It's common for church sermons today to be about the blessing and prosperity of God freely coming to all who ask for it. This shows the growing popularity of false prosperity preaching. The popular notion of prosperity preaching today is that if you ask and desire it, God can and will make you rich in a fortnight.
When Jesus would talk about money in the Bible, most of the time He would be referring to our attitude towards it, not our abundance of it.
I am a firm believer in the goodness of God and His desire to bless you financially with all you need and so much more. But God isn't blind to the true desire of our hearts when we hunger for money.
I'm no exemption to this. Every now and then, I find myself falling into the trap of selfishness, thinking that another project, opportunity or client is automatically "a blessing from God" without even asking what God wants out of the transaction or if He wants me to devote my energy and time elsewhere.
God wants us to be rich, no doubt. But He first desires for us to be rich in the spirit before we are rich in the pocket. Sure He created wealth for us to enjoy and take pleasure in.
God's highest priority is not money, and neither should it be ours. Proverbs 23:4-5 says, "Do not toil to acquire wealth; be discerning enough to desist. When your eyes light on it, it is gone, for suddenly it sprouts wings, flying like an eagle toward heaven."
I'm not saying that money isn't important, but it isn't as important as we might think.
There is as much danger in thinking God wants you earning six digits a month as there is in romanticising the thought of being "poor for God."
It's not about the amount of money that you have or the amount that comes in, but what's in your heart as God blesses you. Will what God gives only draw you away from Him or draw you even closer to Him and to others?
Matthew 6:33 gives us this powerful reminder: "But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you."
God wants you right, alright. He wants you rich in His presence, goodness, grace, mercy and righteousness first and foremost. Only then will blessing your pocket become worthwhile and truly worthwhile for us.
