Keep God First

“Man’s life is of God, not of his goods, however abundant they may be. ”

—HENRY ALFORD

I will bless you [with abundant increase of favors] and make your name famous and distinguished, and you will be a blessing [dispensing good to others].

—Genesis 12:2

I have read many books indicating one cannot be prosperous and also simple. This teaching disturbs me because I believe it is God’s will for His people to be prosperous in every area of their lives, including finances and material goods. Psalm 35:27 says that God takes pleasure in the prosperity of His people. I find no scripture saying He is pleased when His people do not have their needs met.

It is true that Scripture says it is hard for a rich man to get into heaven (see Matthew 19:23), but it is not impossible. Money can divert our attention away from God and His will, but it doesn’t have to. We should not be afraid of abundance; instead, we should learn how to handle it properly. If we maintain a proper attitude toward money and material things, they can be used to bless many people.

In the realm of religion, it often seems easier to tell people to totally abstain from something rather than trying to teach them how to avoid excessiveness. I refuse to do that because God has created and given us all things to enjoy. We can enjoy abundance without it pulling us away from God or causing us to be greedy. We can be prosperous and still keep God first in our lives.

What sense would it make for me to say I refuse to eat because I am afraid I might overeat? Or, I refuse to sleep because I might sleep too much? It would make no sense at all and neither does it make any sense to say I will take a vow of poverty to keep money from being a temptation in my life. Let me say this again: money and possessions are not the problem; it is an unbalanced attitude toward them that can become the problem! I believe God wants us to have whatever we can handle while still giving Him first place in our lives.

Prosperity and abundance only become a problem when we allow them to own us instead of us owning them. We should use our belongings to bless people—be careful of falling into the trap of using people to get more “stuff.” Money is only a problem if we hoard it. The Bible never says money is a problem; it does say the love of money is a problem. Learn to be a channel, not a reservoir. Let things flow to you and through you. God told Abram He would bless him and make him a blessing (see Genesis 12:2).

Giving to others is not only a source of joy in their lives, it can be our joy as well. In fact, the more you give, the happier you are. The more you give, the more you have to give because God looks for people He can trust with money. He looks for people who can have money and not become greedy and selfish. The main question to ask ourselves regularly is, “What is my attitude toward money and possessions?” Is God or money first in your life?

I find I never own too much of anything if I am truly led by the Spirit of God. He regularly prunes all of my possessions by continually placing people in front of me who need or desire something I have in abundance. The Bible teaches us that if we have two tunics or coats and someone else has none, we should give them one of ours (see Luke 3:11).

In my own personal search for simplicity, I find being a blessing to others is one of the simple things I can do to increase my joy as well as the joy of others. As a matter of fact, I encourage people to aggressively look for ways to give because the Bible says it is more blessed to give than to receive (see Acts 20:35). God is delighted when He finds someone He can generously bless who will keep Him first and use what they have to be a blessing to others.