Pastor Elie Hamuli
It is evident that God is deeply involved in the business of good financial management. Over two thousand verses and fifteen percent of Christ’s teaching tackle the management of money and possessions. Money is a significant aspect of our lives, and God desires us to be wise in managing it. When we understand that we are stewards of the finances He has given us (read Deuteronomy 8:18), we will seek His instructions on how to manage it. This will allow us to be faithful in our storehouses and work diligently and as a result, we will be blessed and be a blessing to others (see Deuteronomy 28:8)!
Money serves as a medium of exchange and is a “storer” of value, giving us the ability to operate. In Ecclesiastes 9:16, money is described as a master, giving us a voice, position, and influence. Jesus Christ acknowledges the masterhood and dangers of money, basically stating that it can become a rival to Him (see Matthew 6:24). Ecclesiastes 5:10 states that people who love money are never satisfied, revealing how the love of money can manipulate our joy and even destroy our lives. It is powerful enough to affect people’s emotions and has led many to do unlawful things. As 1 Timothy 6:10 puts it, “the love of money is the root of all evil” and as a result, many people have strayed from the faith. This is the agenda of Satan!
There are two things that masters claim from their servants; love and devotion. Money has the power to corrupt our love and devotion for God. It cannot make us submit to Him because it is selfish and can never make us serve God. Yet, God has the power to submit money to us. A much more sinister danger is that money seeks our love in order to destroy us. Yet God expects our love as a response to His safe and sure love for us.
There is a solution that Jesus Christ gives us, found in Matthew 6:33. We are encouraged to “seek first the kingdom of God”, as it provides the solution to avoid falling into the slavery of money. In other words, the solution is found in what we place our focus and priority on. When we prioritise money and the pursuit of it over God, we can end up compromising our spiritual work, making us chase after, and work for money. Thus, it is important to remember that God is gracious enough to make money submit to us, adding it to our lives when we set our priorities right.
God’s wisdom in the season of abundance is that we sow in the gospel. This is the best investment to make, as it sets our priorities right and allows money to serve us rather than us serving it. This allows us to remain in and enjoy the abundance. Haggai 1:1-10 illustrates how the people of Israel did not enjoy the abundance because they neglected the building of the temple and the work of God that needed to be done. God’s needs must draw our attention, as His needs will meet all our needs. The things He will do for us are incomparable to what we can do for Him!
Matthew 6:21 also encourages us to invest our valuable things in the kingdom of God, as it provides safety. Our hearts will always pursue what we value, revealing where our priorities lie. We have a sure and everlasting harvest when we invest in the kingdom of God. So let us be encouraged, in light of Matthew 6:19-20, to use our valuable resources like money, time, and gifts to serve God. By submitting our resources to serve God, they will no longer control us. This is also why we pay our tithes -10% of our revenue. The idea is not in the amount itself but in our focus. When we receive money, we need to consider what our first priority is before we do anything else because God is in the position we give Him, not in the amount!
Anything that we submit to God, won’t rule over us and the best way to submit is to give Him first. Similarly, when we submit our bodies to serve Him, our flesh won’t rule over us. God does not compete for what we have because He gave us everything, He competes for position because anything we pursue first has the power to control our lives. Therefore, we are not called to just seek the kingdom, but to seek it FIRST, and everything else shall be added to us.
