Blessing For Success

By: Mark G. Wicks

Chapter 1

Who Told You to Be Poor?

A Double Edged Sword

Many of the people reading this book have felt, firsthand, the two-edged sword that has been wielded against believers by secular society and through suffocation of man-made religious doctrine. In many cases, this weapon is gripped tightly in the hands of those who have the means to make a difference with their wealth yet choose to do otherwise. It is unfortunate that it tends to be used against those who have a heart felt desire for doing the most good.

This weapon comes in the form of misinformation that is intended to keep financial resources out of the hands of believers and to limit the impact that the church can have in the world. The concept that Christians should run away from the idea of having any monetary substance is absurd and is not based on scripture.

Now, before some of you scream "heresy" and pick up those stones, why don't you see if the Bible backs up what you read in this book as we go along? Knowing what the scripture says can help you in your own financial situation as well as aid you in helping others. After all, was there ever a time when you wanted to help someone that was in a difficult situation? Do you remember thinking how nice it would be to help them if only you had the resources? We are going to look at both edges of this oppressive weapon.

The first side is easily illustrated in the following Internet "chat room" conversation that I had with a religious non-Christian man. It went something like this.

Him: If God is so good, why does he let 30,000 people starve to death in the world each day?

Me: God doesn't let them starve to death people let them starve to death.

Him: I can't believe that a loving God would allow them to starve.

Me: Apparently, you missed what I said. God doesn't let them starve. People do. How many of them did you feed today?

Him: None.

Me: That's the problem. I try to help people when I see the need and have the ability to do it. It would be nice to have more to give.

Him: So what, you are not feeding them all, they are still starving.

Me: Are you a Christian?

Him: No. There are two billion followers in my religion.

Me: Really? Do you think that each of those two billion people in your religion could come up with one penny a month?

Him: Sure. I think so.

Me: So, if you all gave one penny a month you could make sure that every one of those 30,000 starving people were given $666.67 per month for the rest of their lives and yet you have the nerve to blame God!

The man didn't bother to reply. What could he say? "Not bad", I thought to myself. In the arena of spiritual warfare, I had managed to deflect that blow. The momentary feeling of victory was fleeting. In my spirit, I knew that the principle was good but I also realized that the church wasn't putting its money where my mouth was. I couldn't help but wonder why we as the church aren't making much headway in helping those in need. I could have taken the easy road at this point and twisted the Word of God to form a defense to protect me and to ease my own feelings of charitable inadequacy. I have seen it done many times before using this verse in particular.

Matthew 26:11 "For ye have the poor always with you but me ye have not always."

What a cop-out. Imagine using the scriptures to excuse yourself from your Christian responsibility! Jesus Christ was God in the flesh. Is there any doubt that He knew that the greed in the hearts of sinful man would continue until He returned for the last time? He didn't say avoid the problem or sweep it under the rug. In fact, while He was with us He met the problem head-on and then gave us orders to do the same. He even went so far as to warn us that there are consequences to neglecting our duty.

Matthew 25:44,45 "Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee hungry, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee? Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me."

The second side of the weapon revealed itself to me several days later. Another man who claimed to be a believer drew me into a conversation. He was going on about a certain preacher having too much money. This is how it went.

Him: That preacher is always asking for money. It's just a big money racket. He has a nice house and a nice car. Why does he have those when there are people who could be helped with that money?

Me: Sir, do you have a house?

Him: No I rent. I can't afford a house with what I make at my job.

Me: Ok, so how do you get to work?

Him: In my car.

Me: Oh, you have a car? Why is it all right for you to have a car but the preacher can't?

Him: It's not the same. My car is just a basic car and its not new.

Me: I don't have my own car right now. What gives you the right to own one and not me? I have an idea. Why don't you sell yours and help some people with the money instead?

Him: That's different.

Me: How is that different? Would you care to explain the difference to me?

