Thoughts I’ve been processing from Pastor Jon’s sermon, Kingdom Come: New Testament Generosity…
While having money and wealth are not evil, the desire to be rich and the love of money are. Without a correct view of possessions, we can polarize to having a poverty or pride mentality. A poverty mentality is driven by fear, hoarding possessions, judging others because of their possessions, and believing blessings are not deserved. Pride wants us to be known, judges people with “lesser” things as being lazy and ignorant, and believes blessings are earned. The “sweet spot” is gratitude and contentment, understanding God knows and provides what we need when we seek Him first. ~ Pastor Jon Cobler
Money and wealth hold such weight in our society, with power to provide beyond our needs and fulfill our dreams, their naturally “neutral” state is hard to comprehend. We all recognize there is pleasure in pulling cash out of our wallet to pay for a wanted purchase, and pain that comes with a desire to have, without the ability to pay. The pleasure that comes with abundance and the pain that comes from lack make it all the more challenging to hear the desire to be rich and the love of money are evil. Being motivated to seek out all we can to fill our needs and be comfortable is a natural by-product of our sin nature, and I’ve found it’s not something I can eliminate from my life without the power of the Holy Spirit. I have had to work on adjusting my belief systems to align them with the truth of scripture.
The belief systems of people with a poverty or pride mentality are faulty.
Poverty:
“I don’t have enough.” “I’m not worth more.” “They have too much.” “I don’t deserve blessings.”
Pride:
“I don’t have enough.” “I am worth all this and a lot more.” “It’s their own fault they don’t have more.” “I’ve earned what I own.”
The Sweet Spot Truth:
“I was created in the image of God and am of great value, regardless of my possessions.” “When I seek God first He provides all my needs.” “Other people are valuable, regardless of what they own.”
Living in the Sweet Spot of gratitude and contentment for even a short period of time helps bring about a desire to stay right there, centered in Jesus and seeking God first.
To get to the sweet spot:
1. Take some time and identify your own faulty belief systems
2. Confess to the Lord what you have been believing
3. Ask the Lord to forgive you for believing things about yourself and others that are not true
4. Accept the forgiveness He extends to those that confess
5. Ask Him to replace your old belief systems with a new ones based in truth
Sow & Reap 