Abundant Life
It is a popular belief that God promises great wealth to His followers. First of all, it is important to clarify what wealth is.
Wealth is a relative concept, one who has a house and a car can feel poor as opposed to one who has a luxury boat and mansion. There are people who have neither a house nor a car and are struggling to make a living every day, these people feel poor compared to those who have a house and a car. Let us remember the story of Lazarus and the rich, when Lazarus would have liked to eat anything what had fallen off the table of the rich. Let's see the story:
Luke 16:19-21
„There was a rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen and who feasted sumptuously every day. And at his gate was laid a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores, who desired to be fed with what fell from the rich man's table. Moreover, even the dogs came and licked his sores.”
People define the concept of wealth in different ways. They mostly judge wealth by their own financial situation. But the question is, what does God think is wealth? Also: what does God think is absolutely important financially? Jesus' teaching:
Matthew 6:19-34
„"Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. "The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light, but if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness! "No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money. "Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? Therefore do not be anxious, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. "Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.”
Jesus' teaching in a nutshell: Let us not gather up the treasures of the earth, and let us not be anxious about our garments and our food; for all these things do the Gentiles. The Gentiles are those who live without God, and their trust, their hope, is in visible things, not in God! So what does Jesus teach their followers? To seek God’s will first, keep His commandments, and these promises are given to us. For this is to seek the kingdom of God. And what is the promise of this? Clothing and food, just as much as the body absolutely needs, not more. This is what the apostle Paul also teaches us:
1Timothy 6:6-11
„Now there is great gain in godliness with contentment, for we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world. But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content. But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs. But as for you, O man of God, flee these things. Pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness, gentleness.”
So what we have to be content with is clothing and food. That is, what the body needs. Yet many are chasing prosperity that they either manage to achieve or not. But in both case, a commissioner who does so has taken their eyes off God. Believers love to teach and rumor that God wants to give as much material wealth as possible to His children. I don’t know where believers got this teaching trend. But I know certainly that they not got this trend from the word of God, because the word of God teaches the exact opposite. It is God’s will to have unity among His children, even financially!
Deuteronomy 15:1-11
„"At the end of every seven years you shall grant a release. And this is the manner of the release: every creditor shall release what he has lent to his neighbor. He shall not exact it of his neighbor, his brother, because the LORD's release has been proclaimed. Of a foreigner you may exact it, but whatever of yours is with your brother your hand shall release. But there will be no poor among you; for the LORD will bless you in the land that the LORD your God is giving you for an inheritance to possess-- if only you will strictly obey the voice of the LORD your God, being careful to do all this commandment that I command you today. For the LORD your God will bless you, as he promised you, and you shall lend to many nations, but you shall not borrow, and you shall rule over many nations, but they shall not rule over you. "If among you, one of your brothers should become poor, in any of your towns within your land that the LORD your God is giving you, you shall not harden your heart or shut your hand against your poor brother, but you shall open your hand to him and lend him sufficient for his need, whatever it may be. Take care lest there be an unworthy thought in your heart and you say, 'The seventh year, the year of release is near,' and your eye look grudgingly on your poor brother, and you give him nothing, and he cry to the LORD against you, and you be guilty of sin. You shall give to him freely, and your heart shall not be grudging when you give to him, because for this the LORD your God will bless you in all your work and in all that you undertake. For there will never cease to be poor in the land. Therefore I command you, 'You shall open wide your hand to your brother, to the needy and to the poor, in your land.'”
It is God’s will for there to be equality between the brethren (His children). The Lord commanded the debt to be forgiven every seventh year. At that time all debts had to be forgiven, we read in Leviticus 25 that every 50 years the land also returned to who it originally belonged to. But there is another commandment of God that those in need must be helped. Those who asked for financial help as the 7th year approached (the year of debt relief) also had to be helped:
„Take care lest there be an unworthy thought in your heart and you say, 'The seventh year, the year of release is near,' and your eye look grudgingly on your poor brother, and you give him nothing, and he cry to the LORD against you, and you be guilty of sin. You shall give to him freely, and your heart shall not be grudging when you give to him, because for this the LORD your God will bless you in all your work and in all that you undertake.”
But notice at the beginning of the verse that this applied only to the brethren, not to the strangers:
„And this is the manner of the release: every creditor shall release what he has lent to his neighbor. He shall not exact it of his neighbor, his brother, because the LORD's release has been proclaimed. Of a foreigner you may exact it, but whatever of yours is with your brother your hand shall release.”
What it means? This means that there is a fear of God in God’s people. That is, if a God-fearing man asks at the end of the sixth year, he will give it back. On the other hand, strangers (not believers) see benefit in believers. The credit could be recovered from strangers regardless of the year of release. So we could read God’s commandment and protection against deceitful people.
I would remind you of the words of Jesus we read recently, namely:
„But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.”
So the promise is conditional. Let's look at the part of the word of God that Jesus referred to:
Deuteronomy 28:1-14
„"And if you faithfully obey the voice of the LORD your God, being careful to do all his commandments that I command you today, the LORD your God will set you high above all the nations of the earth. And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, if you obey the voice of the LORD your God. Blessed shall you be in the city, and blessed shall you be in the field. Blessed shall be the fruit of your womb and the fruit of your ground and the fruit of your cattle, the increase of your herds and the young of your flock. Blessed shall be your basket and your kneading bowl. Blessed shall you be when you come in, and blessed shall you be when you go out. "The LORD will cause your enemies who rise against you to be defeated before you. They shall come out against you one way and flee before you seven ways. The LORD will command the blessing on you in your barns and in all that you undertake. And he will bless you in the land that the LORD your God is giving you. The LORD will establish you as a people holy to himself, as he has sworn to you, if you keep the commandments of the LORD your God and walk in his ways. And all the peoples of the earth shall see that you are called by the name of the LORD, and they shall be afraid of you. And the LORD will make you abound in prosperity, in the fruit of your womb and in the fruit of your livestock and in the fruit of your ground, within the land that the LORD swore to your fathers to give you. The LORD will open to you his good treasury, the heavens, to give the rain to your land in its season and to bless all the work of your hands. And you shall lend to many nations, but you shall not borrow. And the LORD will make you the head and not the tail, and you shall only go up and not down, if you obey the commandments of the LORD your God, which I command you today, being careful to do them, and if you do not turn aside from any of the words that I command you today, to the right hand or to the left, to go after other gods to serve them.”