Once again, "cyberspace" became silent. Apparently, this fellow saw the fault in the way he was thinking. It is uncanny how the simplest of questions seem to leave people without an answer. This is not because the majority of believers are greedy. In reality, most Christians really do have a desire to help the less fortunate of the world. It is my opinion that it all comes down to what they are taught. Jesus had to deal with truly greedy people right in his own back yard as we can see from the following scripture verses.

John 12:4-6 "Then saith one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, which should betray him, Why was not this ointment sold for three hundred pence, and given to the poor? This he said, not that he cared for the poor but because he was a thief, and had the bag, and bare what was put therein."

In this scripture, we see that the statement Judas made was based on the greed in his heart. The fact that there were poor to be helped was inconsequential to him. He was hoping that Jesus had come to drive the Roman Empire out of the nation and become King of Israel. He was likely thinking that being one of the disciples would make him a good candidate for governorship when Jesus set up his kingdom. His ignorance was without excuse. You see Judas had the best teacher you could possibly ask for. He didn't care to learn the truth even though it came from the Jesus Himself! He was too busy dreaming about personal wealth and power.

Today believers filter most of their beliefs through our church leaders, who in turn have had their teaching filtered through the leaders who went before them. There is nothing wrong with being taught by our church leaders. They play a vital role in Christian education. However, we must make sure that what we are being taught actually lines up with what the Word of God says.

Why is it that godly and ungodly people alike are quick to be suspicious of a Christian that is doing well financially? Is it because we are judgmental by nature or does it have something to do with how they have been taught?

What Have We Taught the World?

The secular world understands that the Christian church has been given a role to play in the lives of those who are the most in need of compassion. They know this because it is something we have taught from our pulpits since the formation of the church.

Many of the more destitute make it evident that they are aware of the concept. They come through the church doors seeking things like food, clothing, shelter, financial aid and personal counseling.

Others who don't appear to have the same struggles are quick to blame Christians and God when they see the needy being neglected and abandoned. They don't seem to be in a rush to come the aid of the poor yet they expect us to have some miraculous source of income to take care of every need.

There is also a widely held view that says a pastor, preacher, priest or anyone of the faithful persuasion that has resources beyond what they need for basic survival should immediately place them in the hands of the nearest needy soul. Curiously, many of the people who think this way likely encounter people in the course of their day that they themselves could help.

Perhaps more people would help the needy if they weren't burdened with paying for their overpriced toys or too busy to take the time out of their busy schedule. (This only sounds like meddling because I intended it that way.)

It's a fairly well established fact that the world expects us to help the needy. That is no surprise is it? As a Christian, we know this to be true because it deals with this subject many times in the Bible.

Now let's look at things from a different angle. Do you remember the last time anyone, believer or unbeliever, voiced a negative opinion about preachers, ministries, or Christians who seem to be enjoying financial freedom in their lives? I hear it all the time. They complain that these ministries are always asking for money. They slander good people and accuse them of misappropriating funds with no evidence on which to base their statements.

Do we really think the taxman is not watching these people under a high-powered microscope? These people are in the public eye more than anyone! More integrity is expected from these Christian figures than any worldly celebrity you could name. They are just waiting for them to make a false step so they can tear them to pieces.

To our detriment, we have trained the secular world, as well as the church, to think that we are not "in the will of God" unless we are "suffering as Christ suffered." Did we just skip over what the Bible says about this on purpose? Perhaps we should take another look.

2 Corinthians 8:9 "For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich."

Let's sum this up briefly. We have taught the world that the church has a moral responsibility to help the needy and we have taught them that Christians in the church are expected to be poor. Do you see my point? This view says that the Christian church must be poor and yet they must help the poor. There is no logic in such a statement yet this is exactly what we are teaching!

This is the two-edged sword that we find at work stripping the church of its power to help the needy. It is a clever ruse. Its intent is to paralyze us. How do you expect to help anyone else when you are in need yourself? Think about it. Does it make any sense to you?

