Dear Ones,
My friend Dale is one of the most likable people you will ever meet. We have had a twenty-five year running joke about him being ‘Maverick’ and me being ‘Iceman’ (our personalities match the movie characters, even if the actors are slightly better looking than us). ‘Mav’ got me thinking about the spiritual nature of money a long time ago, and I recently retaught the subject for our new HSS. So, I thought you would enjoy this written version. You’re still dangerous, Mav…but you can be my wingman any day!
Love to all! KRP
THE SPIRITUAL NATURE OF MONEY
Both riches and honor come from You, And You reign over all. In Your hand is power and might; In Your hand it is to make great and to give strength to all. 1 Chron 29:12 NKJV
It was 1975. I needed $300 a month to cover my expenses at Bible College. I headed out to the ‘sacred’ woods where so many prayers had been released to Heaven over the years, to seek the Lord, pray and listen. As I listened, the Lord gave me the names of thirty individuals who would give $10 per month to enable me to stay in the BC. As I contacted them, each one agreed to sponsor me, just as the Lord had said, and that’s how I paid for my training for three years…*
The earth is the Lord’s, and all its fullness, the world and those who dwell therein. Ps 24:1 NKJV
All the gold belongs to the true and living God, our Father. All the gold, all the resources, all the animals and all men, indeed the whole creation belongs to God. He has leased authority over the earth to His sons and daughters, and some day that lease will end. The Lord desires for all His people, even all people period, to live abundantly well. But there is an adversary, a thief, who seeks to steal, kill and destroy all that the Father has, and we are at war with him.
Money is a spiritual reality. Wealth can develop wings and can fly away (Pr. 23:5). Money has no value in itself – gold is very soft and has little practical value; fiat money is just paper – but represents the full faith and credit of the bank or country that issues the money as a means of exchange. This is why the value of money fluctuates all the time. But you ‘trust’ and ‘have faith’ in it and these are spiritual values. Riches and honor come from the Lord. Money is a spiritual reality.
For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. 4 For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, 2 Cor 10:3-4 NKJV
The Word clearly teaches that our Father wants us to prosper, to have all of our needs met, and to have abundance to generously share with all. But our enemy seeks to overthrow the will of our Father and to harm us; thereby through us he is getting to or hurting the Father. He endeavors to build strongholds in our minds that keep us from believing God for His prosperity. Let’s look at some of these strongholds and how to pull them down. To change what is on the outside you first must change what is on the inside!
A stronghold is a mindset, a habitual pattern of thinking, that is impregnated with hopelessness that causes one to accept as unchangeable something that they know is contrary to the will of God.
THE STRONGHOLD OF LAZINESS: the desire and willingness to do nothing of value; the willingness to make excuses (Pr 22:13), rationalize and procrastinate (Pr. 26:16) rather than produce something of value.
The soul of a lazy man desires and has nothing; But the soul of the diligent shall be made rich. Prov 13:4 NKJV
The biblical work week was seventy-two hours, sunup to sundown six days a week (the Jewish work calendar also allowed for seventy-three vacation days, one in every five, every year – fifty-two sabbaths and three weeks of feasts). The idea of a forty-hour work week was introduced about a hundred and fifty years ago; but for centuries it was approximately seventy-two hours. Man was made to work (Gen. 2:15); a man must work in order to be healthy and productive. The problem with work is not the work itself but our attitude towards it. The Lord meant for our mouths and hearts to be filled with joy all day long (Ps. 71:8 among many other scripture). Working with joy is a deliberate act, not a result of pleasant circumstances or favorable results. Plus, have vision and set goals. Working with a purpose mitigates the sacrifices necessary to be successful.
THE STRONGHOLD OF BAD COMPANIONS: the full sharing relationship with people of poor character that opens one up to their demons.
Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness? And what accord has Christ with Belial? Or what part has a believer with an unbeliever? And what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For you are the temple of the living God. 2 Cor 6:14-16 NKJV
Misery loves company. The Alaskan king crab is caught in crab pots in the Bering Sea by fisherman. What has been observed about these crabs is that once they get in the pot, they collectively will stop any individual crabs from getting out of the pots. In other words, escaping the demise of those who stay in. Once in the pot, they ensure that everyone gets destroyed. There is a ‘crab’ spirit that seeks to keep everyone in a group ensnared together; thus, we see gangs of criminals and packs of children or people. This is not the spirit of the family among believers but a deceptive counterfeit, a controlling spirit that seeks to keep everyone defeated and ensnared. Technology, using specifically designed algorithms, has even given the crab spirit a home in social media. Can you say, ‘addicted to social media,’ anyone? Or ‘thanks Mark!’? Rebuke the crab spirit and get out of unsavory relationships!
Don’t even say goodbye to your old friends. Just go! Move if you must; someone else will get them saved.
THE STRONGHOLD OF GENERATIONAL BAD EXAMPLES OR HABITUAL POVERTY – Poverty is a learned mindset from the youngest age, an emotional and soulish graveyard which can really only be escaped through resurrection life, deliverance, instruction and discipleship in the Word. Like homosexuality, poverty is a comprehensive lifestyle that must be dismantled and replaced piece by piece.
Then Cain went out from the presence of the Lord and dwelt in the land of Nod (Heb.NOWD – vagrancy, homelessness) on the east of Eden. NKJV Gen 4:16-17
To break the pattern of habitual poverty, one must become associated with people you want to be like. If you can’t be around them physically then study their lives from books and other recorded testimonies, like videos. Of course, you start with the Lord! But you can also build into your heart the examples of great men and women of faith who overcome rough circumstances to build lives worth imitating and studying. I love biographies! A favorite of mine is MY GRANDFATHER’S SON by Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, a black American who rose up out of serious poverty to serve on the highest court in the land. You become like the people you admire!
We are in a war (Eph.6:12). In war, the enemy seeks to cut off your supplies and starve you into submission. In the American civil war (1861-65), the northern states starved the southern states through a naval blockade of their ports that kept them from being resupplied by foreign allies. It’s a very effective strategy, because even if it only works partially it slowly weakens the whole enemy. A weakened enemy is a discouraged enemy, one with little courage to fight. Sound familiar?
For whoever has (the wisdom to use that which is given him), to him more will be given, and he will have abundance; but whoever does not have (the wisdom to use that which is given him), even what he has will be taken away from him. Matt 13:12 NKJV
How do we overcome?
First, tithe and give in love. Remember the Lord is owner over all that you have. As you are faithful to use what He has given you rightly, He will entrust you with more (Matt.13:12, Mal.3:10-12).
With tithing you are embedding faith into your entire financial plan. Let’s be clear…the tithe is for the Lord. Giving to ‘your favorite charity’ or other good cause is NOT tithing – that is an offering above the tithe. The Lord made the tithe to be a provision for the men and women, the Levites, who were in His fulltime service. Even the Levites were supposed to tithe. RM and I have been faithful tithers since Methuselah was a kid. The ‘Levites’ today…well, you know who they are!
Here is a suggested, basic – after the tithe, the other percentages are adjustable – spending plan. For my friends who have never planned anything, if you have a spending plan, that means you have faith that you will have money to spend. No planning indicates no faith!
Your net income after taxes – the real money you have in your hand.
10% – goes to the Lord, the tithe.
10% – goes to ‘big need’ savings and retirement planning.
70% – goes to fixed expenses – rent or mortgage, utilities, groceries, etc.
10% – goes to discretionary spending – fun stuff.
Here is some of the teaching Dale brought to my attention.
Command with pure motives the increase to come. Command the thief to give back what he has stolen, sevenfold. Send the angels out to get your resources. The Holy Spirit has made provision for your life and ministry and placed them in different parts of the world. Command them to come in from the north, the south, the east and the west. These are prophetic, faith acts. Whatever you do…do it faithfully.
I suspect there are two things the Lord will want an account of as we give an account of our lives someday – how we spent our time, and how we spent our money. In one sense, money represents your life because you give specific hours and days almost solely to acquire money, so ‘where and how’ you spend your ‘life’ is huge. I pray that you will consider what I say, and that the Lord will give you understanding. Amen? Love you!
Remember dear ones, we must be about our Father’s business…
*Astute readers of LIVING WATERS will recognize the operation of the word of wisdom, the problem-solving anointing. Love you!