You’ve probably heard that saying that good (or bad) things come in 3′s. Recently I’ve had 3 experiences that caused me to question and re-question my beliefs regarding money and spirituality. Is it possible to be spiritual AND have money? Or does being spiritual mean sacrifice and living miserly?
My first experience of the 3 came through a conversation with a new found friend. Because I am learning to speak of the positive and not the negative, we were discussing areas in our lives that showed improvement. Not areas that NEEDED improvement. One of those areas for me was my finances. When I inspected my financial history, I realized that I was earning more money and was much happier being self-employed than when I was working on a traditional corporate job. The other area in my life that showed significant improvement was in the area of spirituality. This caused me to wonder if there may have been a connection. Did my finances improve because my connection with Source improved? I tend to think it did.
My second experience of the 3 came to me in general thought. I wondered why is it that the majority of ‘church-going’ people struggle in their relationships, their finances, and in their businesses? Does God WANT His people to struggle? And why do people talk down on ministers such as T.D. Jakes or Creflo Dollar saying that they are ‘money-hungry’ devils? Isn’t God a prosperous God? Aren’t His gifts abundant? Or do I have it all backwards and we (God’s children) are suppose to suffer and live sub-par lives?
Finally my 3rd experience came when I happened upon Mary Mary’s video, God In Me. I fell in love with the song when I first heard it. And the more I listen, the more I liked it. So, I looked for the lyrics online today. What I found were people who said they were sickened by the message of the song. I was like WHAT. Are you kidding me? You’re upset because someone is singing about their gifts and giving God the praise for them? Wow!
Then it hit me. Most people DO think that money, cars, homes, clothes, and even bling is a sin. Well, not me. I tend to think that God wants and intends for me what I want and intend for myself. That is one of the many reasons we have free will. We can choose how we want to live. We can live our lives from paycheck to paycheck or we can live our lives abundantly. Now does this mean I worship money or things? Of course not!!!! I will not sell my soul for a piece of silver; however, while in this physical form, I want and intend for myself the very best of EVERYTHING. And I believe the God in Me would have it no other way.
Light, Love and Liciousness,
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“Isn’t God a prosperous God? Aren’t His gifts abundant? Or do I have it all backwards and we (God’s children) are suppose to suffer and live sub-par lives?”
girl this sums it up! and I’m happy you have a deeper revelation of what God wants for His people. its really funny because this Sunday i just had this same conversation with some friends and I’m really amazed how “purposely” blinded some people are to the complete truth of Gods greatness. we cant pick and choose what we want what God has placed in His word for us. So we shouldn’t chose to condemn ourselves and others to poverty. That is NOT humility, it is stupidity. peace.
Jacque, very nice!
I love that Mary Mary song too! It can be confusing…but, I do believe God intended for us to have riches and money included. While money can’t buy you happiness, it sure can buy you some comfort and allows freedom (flexibility). Sometimes we are happier with less if we’re doing what we love doing and feel love in our lives.
Before man’s technology (dupont), we only wore natural fibers, 100% silk, cotton, wool and gold spun thread. We wore fine tailored clothes because we didn’t always have department stores, we went to the tailor or dressmaker on whatever budget, even homemade. We didn’t eat processed foods, we ate organic fruits and vegetables, cows ate grass, food was fresh and wholesome. Families went to church and enjoyed wonderful soulful sunday dinners. So it’s in our dna to live well and having money doesn’t make anyone sinful, it’s our character that’s suspect!
