Be Content In Marriage And Money

⁴Marriage is to be held in honor among all, and the marriage bed is to be undefiled; for fornicators and adulterers God will judge. ⁵Make sure that your character is free from the love of money, being content with what you have; for He Himself has said, "I WILL NEVER DESERT YOU, NOR WILL I EVER FORSAKE YOU," ⁶so that we confidently say,
"THE LORD IS MY HELPER, I WILL NOT BE AFRAID.
WHAT WILL MAN DO TO ME?"

(Hebrews 13:4-6)

As I read this passage, I noticed that the Lord is asking us to live with a sense of gratefulness and appreciation for what we have. Along with that spirit of thankfulness, we need to also practice delayed gratification as well.

We live in a fast food, instant gratification world. It is such a luxury that we can jump into our cars and purchase anything under the sun whenever we like with only a piece of plastic instead of carrying around cash. If we want to be entertained, our movies are fed straight to our big screen TVs over high definition (or our everywhere internet connected smartphones). It's an awesome thing - luxuries no one could have even imagined just 20-30 years ago.

As great as these things are, that attitude of instant gratification cannot carry into our married life or our finances. Perhaps more than anywhere else in our lives, God needs to reign in us when it comes to those two things.

I am so glad for my wife. We are such different people and that can lead to great complementary aids, or great disagreements. But through everything, she is a loving support for me through tough times. Marriage has also been the toughest test for me in my entire life. The concept of "two becoming one" seems romantic when you're single, but when actually doing the process in real life, it can also be like surgery. For others, there might also be times when it can seem mundane because you see a person everyday. Either way, staying the course in marriage isn't necessarily easy.

It can seem attractive to bail out and to find someone new in order to rekindle excitement or somehow feel validated or "manly". But, we are called to be pure and loyal in our marriages. It is a sanctioned contract under and before God, where we swear to live our whole lives serving our spouses.

The reward for us is the supernatural miracle of two persons truly functioning as one unit. Each supporting the other in different ways and creating a solid foundation and shelter from which to raise the next generation for Christ. There is deep joy in being able to share one's life with another and to lean on them in times of need. We were made to live in marriage (other than those who are called to be single to serve God fully), and when we are able to live out the journey of life through the journey of marriage, we are fulfilled to the depths of our souls.

Money on the other hand is a trap for us. Money's threat is to replace our sense of security in the Lord with the security of a full bank account. In addition, it feeds our greed to obtain and collect things - focusing on material acquisition rather than the fruits of the Spirit.

Making purchases feels empowering. We are drawn to possession and it makes us feel validated. We judge a person's social status and rank by the type of things they have, where they live, the car they drive, and the clothes they wear. God doesn't judge on any of those things. Not a single one.

It is not wrong to be rich. God desires for us to be successful. But, we cannot worship things and compromise ourselves in order to obtain things. We cannot compromise our faith, or our relationship and assignment from the Lord in order to drive a nice car or live in a nice house. Instead, we know that it is God that is our ultimate provider - not our bank accounts. We need to worship the giver and not the gifts.

Be content with what you have, says the Lord. God knows our characters and when we give our lives over to Him, we are submitting to His provision and His timing. He knows us better than ourselves and knows whether we have the characters to live with more or less. Since money is not a factor in God's success, the level of money in our lives has nothing to do with whether or not God believes in us or loves us. He simply has called us to live with a certain amount of funds.

The world is littered with lives that have been destroyed by the love of money. Relationships, one of the greatest treasures that we can have, are severed by jealousy, envy or greed all rooted in the love of money. While it is necessary to live and function, it is meaningless to God's Kingdom.

Lord Jesus, thank You for reminding me about the power and gift of a pure marriage, and warning me about the dangers of the love of money. One is possibly the greatest treasure during our lives here on Earth, and the other is completely worthless in the whole scheme of things. Thank You for being the provider for our family, helping and encouraging us to grow little by little. At the same time, please protect our marriage and help us to grow more and more into the one unit that lives for You alone. In Jesus' name, AMEN.

