One church leader told his congregation, ‘The good news is, we have enough money here this morning to build a new church.’ Then he added, ‘The bad news is, it’s still in your pockets!’ Some of us grew up believing it was wrong to ask God for money because that was a sign of greed and selfishness. And it can be, but it doesn’t have to be. When you pray, ‘Lord, bless me financially so that I can give to your work and fulfil your plans,’ you’re in proper spiritual alignment with God. In part, the explosive growth of the New Testament church was due to some Christians who were willing to sell their assets in order to finance the will of God. Barnabas was one of them: ‘He sold a field he owned and brought the money to the apostles’ (Acts 4:37 NLT). And Barnabas wasn’t the only one: ‘Those who owned land or houses would sell them and bring the money to the apostles’ (vv. 34-35 NLT). Among those who followed Christ were women married to wealthy and powerful men. As a result, Jesus needed a treasurer to take care of their funds. Scripturally speaking, here is the bottom line when it comes to money: if you honour God, He will honour you, and if you put His work first, He will bless your work. Jesus said, ‘Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need…don’t worry about tomorrow’ (Matthew 6:33-34 NLT). Here is God’s will for you: ‘You will be enriched in every way so that you can always be generous’ (2 Corinthians 9:11 NLT).
