Seeking Financial Freedom Part 16

Welcome if you are visiting us for the first time here on Wednesdays!! If you want to start at the beginning of this series click on Seeking Financial Freedom on the right hand side of the screen..you will have to scroll down a bit to find it....

PERSPECTIVE****What's really important?*****

Thanks for joining us this Wednesday!! Perspective is the subject this week! Here are a few highlights from the chapter.

MONEY WILL NOT BRING YOU HAPPINESS (p147-148)
Solomon, the author of Ecclesiastes, had an annual income of more than $25 million. He lived in a palace that took 13 years to build. He owned 40,000 stalls of horses. He sat on an ivory throne overlaid with gold. He drank from gold cups. The daily menu of his household included 100 sheep and 30 oxen in addition to fallow-deer and fatted fowl.
Obviously, Solomon was in a position to know whether money would bring happiness, and he did not hesitate to say that riches do not bring true happiness."He who loves money shall never have enough. The foolish of thinking that wealth brings true happiness! The more you have, the more you spend, right up to the limits of your income." Ecclesiastes 5:10-11

Money will buy:
A bed but not sleep.;
Books but not brains;
Food but not an appetite;
A house but not a home;
Medicine but not health;
Amusement but not happiness;
A crucifix but not a Savior.

IS MONEY EVIL? (p148-149)

Money is not evil. It is morally neutral. Money can be used for good, such as supporting missionaries or building hospitals. Is also can be used for evil, such as financing illegal drugs and pornography.
Examine closely 1 Timothy 6:10 "The love of money is a root of all sorts of evil." The Bible does not condemn money itself, only the misuse of or a wrong attitude toward money.

WILL GODLY PEOPLE ALWAYS PROSPER FINANCIALLY? (pp149-150)
Some Christians embrace one of two extremes. Some say if you are really spiritual, you must be poor because wealth and a close relationship with Christ can not exist. The second and opposite extreme is the belief that if a Christian has faith, he or she will enjoy uninterrupted financial prosperity.
However we have already said that money is morally neutral and can be used for good and evil.

More importantly take a look at three reason why the godly may not prosper.

1. VIOLATING A SCRIPTURAL PRINCIPLE.
you may giving generously, but acting dishonestly. You may be honest but not fulfilling your work responsibilities. You may be a faithful employee but head-over-heel in debt. You may be debt free but not giving.
2. BUILDING OF GODLY CHARACTER.
Romans 5:3-4 reads, "Tribulation brings about perseverance, and perseverance, proven character."
3.THE MYSTERY OF GOD'S SOVEREIGNTY
Hebrews 11:1-35 list people who triumphed miraculously by exercising their faith in the living God. But in verse 36 the writer directs our attention abruptly to godly people who lived by faith and gained God's approval, yer were poor. The Lord ultimately chooses how much to entrust each person. And sometimes we simply can't understand or explain His decisions.

COMMITMENT: I will consistently study the Bible to maintain God's perspective on money and possessions.