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“Let no one profess to trust God, and yet lay up for future wants, otherwise the LORD will first send him to the hoard he has amassed before he can answer the prayer for more.” – George Muller
I had an interesting discussion about money and giving. Most clergy have heard someone say they will give more to the church when they hit the lottery or have a windfall. Of course, if you don’t give when you have little…you probably won’t when you have much. (Luke 16:10) I recall former pastors speaking about ‘filthy lucre’ and debating whether or not they would receive tainted funds for God’s purposes. Since money itself is amoral, it would seem that the issue would be the motive of the heart of the one who is transacting business. Paul’s familiar statement in 1 Timothy 6:10 is that the love of money is the root of all evil, which some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows. Whether to receive blemished money or goods seems quite the conundrum.
“Whoever increases wealth by taking interest or profit from the poor amasses it for another, who will be kind to the poor.” (Proverbs 28:8) That’s not a frequently quoted proverb is it? You’ve probably heard this one, “A good person leaves an inheritance for their children’s children, but a sinner’s wealth is stored up for the righteous.” (Proverbs 13:22) What would happen if we actually believed these verses? How would our expectations change? What would we think about so called…’dirty money?’ What if we looked at the wealth AMASSED – gathered together or accumulated in large amounts over a period of time by unjust people as ultimately belonging to Christ followers to be used for Kingdom purposes?
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George Muller, quoted above, was an English evangelist who cared for 10,024 orphans during his lifetime. Muller established 117 schools which offered Christian education to more than 120,000 children. Muller is renowned for his faith for God’s supply. He did not use government funds, nor did he solicit or receive a salary. He was in constant prayer for the LORD to touch the hearts of people to make provisions for the orphans. He raised the equivalent of hundreds of millions of dollars. Miraculously, at each time of need, funds would be made available from some source. I wonder what the transfer of wealth would look like if we had this faith conviction?
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