Here is an example. When you pay for your fuel at a service station, you will probably pay road taxes as part of the cost. So one day you came down to fill your tank and you see a truck full of asphalt. Behind it is the paving crew with shovels in hand waiting eagerly on the edge of the road.

Immediately after you pay for your fuel the station attendant runs out and hands the tax portion of your payment to the paving crew. One of the crew quickly calculates how much asphalt can be purchased with that much tax money and a few moments later the crew digs out some asphalt and fills in part of a pothole. The crew then stops working and waits for the next car to fuel up so they can continue the job. Would you like to see your highway program work this way? Then why would anyone expect the church to handle its resources this way? You are much farther ahead to gather what you need and then you can complete the project.

What Have We Taught Ourselves?

The problem that comes with hearing incorrect information repeatedly is that eventually you start believing it. Don't you think that it would be smart to compare, for ourselves, what we are being taught with what the Word of God says? Would you sign a legally binding contract without reading it first? Do you think you can understand everything about a novel by listening to someone repeat a few of the highlights to you?

Would you be able to achieve a passing mark for a twelfth grade math exam when you have only learned addition and subtraction in the first grade? That would be a ridiculous notion. So why do we think that we can understand everything God has said in His word if we only have twenty minutes a week of teaching from one man's understanding.

Let us look at a verse many people like to quote in order to perpetuate the myth that Christians should not be interested in wealth.

Mark 10:25 "It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God."

At face value, you could easily be convinced that having wealth will make it very difficult for you to get to heaven. Some people even teach that by avoiding wealth it will aid you on the road to spiritual salvation. It's not my place to forbid you to take a vow of poverty. That decision is between you and God. If He really told you to be broke, there is probably a personal lesson in it for you.

Have you heard this next quote? "Money is the root of all evil." It's probably the most common statement that people like to quote about acquiring wealth. Oddly enough, this is only the last phrase in the first of the sentences that make up the actual scripture verse. Now lets look at what the Bible really says.

Mark 10:23-25 "And Jesus looked round about, and saith unto his disciples, How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God! 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! It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God."

Did you notice the phrase "trust in riches" in the last part of these verses? Jesus was not scolding rich people for having money. If just having riches was the problem He would have said, "No one that has riches will enter the kingdom of God." He was warning them that their trust should be in the eternal God and that they should not rely on their money which can come one day and be gone the next!

1 Timothy 6:10 "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."

Here is the complete verse. I took the liberty to replace the missing phrase that some people like to remove from the beginning when they quote only a portion of the verse. By inserting the important words "For the love of" correctly along with the rest of the first sentence in this scripture, we can see that the whole structure of the sentence changes. Now it becomes clear that it is the love of money, not money itself, which is the source of the trouble. This begs a question. Do you love and trust God or do you love and trust your money? It is not wise to put your faith in both.

Why don't we look at just few of many other verses that will help make it clear that the heart attitude of a rich person is the real culprit? The fact that they have wealth is not the issue.

Psalms 49:6-7 "They that trust in their wealth, and boast themselves in the multitude of their riches None of them can by any means redeem his brother, nor give to God a ransom for him:"

There is that "trust" word again. Riches do not have any power in themselves to cause people to be saved. You can't buy someone's admission into heaven with money. However, you can put your wealth to work in a Godly ministry somewhere and help do some good in the world.

Psalms 62:10 "Trust not in oppression, and become not vain in robbery: if riches increase, set not your heart upon them."

In this scripture, we see that it is possible that your wealth will increase. It does not say that the increase is a sin. The warning is that you should not be a lover of money. You are on dangerous ground if you are obsessed with success. Prosperity is a means and not an end in itself.

1 Timothy 6:17 "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"

Here is another key verse. Did you notice how it calls wealth uncertain? Why would you want to rely on something when there is any possibility that it will let you down? Would you cross over a river by walking on a wooden bridge when you can plainly see that the wood in it is badly rotted? There is a good chance that you would end up going for a swim if you did. Why not put your faith in the eternally reliable God and believe Him when he says that He will richly give us all things.

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