OF COURse riches are not a bad thing, but check out this out, There was a wealthy man who wanted to truly follow God, and he asked him what shouldhe do. this is from the mouth of Christ, “If you wish to be complete, go and sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you shall have treasure in heaven; and come , follow me” Matthew 19:21
“So therefore, no one of you can be my disciple who does not give up all his own possessions” Luke 14:33
Now this sounds crazy in society where they tell you live your best now and your walk with God is based on how much you have material wise. We are in a season of judgment and all you hear from pulpits is live your best life now. Woe to the shepered who lead their sheep stray. What happens when famine, which is coming verrry soon hits this nation. Will those sheep who have been brainwashed to think God was made for them, will they still serve him or love him, when there is no food. Or will they turn their back on him. Whatever he gives you, be content.
cHrist learned obedience through suffering. God is not sadistic, but he is a good Father. Anyone who had good parents know when your parents disciplined you they didn’t enjoy it, unless they were abusive, they did it to lead you in the right direction. Tough love hurts the parent and the child, but they know in the long run, its for the best. God loves you more than your parents, so don’t you think he will discipline his true children,
“Truly i say to you, it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. ANd again i say to you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle , than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God. “And when the disciples heard this, they were very astonished and said, “Then who can be saved? CHrist said.” WIth mnen thihs is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” matthew 19:23-27.
Ancient cities had walls built around them for protection. IN these walls were set great gates which were closed in the evenings, and on certain days. at times it was necessary for to permit entry into the city without opening the gates, so a small door was fixed in the wall. THis small door was referred to as “the eye of the neddle.” In order for a man to get his camel through this small door he wouild have 2 take all the baggage off of the camel, and cause it to get down on its knees to pass through. This is the imagery Christ used in speaking of the way the wealthy of this owrld must enter the kingdom of Heaven. They must freely unburden themsleves of all of the goods they possess. THey must humble themselves as a camel must do when getting down on its knees. By the gace of God, even a wealthy man might accomplish this act of obedience. notice BY THE GRACE OF GOD. PEOPLE you have 2b ready if God tell you 2 give it all up, to do it. We are in times, where you will just be content to have food and shelter. Judgment is here on this nation and the world. Just watch Cnn for 5 min. Please just focus on him .
To the writer, i luv you sis, and im not judging., but God does not want you want for yourselves. I used to believe that too. We were created for his pleasure. Christ said,”I can do nothing on MY OWN INITIATIVE, AS i hear, i judge; and my judgment is just because I DO NOT SEEK MY OWN WILL, BUT THE WILL OF HIM WHO SENT ME. ” JOHN 5:30.
I pray the HolySpirit moves in whoever reads this heart and brings these words to life. Its a hard pill 2 swallow, but picture the pill Christ had on the cross.
@ Ruserious:
Christ also said ,”Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and all these things shall be added unto you.” Matthew 6:33
He also said, ” Delight yourself in the Lord and HE WILL GIVE YOU THE DESIRES OF YOUR HEART.” Psalm 37;4.
Our desires may not always be material, but our God is a God of more than enough. He tells us that we are the “head and not the tail, above and not beneath, being careful to do all His commandments which I command you today, the LORD YOUR GOD WILL SET YOU HIGH ABOVE ALL THE NATIONS ON THE EARTH”. Deuteronomy 28;13.
I am not rich, but all my bills are paid and I want for nothing. The God in me has blessed me with a nice high rise apartment, car, and money in savings account, because I tithe to my church every Sunday, and I seek Him first and foremost. The Bible says that He came to give us LIFE, and to give it more abundantly!
I do not think that means being poor. The favor of God is on my life, and I am not ashamed of it. I used to be; there were times when I was doing better than most of my peers, financially, emotionally, spiritually, pretty much in every area. But I am not ashamed anymore of God’s blessings. That would actually be a slap in the face to God if He blesses me and I act ashamed, or think I am not worthy of it.
visit my website! Missthanginthecity.blogspot.com!
Im sure there is a God because if I die and find out there is not, oh best believe some people will have to deal with my spirit.
Im not going to be dirt poor just so I can HOPE I make it to whatever afterlife paradise somewhere in the sky. This is not to offend anybody. I do believe there is a higher, supreme Source. That I dont question. I do question everything else though. I think I have the right to do so.