Tithing - An Act of Faith

"He (Abraham) did not waver at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strengthened in faith, giving glory to God, and being fully convinced that what He had promised He was also able to perform." (Romans 4:20-21)

Why do we waver in faith? Why do we fail to uphold all of our beliefs at all times no matter the circumstance?

As I was reading this passage today, I tried to measure myself up against Abraham - who wasn't necessarily without his faults. However, Abraham's faith to leave his home in pursuit of God serves as the ultimate testament of faith.

I believe the perceived security of the place that we are at this moment is a big reason why we don't follow God fully or completely. When we are told to do a certain action or to leave our current comfortable situation and go elsewhere, it is a difficult thing for us to do. Currently, I'm in arrears on my tithes and I can certainly think of so many ways I can apply the funds to projects or charges that are coming up for our family.

But is that really trust? Is it really trust to not do the things that God has given us to do in faith? Malachi 3:10 is a promise from God that we will be rewarded when we bring our tithes to the storehouse. It is a promise that if we trust Him, He will bring even more into our lives.

What can God do with a person that doesn't trust Him? If God were to ask us to do this or that thing, and we never do it because we don't want to leave our comfort zones...what would we accomplish for God? Nothing really.

It isn't about works, but it really is about faith. I'm not trying to justify myself through the tithe - but I'm evidencing the level of my faith.

Matthew 6:21 says, "Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."

If I can't give from my bank account in faith, then my heart is only for myself and not for God. I know it and feel the truth of that. And I don't want to be a man who is no longer able to follow God because I'm worried in the flesh about my security. Then I will not only be of no use to God, I would never be able to evidence my faith to my wife and children. And that would be the greatest tragedy of all. I would be failing in my primary dream to pass along my relationship with the Lord to my family.

The unique thing about my feeling today - and something that surprises me even at this moment - is that I don't feel any sense of guilt...and I think that is a very good thing. God doesn't lay guilt trips because He knows that following His ways is for my best interest...He doesn't need me to do anything, but He gives us the opportunity to partner with Him for the good of our souls. I know that in today's reading and meditation, I am really hearing from Him and it isn't from some misguided desire to prove something, or justify myself by works.

Lord Jesus, I'm really blessed by our time today. I needed a reminder about the meaning of the tithe and meaning of faith. I know that to trust in my bank account or my paycheck is a giant folly, but when we live in the flesh everyday, we can fear the future and not entrust ourselves fully to You. The tithe is really the ultimate symbol of our faith in You. You don't need our funds, but You want our hearts to be free from the slavery to money and things. In return, we can be responsible with any further blessings we may be given. I want to be more and more like You, not more and more like the world. Thank You for spending time with me today to remind me of that. In Your loving and holy name, AMEN.

Contentment and Assurance

Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, "I will never leave you nor forsake you. (ref. Josh 1:5 and others)" So we may boldly say: "The Lord is my helper; I will not fear. What can man do to me? (ref. Ps 118:6)"

(Heb 13:5-6)

As I was reading through the book of Genesis, I came across the phrase, "I will never leave you nor forsake you" as God is using Abraham's family to fulfill his will and promise on the earth. He gives this assurance multiple times in scripture. In this particular case, Jacob was being chased out of his father Isaac's house because he had stolen a blessing from Esau, his older twin. While it was certainly Jacob's guile that led to his situation, at the same time Esau was an unworthy person on which God could build his people - after all, Esau sold his birthright for a serving of stew, and he would not obey his father and mother when he selected wives who worshipped false gods.

Following the Lord is often harder than following our own heart and its inclinations. When we look at the stories of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, we see that they were often chased out of their settlements either by the call of God, famine, or difficulties in their lives. Jacob later ends up working for his uncle Laban for fourteen years just to secure the woman that he loves. I don't know if there is a person in the USA who would make that kind of sacrifice or undergo that kind of hardship today. I think we would be too worried about our career development and asking, "I wonder how this will look on my resume - worked for fourteen years as a servant to my uncle in order to gain a wife?" No matter what the call of God, we would be too ashamed to accept such a role for fear of worldly perception, lost time, and lowered prospects.

