It’s What You Do with Your Means That Means Something

I think it needs to be said that we should see ourselves as worthy of blessings. Many Christians think being “poor and miserable” is the way of a saint.

I don’t think of people in such terms, but I’m using this terminology to make a point.

People are so wary of the “prosperity gospel” messages from people like the mega-church pastors they forget that creating wealth is a sign of God’s covenant with His people who keep His Torah as sacred.

I watched a painful video today from a sister in Christ that missed the whole point of why we keep the Torah. I’ve often said it is impossible to keep the whole Torah today, but there are commandments we can keep anywhere that are not land-specific. She said that if we try to keep the Torah—in any way—it means we are cursed because we can’t do all of it.

Weird.

If Jesus is our example, then our capability to keep the Torah is expected of us.

He kept it. And those who are righteous in Him will not avoid keeping His commands.

That rabbit trail aside, one of the signs of the Torah covenant is blessings and wealth.

So, does that mean that rich people are always righteous?

No.

But it is what you do with your increase that determines wickedness or trust in God apart from any riches.

Because the truth of the matter is simple.

Making money is not a moral issue. It is what we do, and if we stay humble, that matters.

Wicked people hoard wealth as if it’s going to dry up and never help those who need a hand up.

I believe in God’s sovereignty over our lives. If God wants us to be wealthy, nothing we do to sabotage it will make us poorer. In the same manner, if our soul correction (Kabbalah) is to be meager in this life, there is nothing we can do to increase our station. God is ultimately the one who gives us our lives.

Here’s the thing. Even if you don’t believe in God, God is the one who created you and gave you the sun to shine upon you, the air you breathe, and the life you live.

No matter how you frame it, God created this world, meaning your ability to create wealth is up to Him alone.

That’s what the wicked rich don’t realize. They can say they worked so hard (which is a great thing) but if they don’t acknowledge Yahweh as creating them, it is all for naught.

I had a conversation with a friend about this yesterday. He feels awful about raising his prices in his business due to the current world situation.

But I told him to think it through for a second. I said he isn’t being greedy, and that to have that thought to begin with shows the humility needed to control such a blessing.

I gave him an example. Raising your rates or material costs is not greedy.

If you need to feed your daughter and keep a roof over her head, that is not greed.

The father who thinks he has to uproot his children when they’ve established themselves in a certain city, who leaves a church community that was like family, because another city position would pay him five more dollars an hour with extra hours on top of the standard hours he works—leaving his wife alone for more time, is greedy.

Raising your rates is not greed. Uprooting everything because you believe in scarcity and that your community you’ve established means nothing to you because of a measly five dollars more by taking your kids away from their friends and church community is greed.

He understood the concept there, which I am grateful for.

As Christians, we often don’t believe in getting paid what we are worth because we want to have Christlike humility. That is noble and amazing.

Specialty ghostwriting and freelance work pay quite a bit when you specialize and have to sign NDAs. But is it greedy if the value you offer demands that rate?

No.

Greedy would be if I felt like money was scarce and had to ruin everything in my life for a pittance of a raise. “Bye, church family. I’m out. This other city has six bucks more an hour. Screw the kids having friends here and having roots.”

We need to understand things from the correct perspective. God is ultimately the one who allows you to receive blessings.

In my own life, I feel that giving to charities is a noble cause, but I am wary of middlemen. The upside is that you give to an amazing cause, but having another step before that rubs me the wrong way for some reason.

You can’t give if you have nothing. How can you help your neighbor if you lack?

Wealth is not evil if you use it for good.

Remember, Jesus said a rich man CAN enter the kingdom of God. Because with God all things are possible.

The wealthy people of the Bible are all found in the front of the Scriptures.

Perhaps the Torah has lessons we can all apply, eh?

Don’t see yourself as unworthy of blessings. Use those blessings God allows you to receive for the ultimate good of others.

The world right now is quite uncertain. I see echoes of the Four Horsemen if I’m being completely frank. Perhaps all of us got things wrong, and now that certain events are playing out, we see them after the fact as fulfillments.

I’m open to being mistaken about my speculations on eschatological matters.

It is a time to prepare for an uncertain future. But you can’t do that if you don’t have the means to prepare.

I hope this post has made you think a bit.

Shalom.