I love this article and I can definitely see where you are coming from. I believe everyone is not going to be well off or rich or even have their bills paid. if we read the whole bible and not just some parts, we will get a better understanding of God and his purpose for our lives. Riches are good, but peace, eternal life with christ, joy, healing and deliverance, grace and mercy will trump anything at all times. And just look at some rich people or well to do and they are just as miserable as a poor person. So i say this to say, what God has for you is for you and what he has for someone else is altogether different. So receive what God has for you. Some people can’t even walk, some can’t feel anything because they are paralyzed, some can’t have children and some have terminal illnesses. Money won’t make them any happier. So as I said, this is a great article and what God has for you is for you, but some could care less about money because they need something else that is far more important than money or riches. The nature of God is not that he is a magician and whatever we think happiness and rich is, he should do it.
Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness and all these things. What God desires for you, not what you think you need or desire just because you think God can do it. Your desires and life must line up with his will for you, not what you feel you want, need or desire and try to get God to make you happy. It is not about you but what God wants for you. And whatever he has for you is for you whether it is riches, education, marriage, children, etc.
But i must add that it does seem like some christian people think it is a sin to be educated or rich or even joyful. So you are on point. Keep up the great work. Sorry for writing so much, but this is a very good article and shows how we all have different desires, understandings and wants, but all in all we learn from and with each other.
@angela- sister, im not saying being rich is a sin. David was rich and he was a man after God’s heart. When he says life more abundantly, though, i think you have that scripture misconstrued, life is living in him, eternity with him, not things of this world. Also, the desires of your heart, he means the desires of HIS heart, cuz when you start to truly walk with him, you have his heart, his mind, his thoughts, not your own cuz you are His now.. And his desires are never wordly. His riches are heavenly. Of course when He blesses why hide it, but know this, you can’t take that to the grave. Here is favor from God, when you have a disease or a loved when does and your faith and walk is so strong, you can rebuke it in the name of God. There are people who are “poor” who have healed themselvesand loved ones cuz they found true riches-the power of God. Christ, the Savior, King of Kins was homeless. The most powerful man that ever lived. Wow.
@ruserious you are sooo right god bless you and pray for me and my family.
Being “rich” and being “prosperous” are two very dfiferent things. To be prosperous means that you are thriving and continuously growing, versus the riches that make people stagnant in mind and soul. I believe that God wants us to PROSPER in our finances, our mindsets, our lives in general, so that we are constantly growing our spirituality.
^^^What LOL said.
Also, I find that myself, whether I’m struggling financially or if I’m doing okay, if I sit back and just say (or think) “Lord have your way; Lord I know you’ll take care of me”, etc. then I’m at peace with myself.
My greatest monetary debt to this world is my doggone student loans LOL but they will get paid off…eventually. I may be fifty years old and still paying on them, but by God I’m not going to stress myself over them. Even the government knows I ain’t stressin’ because they have (and do) work with you in the repayment process…they just want to make sure they get paid SOMEthing!
Okay, so maybe that was TMI, but here’s the real skinny. I’m not the type who wants for everything. I don’t care about name-brand clothes or cars or any of that. I’m a bit of a hippy in that regard. I’d rather not be tied down to the trappings of this world (student loans excluded), but that’s just me and my personality. Others WANT for those things, the Maybachs, the chinchillas, the houses on the beach, the bling-bling and all that jazz.
I think that if you want for ANYTHING MORE than your love of God, your love of self then you just might be off-kilter with your spirituality and everything else in your life. I don’t think God wants us to be long-suffering as in poverty-laden; nor does he want for us to be over-flourished with riches…I don’t think it matters to him. Where is your heart? What does your heart yearn for? Another milli? or peace of mind? That new Hermes bag? or the love of your family and friends?
Gods rain falls on the just and the un-just so really we can’t gauge the sinner vs. the saint. Only God and that other person knows what’s up. But God also said, that you have not if you ask not which says to me that it’s okay to ask for certain things. Just be reasonable about it. Don’t ask for a Bentley when you live in a mobile home! C’mon! LOL
This is a beautiful article. I think there’s only a select few of folks who will have to ask these kinds of questions; namely the upper-middle class and upper-class and so-high-up-you-can’t-see-’em-class folk. LOL. And that’s okay!
