Faith, Finances and Flawed Thinking

Over the past 35 years in ministry I've seen many musicians, singers, songwriters, ministers, evangelists, and their entourage cruise through major ministries and churches gleaning what seemed like thousands and thousands of dollars if not millions from the faithful few. I walk a tight rope with businessmen and ministry...but the truth is they're as much connected as they are different. It seems many of us have lost sight of true riches. Our future is not simply a set of events waiting to happen that we have no role to play in. It’s not a script with your name on it that you’re predestined to follow. The future can and will be whatever God has designed for you to become, as you WORK OUT His plan in your life. That includes finances! What’s the difference between people who fulfill their destinies, their callings and those who don’t? The only significant difference is that people who become all they were designed to be are willing to set challenging and rewarding goals and work toward those goals. Understanding that fact alone is worth vast riches to you! There is a passage in the New Testament that defines true riches: Luke 16:9-13 NIV 9 I tell you, use worldly wealth to gain friends for yourselves, so that when it is gone, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings. 10 “Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much. 11 So if you have not been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will trust you with true riches? 12 And if you have not been trustworthy with someone else’s property, who will give you property of your own? 13 “No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.” To sum it up..."It's a HEART condition." Today the popular opinion among many is to go the opposite direction. This is equally destructive! We know through scripture that "where God guides, He provides". But as we see in Hebrews 11:8 even Abraham had to get moving before he knew where God was leading him. Remember Jesus? It costs money to feed and lodge 13 itinerant preachers. Many people knew that, and gladly supported the cause. But as with a number of contemporary ministries, there was corruption within. The trusted treasurer turned out to be a liar and a thief (see John 12:4-6). Let me wrap this up like this: Even though there is a very present problem of corruption in ministries, it is biblically legitimate to be supported by donors and sales: "Who ever goes to war at his own expense? Who plants a vineyard and does not eat of its fruit? Or who tends a flock and does not drink of the milk of the flock? . . . Even so the Lord has commanded that those who preach the gospel should live from the gospel" (1 Corinthians 9:7, 14). So while it IS INDEED all about souls and fulfilling your calling...you have to be equipped and that takes money! As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another. Proverbs 27:17 NIV. Thank you for letting me be a part of your destiny... - Gene Bailey