Viral #5: God's Economic System

One of the most important, yet most frustrating, issues in our society is money. It always has been. Everyone in the world operates on some sort of economic system, even if it is buying toothpaste with cigarettes, as in the Nazi concentration camps of WWII.
People tend to stress out over their money and finances more than anything else. We never seem to have enough. We’re constantly asking ourselves, “How am I going to pay these bills?”, “How am I ever going to get ahead?’, or “How will I ever afford to retire on this kind of income?”
As PJ taught us on Sunday, there are two economic systems; the world’s economic system, and God’s economic system. On one hand, the world’s economic system was designed by God and is encompassed by God’s economic system. On the other hand, the world has polluted its economic system, so that it no longer reflects God’s intentions for it.
The overarching principle that governs the world’s system is individuality. The world says, “Get every dollar you can, and hang on to it with all your might.” The world teaches us to look out for #1. And cash is the bottom line. Your level of success is measured by the size of your bank account. Hence, we often hear reports of how much money certain individuals are worth.
God’s economy is different. Contrary to what some have taught, God does not want us to live in poverty. In my opinion, those who take vows of poverty are, foolish for thinking that is the way to godliness. John 14:1-2 and Malachi 3:10 tell us that God’s resources are unlimited. Psalm 24:1 tells us, “The earth is the LORD’s, and everything in it” (NIV). This includes money.
Couple this with God’s love and His desire to bless us. Ephesians 1:3 tells us that He has already “blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places.” II Peter 1:3 tells us He has given us everything we need for life and for godliness. And in Matt. 6:31-32, Jesus said, “Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’…your heavenly Father knows that you need them all.”
Because we have a God who owns the cattle on a thousand hills (Psalm 50:10), and because He loves us and promises to meet all of our needs, according to His riches (Phil. 4:19), we are encouraged, and even commanded, not to be focused on the world’s economic system. Instead, we need to look beyond its façade and start doing things God’s way.
Now, the secret to financial success within God’s economic system is summed up in one word: GIVE. Give to the church. Give to people you know when they are in a bind. Give to the poor needy. Give to charitable organizations. Give, give, give. Why? In Acts 20:35, Paul quotes Jesus as having said, “It is more blessed to give than to receive.”
This is completely opposite of what the world says. To the world, this doesn’t make any sense. Anyone operating in the world’s economic system looks at this principle of giving and says, “Give? How can you expect me to give when I don’t have enough to pay my bills, as it is? I can’t afford to be giving away any of my money.”
Ah, but you can when, in response to your giving, God gives to you. Malachi 3:10 offers an interesting challenge. Amidst all the verses commanding us not to put God to the test, this verse gives us permission, and even challenges us to test Him in one area. “Bring the full tithes into the storehouse, that there may be food in My house. And thereby put Me to the test, says the LORD of hosts, [and see] if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you a blessing until there is no more need” (ESV). Another translation renders it, “there will not be room enough to receive it.”
My personal belief regarding this issue of God’s economic system (and I hope PJ would agree) is this: God’s promise to meet our daily needs is, for the most part, unconditional. In Matt. 6, Jesus did not say that God will meet our needs if we obey certain commands or if we give. He simply stated God’s promise to meet our needs. But the promise of blessings that go above and beyond our needs is conditioned upon our obedience to God, as well as how charitable we are in our giving. It is one thing to have God pour out blessing to the point of meeting our needs. It is quite another to have Him pour out such a blessing that we could not have enough room to receive it all.
One thing we must be wary of is allowing our greed to motivate our giving. Watching the late-night televangelists, you can get the impression that if you give to God, then God will make you rich. Do you want to be rich? Do you want to have more money than you know what to do with? Then send your $1,000 love gift to the ministry.
Don’t be fooled. Heaven is not listed on the stock exchange, and God’s blessings are not for sale. Greed is a sin. God does not honor greed, and He does not honor any actions that are motivated by greed, even if those actions would otherwise be noble.
The Bible’s command is that we give out of a spirit of giving. In addition, we need to remember that, while God’s blessings are often financial, they may not always be so. As Eph. 1:3 says, He has blessed us, and continues to bless us with spiritual blessings, which are of eternal value.


QUESTIONS FOR STUDY AND APPLICATION

1. On Sunday, PJ showed us a chart, depicting one circle inside another circle. The inner circle was labeled, “World’s Economics.” The outer was labeled, “God’s Economics.” In what ways does the world’s economic system correlate to and fit within God’s economic system? In what ways has the world’s economics distorted and deviated from God’s?



2. To what degree have I bought into the world’s economic system? Am I able to look beyond all of that and see how God’s system works?


3. Read Ephesians 1:3, II Peter 1:3, and Matthew 6:31-32. How does the promise in Matt. 6 relate to the truth stated in Ephesians and II Peter? How does the promise to meet how material needs stem from the fact that God has “blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places”?


4. What is my overall attitude and pattern in giving? To the church? To charitable organizations? To people standing on the street corner?