How’s your health? Do you have activity of your limbs? Are you covered/do you have shelter? Do you have food to eat? Do you have safe passage to and fro?
You can have the best doctor in the world or the worst. You can have all activity in your limbs to an insane degree (Lebron James) or you can be regular (street hustling b-baller). You can live in a mansion or you can live in an apartment. You can get to and fro via a chauffeured vehicle or you can get to and fro via your old beat-up F150.
Either way, you are provided for, taken care of, COMFORTABLE in the way God wants you to be for now. If you want a little something more, ask; if you are granted it, then it was meant to be. If not, go on back to driving that old farm truck and keep smiling. Maybe your blessing is coming another way, wrapped in a completely different package.
To sum, as many of you have stated already, God wants to take care of us and will if we follow his commandments and do his will. You can ask for blessings but you gotta have some sense about your requests. And like I said, if you’re so focused on acquiring a bigger house, a bigger car, a bigger brand of purse or shoes; if that is your true focus (read: obsession) then you got some checkin’ on YOU to do ASAP.
LOL- Totally agree with you.
This will be VERY random.
I do believe that God put each and every one of us on this world for a purpose, and that’s to be the very best YOU can be in any and everything that YOU do. I don’t think there’s a problem with being rich and whatnot, BUT you better know where all your blessings and talents came from, and that everything you have can be taken away in the blink of an eye. I also believe that God hands us challenges because as we all know our lives aren’t perfect by a long shot, and never will be.
And the last thing (and I think most important) is I think God doesn’t EVER want us to give up on anything whether it’s a dream or life, because HE never gave up on us. That’s why I think when you commit suicide sadly under any circumstances you go to hell because you gave up on the most important thing that you were blessed enough to have…life.
“And the last thing (and I think most important) is I think God doesn’t EVER want us to give up on anything whether it’s a dream or life, because HE never gave up on us. That’s why I think when you commit suicide sadly under any circumstances you go to hell because you gave up on the most important thing that you were blessed enough to have…life”
wow 17150918 i really really love that comment you made, and it is the truth.
17150918- life is truly is a gift. You are soooo right.
Don’t worry about this life. We are just passing thru. God’s children are aliens/foreigners.
“these all died in faith, not ahving received the promises, but having seen thema far off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangters and pilgrims on the eart. For they that say such things declare plainly that they seeka country . ANd truly, if they had been mindful of that country from whence they came out, they might have had opportunity to have returned.
But now they desire a better country, that is AN HEAVENLY; wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God; for he hath prepared for them a city”Hebrews,11:13-16
THat’s why the “have your best life NOW” is a doctrine from the enemy. He wants you focused on this life and 24git eternity,-your real life.
im tryna git to the point where i can lay down my life for Him-MARTYRDOM, which is happening around the world, and soon in AMerica,but if i can’t lay down the tv, music, pride, BEING SELF-WILLED, ETC-???
bty there is another Ruserious on here, please don’t confuse us two.
RUSERIOUS- I had thought so.
@Ruserious:
I believe one of my favorite pastors, Joyce Meyers, summed this subject up perfectly. She said that God wants us to have everything, as long as we keep him first, keep a good attitude. As long as what He blesses us with, it does not interfere with our relationship with Him, God will indeed give us the desires of our heart.
Key point: it may not come in MY timing, but it will come! I am believing God for a saved man of God for a husband, it may not come when I want him, he may not be in the package I want, but I 100% believe I will receive it. I do not believe God would give us a desire for something NOT to do it. God put on my heart to write a book about my testimony, and I speak by faith that my book will be highly successful. God will not start a good work in you, to leave you alone. Because my book will do successfully, I will be living better, and better off. God enjoys blessing His children!
His Worf tells us in 3 John 2:1 “Beloved, I pray that in all respects YOU MAY PROSPER AND BE IN GOOD HEALTH, EVEN AS YOUR SOUL PROSPERS”.
