paul said of Demas in 2 Timothy
4:10:
10 For Demas hath forsaken me, having loved this present world, and
is departed unto Thessalonica...
Yes, there are times when doing that which pleases God will cause us
to bypass some lucrative deal; pleasing God may even cause us to
lose that which we think we already possess. But, I am reminded of a
passage of scripture that was on the lips of a faithful Christian
whom I watched as she lay dying in a hospital bed in her final
moments. That passage was Romans 8:35-39:
35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation,
or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or
sword?
36 As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we
are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.
37 Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him
that loved us.
38 For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor
principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come,
39 Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to
separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Whether we are dirt poor, or rich like a king, we all alike are more
than conquerors if we hold on to Christ with all our mind, soul, and
strength.
As the Apostle Paul sat in a Roman prison he knew that he was facing
execution. Yet, there was something he knew that encouraged him
greatly. No, it wasn’t that he had amassed great sums of money; it
wasn’t that he held great palatial estates; it wasn’t that he wore
the finest of clothes; nor did he dine on the finest of victuals.
The Apostle Paul knew that despite any want or lack, or persecution
he had suffered in this present earthly life, that there was a
reward waiting for him:
2 Timothy 4:6-8
6 For I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is
at hand.
7 I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept
the faith:
8 Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which
the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to
me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing.
Yes, that’s right, if you are holding faithful to Christ (regardless
of your current financial standing), know that he most certainly has
a crown laid up in store for you.
So, live in hope; live righteously, and hold your head high with the
confidence that you are preparing to receive a crown greater than
that presented by any earthly kingdom.
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