The Answer to Handling Wealth

08.16.14

Psalm 112.1 Praise the Lord. Blessed are those who fear the Lord, who find great delight in his commands. - Anonymous (NIV)

To this dismay of the judgmental crowd, I believe God is a Giver of second chances and do-overs. God is a pass/pass Teacher. God’s ways are higher than our own, and God methods are often anything but intuitive. Our God is an awesome God.

Thursday, I drove home from Boise where I had taken and passed an exam for a new career with Thrivent Financial (more on that another time; look them up at: www.thrivent.com/aboutus/).  

As I drove home, I had a long talk with the Lord. I don’t mean we sat together in the car and talked; I mean I drove and poured out as much of my soul as I could find to Him as we went along. Tears may have been present. I advocate this practice – it seems to work for me to think though things, and be open enough to tell Father what is really on my heart. For a while I only complained and then I changed my tune and began to praise. Praising God doesn’t necessarily straighten things out, but sure does usher in an indescribable peace.

As I talked with the Lord, I shared with Him my lack of success with money – there always seems to be too much month left at the end of the paycheck. I’ve never been that good with money. So, today in Psalm 112 I think I found an answer: Blessed are those who fear the Lord, who find great delight in his commands. (Doing what He says.) This psalm goes on to say that such a man will have: honorable offspring, wealth and riches, light for life, compassion and generosity, confidence, peace, and no fear on bad times. (Psalm 112 is a male equivalent to Proverbs 31). The only man who will enjoy these things is the man who fears the Lord and finds great delight in doing what He says.

So, I read Psalm 112, and then I thought: no wonder it rarely works for me! I don’t fear God! And then I swallowed hard. It’s true. Oh, sure, I love God. I even like God. But mostly I do and have always done what I want or what I think.

Let’s talk about do-overs for a moment. God doesn’t hate me; never has, never will. I am assured of that. But God does expect me to live my life (in all my/its current wretchedness) alongside Him, fearing Him. (As we know, this kind of fear isn’t terror; it’s respect). God will help the fool and his money (which are soon parted) if the fool repents and begins to respect God for Who He is and what He is doing in the fool’s life. Call me, a repenting fool today. And that is why God is so good at do-overs: He wants us to see that with Him is the hope of living life rightly. When we get it, He gives it. That simple. The answer to handling wealth is fearing God!

And that’s why a new career. And that’s why a long talk with God, asking for answers. God is the Solution for every need of every person on the globe. All we need do is acknowledge that and respect Him for it.

Father, it seems again I hear You loud and clear.

May my respect for You grow as You have drawn near.

Thank You for helping a poor foolish fool;

Using his lousiness with money, as an effective teaching tool.

I pray, O God, that my respect for You only grow

And as I walk through this world may I help others to know,

That there is a reward for those who do

Put all of their hope and trust and fear, in You. Amen

PS: Money ain't the the answer: God is.