So we can see the conditional word “if”. What promises have we read? Let's read some of them.
Blessed shall you be:- in the city and field
- the fruit of your womb
- fruit of your ground
- fruit of your cattle, the increase of your herds and the young of your flock
- your basket and your kneading bowl
- when you come in, and when you go out
Christians like to replace these promises with luxury houses, cars, and well-run businesses. But these are not the Lord's promises, but as we read in God's Word, He promises basic bodily needs. In addition, God promises the fruit of the womb (child), blesses the work of our hands, and overcomes our enemies. But these promises are also conditional, for the verse ended as follows:
„if you obey the commandments of the LORD your God, which I command you today, being careful to do them, and if you do not turn aside from any of the words that I command you today, to the right hand or to the left, to go after other gods to serve them.”
There is something else to clarify! Those who walk in the perfect way prescribed by the Lord do not deal with earthly things but with service to God. True believers do not chase material things, but seek to please God. Even if true believers are given wealth beyond promises, it will not affect their relationship with God. But those who do not help the needs of their brothers, though they could help, there is no love of God in those believers:
1John 3:17
„But if anyone has the world's goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God's love abide in him?”
In summary, we can see that it is God’s will to help others and not ask for help back. If we have the opportunity to help our poor brother, let us help. We can also read this from Paul:
2Corinthians 8:10-15
„And in this matter I give my judgment: this benefits you, who a year ago started not only to do this work but also to desire to do it. So now finish doing it as well, so that your readiness in desiring it may be matched by your completing it out of what you have. For if the readiness is there, it is acceptable according to what a person has, not according to what he does not have. For I do not mean that others should be eased and you burdened, but that as a matter of fairness your abundance at the present time should supply their need, so that their abundance may supply your need, that there may be fairness. As it is written, "Whoever gathered much had nothing left over, and whoever gathered little had no lack."”
God’s will is for equality between the brethren (even financially), and even more so to serve one another! We can also see in the life of Jesus that they had everything in common with His disciples. We can also see this in the apostolic assembly:
Acts 4:32
„Now the full number of those who believed were of one heart and soul, and no one said that any of the things that belonged to him was his own, but they had everything in common.”
Those who accept only the New Testament should also understand this teaching. Furthermore, when Ananias and Sapphira wanted to benefit from the things of the other believers, but they set aside extra money for themselves, so God killed them. Ananias and Sapphira exalted themselves above the apostles with this act. Read the following Bible verse:
Acts 3:1-8
„Now Peter and John were going up to the temple at the hour of prayer, the ninth hour. And a man lame from birth was being carried, whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple that is called the Beautiful Gate to ask alms of those entering the temple. Seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple, he asked to receive alms. And Peter directed his gaze at him, as did John, and said, "Look at us." And he fixed his attention on them, expecting to receive something from them. But Peter said, "I have no silver and gold, but what I do have I give to you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk!" And he took him by the right hand and raised him up, and immediately his feet and ankles were made strong. And leaping up he stood and began to walk, and entered the temple with them, walking and leaping and praising God.”
The apostles had neither gold nor silver, for they too had given their all to the community. However, this is not what we see today. Church members can go hungry while the pastor and church leaders live in luxurious conditions. We can clearly say that this is not God's will! But the leaders of today’s congregation may say that this has already changed. Yes, it has changed, but not as they think. The fraternity has changed, but only people have changed that too! The fellowship that God has ordained is vastly different from what we can experience today. In the word of God we cannot jump big, we have to keep “A” so that it can also be “B”. The fraternity must be restored first, and only then can the commandment of common property be restored.
Our lives should not be about providing for our own comfort and safety, but about fulfilling God’s commandments, such as caring for the needs of our brothers and sisters.
Matthew 6:19-21
„"Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
So let's collect treasures in heaven, not on earth! Also read from Paul about this:
1Corinthians 3:11-15
„For no one can lay a foundation other than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw-- each one's work will become manifest, for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed by fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done. If the work that anyone has built on the foundation survives, he will receive a reward. If anyone's work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire.”
For a long time, I thought of this as wood, hay, and straw, meaning useless acts, while silver, gold, and precious stones mean good deeds. But I think there is another interpretation to this. Let's re-read a section from the previous verse:
„each one's work will become manifest, for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed by fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done.”
What did Paul mean: "the Day"? Certainly for this:
2Peter 3:10-12
„But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed. Since all these things are thus to be dissolved, what sort of people ought you to be in lives of holiness and godliness, waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be set on fire and dissolved, and the heavenly bodies will melt as they burn!”
We can guess that this will not be a fire of a few hundred degrees that will only consume the wood, hay and straw. This fire destroys everything, all material things, everything that is directed to this earth! God is a consuming fire! Only what we have gathered in Heaven will remain. And what we have withheld from our brothers and sisters in need just to have an abundant life will not only consumed by fire, but will testify against us. Finally:
Proverbs 30:8-9
„Remove far from me falsehood and lying; give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with the food that is needful for me, lest I be full and deny you and say, "Who is the LORD?" or lest I be poor and steal and profane the name of my God.”
Antal Farkas
(January 15, 2022)
