Financial bondage is an immediate consequence of NOT understanding the rhyme and reason for God’s purpose of money. Contrary to most opinions, the purpose of money is not to provide security, build independence, or to create power and influence in the community. God’s purposes are much more basic.
PURPOSE ONE – BASIC NEEDS:
It really doesn’t take much to sustain human life – food, clothing, and shelter. The odd thing is, in a world filled with wealth and prosperity, these are the three greatest needs found in almost every country in the world. Did you know that one in seven people in the United States live below the poverty level? In a world of 2.1 + billion people, almost half the world’s population is living on less than $2 a day, each barely staying alive. That is unbelievably disturbing, but very telling.
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Hebrew culture shows us that the one who provides is the master. This is a simple principle God gave His people to live by, since the beginning of man’s time. God demonstrates His loving care by setting Himself up as the provider of all the resources needed by man to live.
"Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow, nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they? "And who of you by being worried can add a single hour to his life? "And why are you worried about clothing? Observe how the lilies of the field grow; they do not toil nor do they spin, yet I say to you that not even Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these. "But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, will He not much more clothe you? You of little faith (Matthew 6:26-30, NASB)!
Paul imparted these words of counsel to pass on to the churches through Timothy:
If we have food and covering, with these we shall be content (1Timothy 6:8, NASB).
Establish Dependence: God is quick to reveal His mandate that man must depend on Him for all things. Since the beginning of man, mankind has worked to become independent of God. Because man was born independent of God, this has become man’s greatest weakness – a desire to be self-sufficient. Because of sin, man has an innate passion to be his own boss. From this self-justified position, man tends to use God like He is some kind of a slot machine, praying for prosperity and wealth. However, God doesn’t respond to such prayers. Instead, He told us to pray, “Give us this day our daily bread” (Matt. 6:11, NASB). He is the only One who really knows that daily needs produce daily dependence.
Love Life: When God’s children fail to embrace their need for a Provider, they lose their love for the One who provides for them. God created us to depend on Him for all of our needs and that comes through an overwhelming desire to need Him. There is only one way we can be complete. It is in Christ, and apart from Him, we can do nothing.
And in Him you have been made complete, and He is the head over all rule and authority; (Colossians 2:10 NASB)
Christ is head over all rule and authority. This includes all the global leaders who think they have ownership of the world’s economy. When the Israelites were in the wilderness, God taught them to look to Him for daily food, shelter, and even the sandals for their feet. He orchestrated this dependence by drying up any and all avenues of self-provision. There was no food or water to be found – no matter how hard their self-sufficient efforts tried. This practice is one that God makes use of to this very day. Every man, rich or poor, is commanded to depend on God as their Father–provider. If you study the Scriptures, you will find God using famines throughout the Word to help His people get refocused on Him.
Develop Gratitude: Being thankful in all things is probably the most challenging mandate God has given His people. Having a thankful heart for the basics is a blessed by-product of contentment in Christ. However, we all begin to lose our “rest in Christ” when we compare what we have with that of others, particularly those of the unsaved world. Our expectations dominate our mind’s focus. If we expect from man, we will most likely apply pressure on man to provide for our needs. If we expect from God, we ultimately will place our focus on our relationship with God. We are created to love the one who provides for us – if it is man, we will tend to love man more than God. If it is God, we will certainly love God more than man.
Living Within Our Means: Contentment only comes by living within the boundaries of a God ordained budget. Being content in Christ and His fulfilling our basic needs helps us resist the ongoing onslaught of temptations that we are not truly content, unless we buy some new “thing.” God’s reality is: a contented child of God feels wealthy because he knows that he already possesses more than he needs for daily living.
But godliness actually is a means of great gain when accompanied by contentment (1 Timothy 6:6, NASB).
Enjoy What You Have: Always being in the “wanting” destroys our ability to truly enjoy the things that God has given us. This occurs when we are moved to focus on the things that we THINK He SHOULD give us, rather than on what we do have. The Word of God calls this covetousness. God wants us to enjoy the possessions He has allotted for us. He finds great delight in watching His children have fun, laugh, and make use of the things He gives us.
In summary, here are the five principles OF purpose number one (basic needs): dependence on God, having a deeper love life with Him, being grateful for what we have, living within our means, and enjoying that which He has given to us. Be assured - when all five of these come into play, we will be well content with money being a provisionary factor of our basic needs.