Oh, we certainly like to look at the passages of scripture where God blesses Abraham or Isaac with success and great flocks, but we really don't want to look at the kind of hard times that they had to endure. After all, both Abraham, Isaac, and even Jacob endured famines so severe that they left their property to either go to Egypt or the land of the Philistines. What would my reaction be if the Lord caused us to be starved and broke to the point where we had to beg the grace of a foreign nation like Mexico or Canada in order to survive? Would we praise God as they did, or would we instead just curse Him and go our own ways?

Ultimately, the Lord promises never to leave us nor forsake us. He doesn't promise a perfect life or a super rich life. We aren't slated in scripture to have whatever we desire to the point where everyone will envy us. Rather, we will be tempted by those around us who seem to have plenty of cool toys and gadgets, who take amazing trips to exotic places, who have great jobs, who have fame, and who drive nicer cars than us.

But, our reaction to such things is key to the condition of our souls. If we react in envy, we do not appreciate the Lord's wisdom in the level of what we have. We will lose our hearts to the things of the world without appreciating the salvation that has been given to us. Add to that the sheer fact that we are not alone in this world. We must remember that we have a mighty God who stands with us, and measures the content of our character, and not the size of our wallets.

In addition, we have the blessed assurance that we will be fine. Through recessions, depressions, inflation, deflation, good times and bad, God will be with us and will take care of us. No, it won't always be in the fashion that we desire and things may not come easily to us, but the Lord is still there with us. The Lord is still leading us in His path and things will come in His timing.

Lord Jesus, thank You for Your word today. I know that I must work to grow in faith and contentment in whatever You have brought to us. I cannot measure everything by the level of my salary, but instead I need to trust in You and simply obey. If I follow You, then things will be made clear in due time, and we will always be taken cared of. Thank You Lord. Again and again, you have brought our family through good times and bad, but ultimately You have simply wanted to be near to us. And we are not worthy of such grace. In Jesus' name, AMEN.

The Devil's Gift

5The devil led him up to a high place and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. 6And he said to him, "I will give you all their authority and splendor, for it has been given to me, and I can give it to anyone I want to. 7So if you worship me, it will all be yours."

8Jesus answered, "It is written: 'Worship the Lord your God and serve him only.
(Luke 4:5-8 NIV)

Probably like most people, I often have these momentary fantasies of being rich and being able to do whatever I wished. These times have typically come when I was heavy with work and overwhelmed by my load. "To have it easy," I would think, "that would be the life."

However, I've already seen what the love of money and the desire to gain more has done to people. I have seen men (including myself) make irrational decisions in order to get rich quick. I have seen smart men justify immoral decisions in order enrich themselves -- and then commit more immorality in order to cover up their poor decision making. I have heard stories of families torn apart by the desire to gain money - or even worse, an inheritance.

This passage reminds me of who actually owns the riches and kingdoms of the world...Satan. God has given over the authority over the world to Satan, and Satan then uses the worldly lure of money and power to draw God's people away from worshipping and serving the Lord God wholeheartedly. Satan will pour out a windfall over the heads of people in order to keep them focused on the money and keep them from knowing God. Beware of the windfall.

Which is not to say that money cannot be used responsibly for the Lord's work. Certainly that is possible, but it is matter of guarding our hearts to make sure that we are not focused on anything other than serving and worshipping the Lord.

Lord Jesus, Satan would have me trade my faith for riches and fame. May that never be. Please guard my heart as I go through this life so that I may use whatever I receive to serve Your kingdom purposes. I know there is a lot of material things that we are asking for, but let us not focus on that. We are content here where we are, and we are blessed immensely simply by our relationship with You. We know that You will provide what is appropriate at the appropriate time. Thank You for all that You've done as our Lord. In Jesus' name, AMEN.