Meaning in addition to your relationship with Him, His peace, His joy, His mercy and grace, and your heavenly home that awaits, He will also give us the wealth and the health on this earth. 3John 2:1 clearly refutes your argument. If you disagree with this verse, you should talk to God, not me, because these are His words, not mine.
not sure what your definition of “poor” is, but I have yet to SEE THE RIGHTEOUS FORSAKEN. I have yet to see a homeless Christian. I have yet to see God forsake any of His children. I’m not sure what your def. Of rich is, but I do not want to be rich. God takes care of me in every aspect, so I consider myself rich in earthly form and in spirit!!!!!
ANgela: Its hard to decipher between the soul and spirit. There are many desires that come from the soul, but are they from the spirit of Christ? Every desire you have does not mean it comes from Christ, that is where prayer and fasting comes into play so you can hear the Lord’s voice more clear. If the Lord told you to write a book, so be it. If the Lord told you he wants you to be married and he will bring it, nothing can stop that.
Now, God is not contradictory so therefore the verse John2:1 has to be looked at in its context. OF course God desires for his children to be in good health, but the righteous as well as the evil will be afflicted. DAvid even said the Lord afflicted him to put him on the right path, What a good Father we have.
“Before i was afflicted i went astray, but now i have kept they word.” Psalms 119 :67
“I know , O Lord, that thy JUDGMENTS are right, and that thou in FAITHFULLNESS HAST AFFLICTED ME” PSAMS 119:75
i USED to listen to Joyce and several of the preachers on Tv, but they don’t preach about the CROSS. The CROSS THAT every true disciple of Christ will have to endure at one point in their life. THey teach that God is here to serve us, instead of we were created to serve him. Im not saying having wealth and health is wrong, but when that is all you hear. Sista, how are they preparing you for tribulation, persuction. YOU have never met a homeless Christain. I have spoken to several homeless Christians. ONe of my pastors used to be homeless, of course God used his experience(the wilderness) to strengthen him.
“WHO SHALL SEPARATE US FROM THE LOVE OF CHRIST ? SHALL TRIBULATION OR DISTRESS, OR PERSECUTION, OR FAMINE, OR NAKEDNESS, OR PERIL OR SWORD?
AS IT IS WRITTEN, fOR THY SAKE WE ARE KILLED ALL THE DAY LONG; WE ARE ACCOUNTED AS SHEEP FOR THE SLAUGHTER.
NAY IN ALL THESE THINGS WE ARE MORE THAN CONQUERORS THROUGH HIM THAT LOVED US.
fOR I AM PERSUADED THAT NEITHER DEATH NOR LIFE, NOR ANGELS, NOR PRINCIPLATLITES, NOR POWERS, NOT THINGS PRESENT, NOR THINGS 2 COME, 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.”ROMANS 8:35-39
pLEASE purchase “Foxes Book of Matrys” You thing being homeless means God has forsaken someone. Tell that to the millions and millions of CHristians who were matyred from 13 century up till now, yes now, in 2010. True CHristians who couldn’t care less about this world, singing as they marched to be burned at the steak, beheaded, massacred, seing their children die before their eyes and never ONCE denying him? Did God forsake them?? I think not. Every 5 minutes A cHristian is matryed around the world , but America and this prosperity doctrine have made us spoiled, indifferent and focuses on our best life. AMericans believe God would never have them put down their lives, let alone a meal. But the day is coming sis, where you will have 2 choose either your life or deny him. Where you will remember all of Joyce’s sermons and wish she would have prepared you spiritually for warfare. She gives you milk, you need solid food to withstand the storm. AMerica hasn’t had her turn of true tribulation, but she will and only the saints will make it.”AND THEY OVERCAME HIM BY THE BLOOD OF THE LAMB, AND BY THE WORD OF THEIR TESTIMONY; AND THEY LOVED NOT THEIR LIVES UNTO THE DEATH.” REVELATIONS12:11
Sis, please purchase that book, you will reconsider your walk with Him. God Bless.
I agree with Brownsista.