A God-Honoring Lifestyle, Part 3
Editor’s note: This is the third in a six-part series of articles about maintaining a God-honoring lifestyle, excerpted from the book, Money, Possessions, and Eternity by Randy Alcorn.
Offloading the Burden of Wealth
As was mentioned in part two of this series, although many will volunteer to bear them, riches do create burdens. The wealthy are always trying to get out from under their tax burden. But to reduce estate taxes you must reduce your estate. Once again, giving solves the problem. In fact, every downside to wealth is immediately canceled out through giving.
Tricia Mayer has held a variety of marketing and business management positions at Microsoft. She wrote me:
I've seen a generation of young people become wealthy in a very short period of time. I've also seen people lose their wealth through the "dot-com" demise and recession and watched firsthand as people who put their security in wealth have been devastated. I've observed a lot about how money affects people in direct correlation with the values they place on it. Money is a blessing, but it is also a burden when we're given more than we need. Giving produces freedom 100 percent of the time—freedom from the bondage of things, freedom to receive more from God, and freedom to be a conduit of blessing to others. Christians who have freely given their time, money, and themselves are the people who have changed eternity for themselves and countless others.
We all have our own call from God. We shouldn't be preoccupied with God's plan for others. Nor should we make comparisons. When Peter pressed Jesus concerning his plans for John, the Lord responded, "What is that to you? You must follow me" (John 21:22). There are some things that no Christian should do, such as hoard money, live in opulence, or fail to give generously. But there are other things that some Christians can freely do that others cannot do (or choose not to), such as own land, a home, a car, a business, go on certain vacations, or spend money in other ways.
How much money and how many possessions can we safely keep? Enough to care for our basic needs and some wants, but not so much that we are distracted from our central purpose or that large amounts of money are kept from higher kingdom causes. Not so much that we become proud and independent of the Lord (Deuteronomy 8:13-14). Not so much that it distracts us from our purpose or insulates us from our sense of need to depend on God (Matthew 6:26-29).
Money is a burden when we're given more than we need. Giving produces freedom 100 percent of the time.
Faith & Finance Perspective:
It may seem counterintuitive (even more so, countercultural) to desire less wealth. Having wealth is not the problem; but pursuing wealth is a slippery slope that, if we lose our spiritual footing, can quickly plunge us into a mirey pit of idolatry. As the allure of comfort and pleasure overtakes us, we begin to obsess over what we can possess, no longer content with the standard of living God has chosen for us. The joy and satisfaction you once found in your modest home, for instance, can dissipate the moment you set foot in a “Parade of Homes” model decked out with the latest and greatest comforts and conveniences.
Offloading the burden of wealth requires both contentment and generosity. Contentment tames our worldly drive toward bigger, better, and more. Generosity fulfills our Christ-honoring desire to deny ourselves in favor of the well-being of others.
Take some time to reflect and journal about the specific things that repeatedly allure you beyond what God has intended for you. They may be practical objects, like a nicer car, a bigger home, or a more lavish vacation; or they may be broader lifestyle yearnings, like comfort, convenience, and security beyond what God has granted or intends to provide. How can contentment and generosity offer the “means of escape” Scripture promises in the face of temptation (1 Cor. 10:13)?
Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.”
Hebrews 13:5