If Christians are not supposed to be rich, who is? God gives us power to get wealth, so that He may establish His covenant. (Deuteronomy 8:18) In order to do God’s work, it is imperative for Christians to explicitly adhere to the principles of God and take their rightful place of leadership and authority in society. Today, it’s common for corporations (banks, mortgage companies, the medical industry, cell phone providers, etc.) to implement scrupulous tactics to swindle money from customers who essentially make them wealthy. However, when the wealth of a country is in the hands of the ungodly, everyone, including the wealthy, are in jeopardy of recessionary conditions.
1. GOD DESIRES HIS PEOPLE TO PROSPER Many Americans, do not realize today what a Christian-influenced society looks like, in total, even though they live in the freest country in the world, due to longstanding Christian-influenced laws. In the last 50 years, American society has seen less and less Christian influence, as Christians have relinquished their prominent authority to big business and ungodly politicians, who have put their mark of corruption on every industry, adversely affecting all families and individuals across the country. Today, the major problems for the population in the country and the world (hunger, abuse, unhealthy living conditions, sickness, disease, violence, crime and international terrorism) are an adverse result of greedy businesses. Greedy businessmen take advantage of the innocent and leave them destitute.
The very problems that politicians and greedy business people have created, in society, can easily be solved with the principles of God, if Christians were rich, in order to control the power. Poverty conditions are exasperated when Christians do not know their responsibilities to enforce their rights, based on the Word of God. When Christians hold the wealth, they hold the power and are able to replace ineffective and dangerous systems with efficient systems that work for all people, not just those at the top.
2. CHANGING THE WORLD FOR CHRIST Obviously, once Christians acquire wealth, they should not buy excessive material items to indulge themselves. Christians (including ministers) do not need to splurge on elaborate houses and cars, when we live in a world where money and resources are desperately needed to feed the hungry and shelter the homeless. Believers should never use money to wander into secular lifestyles. To be effective for Christ, Christians must maintain a simplistic lifestyle, even when wealthy. Christians need reliable cars for transportation, but they don’t need extravagant cars to impress the world. They need homes, but they don’t need opulent museum-size structures, loaded with artifacts. Christians need clothes, but they can’t worship Jesus if they are busy worshiping clothes from fashion designers—giving designers money that could be funneled into start ups or non-profits to create jobs and services for the unemployed.
If the body of Christ committed to carrying out missions for God, to be collectively rich, the wealth would be controlled by people who put humans first. The welfare of humans (regardless of race, sex, age or handicap) would always be considered before financial gain. If Christians were rich, restaurants, stores, schools, hospitals, the government and businesses would be built and operated by Christian principles. "Love your neighbor" would be the foundation for customer service throughout the land. People would conduct business with godly respect. Entertainment outlets would have no tolerance for violence and promiscuity because ungodly behavior by celebrities would be shunned by the public, instead of worshiped. And the news media would report the Good News of JESUS CHRIST to heal the nation. For more information, read “Christians Wanted” at TheTalk2Prosper.com.
Whoever dominates the wealth is the one who dominates the land. When Christians have influence, evil activity is curtailed throughout society, and everyone benefits when we live in a peaceful and prosperous society. When Christians control the government, scandals are no longer the order of the day, love overrides selfish interests, and bullying subsides because all students are taught to "love (respect) their neighbors." As a bonus, our obedience to God would signal to Him that we invite His protection against terrorism and environmental disasters.
3. AN IMPRINT ON THE WORLD FOR CHRIST As Christians, we must leave an imprint of our love for Christ on the world by engraving our communities with the message of Christ. If you want to be responsible for financial increase, you must first, plan how you will use your financial increase to spread the Word of God. Will you acquire buildings to transform communities, run for political office to affect legislation, or create Christian businesses and programs to bring the light of Christ to a dark world? Let the LORD be magnified, who takes pleasure in the prosperity of His follower! (Psalm 35:27)
The public follows people who have wealth (even if they are corrupt), so Christians cannot be totally effective in spreading the message of Christ, until they hold the wealth to gain the world’s attention and respect. As a Christian, do not get comfortable living in an ungodly world and having only enough to support you and your family. As a believer, if you align yourself with the fate of unbelievers (ungodly individuals, secular celebrities, seducing fashion designers, greedy businessmen or extravagant ministers), you deny the power of Christ! Jesus Christ would not be God if He had not made everything available to us, to live abundantly. The thief comes to steal (your prosperity), kill, and destroy: I (Jesus) have come that you might have life, and that you might have it more abundantly. (John 10:10) Jesus did not leave resources for the enemy; Jesus left the resources of the world for His people, and it is the responsibility of believers to guard their wealth and to get in positions of authority!
So, Christians, don't be fooled into believing you are not supposed to be rich. It's time for Christians to impress the world for Christ, and make unbelievers take notice! Follow the directions of God to prosper, in order to do amazing works on His behalf for your community, the nation and the world. For a full vision of God's prosperity plan for His people, read "How to Hear God to Prosper" at TheTalk2Prosper.com.