10 Sep #1 Do you agree that wealth is a double-edged sword?

#1

Do you agree that wealth is a double-edged sword? What good things, and what bad things, could it do for you?

Wealth is absolutely a double-edged sword. There is a lot of good that can come with having money. While it provides tangible assurance of comfort and safety, through food, shelter, and other materialistic goods, it can also be a controlling or self-defining problem. One of the things Jesus made clear was that we cannot serve both God and wealth. He did not say that it would be hard to serve both but that we actually cannot serve both; it is one or the other. This is why having wealth can be a great thing when used as a tool to serve God and His kingdom and why it can also bring people to darkness and absolute brokenness. 

Do you think you are selfish? If so, in what ways? What steps can you take to be less selfish?

            I would be lying if I said that I was not selfish. I am sin-born and absolutely have selfish tendencies. One way I am selfish can, unfortunately, be with money. There are months that I will not tithe because I am fearful that I did not make enough money that month. I know that this fear is not from a faith-based perception, but a wordly one. As I continue walking with the Lord, I am reminded that I can trust Him. He is so good and I know that He will provide for my family, always. I want to lose the mentality of “if I had THIS much money, I would finally give a huge amount away” and gain the mentality of “I can give with what I have right now and that is enough”.

#2

Do you agree that wealth is a double-edged sword?

I think it is pretty clear that wealth is a double-edged sword that can be used either for good or for bad. We only need to look at extremely wealthy people and we can see that some use their wealth for good, but many blow their wealth on unnecessary stuff. We all have heard about the professional athlete that make tens of millions of dollars and then spends it all on fancy cars,  expensive vacations, and women. But not everyone who makes millions of dollars is like these athletes. When I think of a wealthy person using their finances for good I immediately think of R. G. LeTourneau. LeTourneau was in his 30’s and was considering going into ministry to serve God full-time, when his pastor told him, “God needs businessmen too” (Drenoske, 2018). So he decided to be a great businessman for God and soon found himself with a super successful business and started giving 90% of his income to the church and living off only 10%. Throughout his long life, he ended up donating tens of millions of dollars to the Lord. In my own life, it is always a struggle to not waste my money on dumb stuff like eating out that will only give a fleeting moment of pleasure when I know that God could do something a lot better with my money.

Do you think you are selfish? If so, in what ways? What steps can you take to be less selfish?

I would like to think that I am perfect and that I never struggle with being selfish, but I know that in the Christian life we can always be improving, and putting others first is something I need to work on. As Paul states in Philippians 2:3, “Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves” (NASB). Jesus is the ultimate example of putting others ahead first, and the Bible says we should try to emulate Him as much as possible. I think an easy way for me to be less selfish with my money is that every time I feel the impulse to spend money on myself for something I do not need is to pause and think first. God can do so much more with our money than we can ever imagine so we need to stop and think are Chipotle or Starbucks worth it?

References

Drenoske, T. (2018). RG LeTourneau – Earthmoving Innovator. Retrieved from http://www.giantsforgod.com/rg-letourneau/.