I had a chance this past weekend to watch a fairly new game show called “The Wall.”  At the beginning the host announced the contestants had a chance to win “$13 million on the wall.”  What if you won a million dollars?

This game actually reminds me of Bob Barker and the old Price is Right game called Plinko.  They drop a ball through a maze of pegs to be bounced around as it descends, finally reaching a number from $1 to $1M.  

I watched a father/daughter team play and they won over $800K.  Of course, they went crazy jumping up and down hugging the host of the show.  Of course the crowd also went nuts.  And I have to admit, I was fired up for them.  What if you won a million dollars?  Would you jump up and down?  Would you quit your job?  Would you do nothing?  What would you do?

In a strange statement the Bible says that money is the answer for everything (Ecclesiastes 10:19).  It is not that money will solve all of your problems, but money is required for every earthly blessing.  It was God who gave us the ability to produce wealth in order to confirm His covenant (Deuteronomy 8:18).  God wants us to be blessed from an earthly perspective as well as a spiritual one in order to send the message of God’s goodness to the world.  Don’t get the wrong idea.  It is not that God wants you to be rich or poor.  It is that God wants to provide for you in your context, but also give you enough extra to be a blessing to other people whether that is giving money to people in need or funding ministries and charity work.  

When the father-daughter team won this money, I wondered what they would do with the money and then thought about what I would do with the money.  I would pay off my mortgage.  I would pay off my son’s mortgage.  I would set money aside for my other two sons to buy a modest, but nice home.  I would give my tithe (10%) to my church.  None of these things would guarantee happiness, but these would relieve some financial pressure.  It could mean the ability to pursue more Godly endeavors without the need to earn money.  It would give me the joy of giving to my children and possibly grandchildren.  But here is the Biblical kicker:

I rejoice in following your statutes

as one rejoices in great riches.

Psalms 119:14 (NIV)

The psalmist is clearly teaching us that following Biblical principles should be celebrated in the same way that someone might win a million dollars.  We can ask what if you win a million dollars, but we can also ask what if you lived in the principles of Scripture?  Even if you were to win a million dollars, unless you follow the principles laid out in Scripture, the money would only become a curse creating more temptation and more stress.  But when we follow the Scriptures completely, this lifestyle will ensure that we remain in the favor of God that He would supply all of our needs according to His riches in glory (Philippians 4:19).  He will bless you to relieve the pressure in your life, including financial pressure, by managing our money according to Biblical principles.  He will give you wisdom that you will leave an inheritance for your children and grandchildren (Proverbs 13:22).

Now, neither you nor I will probably ever be on that gameshow.  We can ask what if we won a million dollars, but what are the chances?  And I have since seen many who were on the show who won nothing.  There is on guarantee.  We might win or we might lose.  But in Biblical principle, there is no chance of losing.  When we follow God’s principles in our life, especially with money, He will never back down from keeping His covenant.  Besides, how many who have won a million dollars lost it all quickly after winning?  Living God’s way protects us from losing big.

What are these principles:

• Giving to God – the Bible says if we are faithful to give to God generously, He will bless us financially (Proverbs 3:9-10).
• Generosity – When we give to the poor, God promises to repay us for this (Proverbs 19:17)
• Hard Work – the Bible says if we don’t work, we don’t eat (2 Thessalonians 3:10)
• Avoid get rich schemes – the Bible warns against gaining wealth hastily (Proverbs 13:11)
• Use your money to help others – The Bible lists this as a sign of genuine faith in Christ (Romans 12:13)

There is no risk in these behaviors.  Not only will these help us to never drift away from the Lord, but these will release your blessings from Heaven in a greater way than any game show.  What if you won a million dollars?  It could be nice and you could do a lot, but what are the chances.  Stand in a line for hours hoping to get on a gameshow, waste money on lottery tickets every day, or live according to God’s Biblical principles?  Only one of these is a sure thing.  It is better to live in the abundance of God’s provision.

Leave me a comment with your thoughts about money in the Christian walk.

Live Blessed and Be a Blessing!

Need More Money?

Did you watch the Super Bowl?  I graduated and played a little football at Texas Tech so I was very interested to watch Patrick Mahomes since he played at Texas Tech as well.  If you don’t know, he plays for the Chiefs and they won. Also, you may not know that the Kansas City Chiefs were originally the Dallas Texans, the original Dallas Cowboys if you will :).  So for a Texas boy like myself, I figure the Superbowl made both Texas Tech and the Dallas Cowboys Super Bowl champions. As a Cowboys fan, I am well aware that this might be as close as we get, of course, we do have a new coach…

Anyway, Mahomes is rumored to sign a record-breaking contract of more than $200M over 5 or so years. He’s 24 years old in case you’re wondering.  That’s a lot of moula! But what if you can’t run like a gazelle or make circus-crazy passes like Mahomes? What do you do then? And that brings us to the Verse of the Day…Read More

The Modern Biblical Woman

What does the modern Biblical woman look like? The month of May is the month for Moms and women.  For decades, the perfect woman was  submissive wife,  relegated to keeping their mouth shut, operating in absolute obedience to their husband, having no opinion and no say in family matters.  But this picture of a perfect wife is so far from Biblical truth.  Yes, a wife is called to be submissive to their husbands, but even that has been wrongly taught in the churches.  I wanted to take a minute and go back in time, 2500 years back in time, to analyze what was believed to be the perfect wife, the modern Biblical woman…Read More

God’s Backward Economy

As Americans, we have all been brought up in the environment of what we call “The American Dream.”  The idea of the American Dream is that we can do anything we want. America offers opportunities that other economies do not offer.  Upward mobility is possible for those who want to work and go after it. There are many things about The American Dream that are very good.  It is good that people have opportunities to change their life for the better with some hard work, opportunity, and ingenuity. However, the negative side of The American Dream is that it has produced a consumer mentality.  The American mind tends to operate out of the belief that if we want something, we just need to go after it. This mindset has made us focused on what we want and need and we spend most of our energy trying to fulfill our own needs and desires.  But God offers a backward economy…Read More