Being a Christian gives us access and privilege to many things that we once did not have when we were far from Christ. However, being a Christian does not automatically exempt us from the challenges people face in this day and age.
One of the areas we might sometimes think that we've become completely liberated from is the area of financial lack. We think that just because we're Christians, we'll always have money when we need money and even have more than enough. That's why prosperity teachings are so popular among Christian circles today—because we expect God to cover everything without us having to deal with financial lack ever again.
Abundance Can Sometimes Hurt More Than Lack
I am a firm believer in God's abundant financial provision and have experienced it. But I have also come to points of financial difficulty as well. And to be completely honest, the times I had more than enough were sometimes harder than the times I experienced lack. There is just as much as an abundance test as there is a lack test, and the abundance test is where most people might actually fail.
In Mark 10:25, Jesus says, "It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God."
Jesus in no way speaks against worldly riches, but addresses the reality that abundance can hurt us just as much as lack can.
Paul gives an ultimate charge in 1 Timothy 6:17, saying, "As for the rich in this present age, charge them not to be haughty, nor to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly provides us with everything to enjoy."
There is a need to charge rich people to battle haughtiness because it can be really difficult to do so.
God Wants to Teach You to Be Faithful With the Little
One of the best ways to pass an abundance test is to first pass a lack test with flying colours first. God wants us to learn how to make the most of the little for us to learn how to take care of prosperity when it comes.
Luke 16:10 says, "One who is faithful in a very little is also faithful in much, and one who is dishonest in a very little is also dishonest in much."
How much are you receiving now? What's your income like? More importantly, how do you deal with the money that you receive? Are you passing the lack test with flying colours, or is there some areas that you must improve on first before God brings in the overflow?
