Question: Should Christians make as much money as they possibly can in order to give more to God, or make less money, and give more time in ministry to family, church, neighbors, and their community?
Answered by: Gregg Bursey, who has been a volunteer with us since January, 2014.
Answer: Thank you for this question.
The Bible contains stories of many people ranging from very rich to very poor, and both categories of people also have people in them in which God is pleased with. So you yourself can be a billionaire or live purely on assistance from others and still be able to live pleasing to God.
Abram (later named Abraham) is one of the most well-known characters in Bible history. God chose to bless the world through him in his eventual descendant that would save the world from its sin (Genesis 22:18; Matthew 1:1). In Genesis 13:2, we find this “Abram had become very wealthy in livestock and in silver and gold”. And later in Genesis 24:35 we read, “The Lord has blessed my master abundantly, and he has become wealthy…”. On the other hand, we have unknown poor people like in Luke 16:22 that died and went to paradise. So both rich and poor people are loved and cherished by God.
Now to answer your question directly. The Bible is full of wisdom about finances and encourages everyone to be financially responsible (http://www.gotquestions.org/managing-finances.html). The rich are to bless others with what God has given them, and the poor are not to view riches as the ultimate provider or goal. There are times in life when you will have more than the minimum amount of money needed for things, and there are times when you may not have enough. If we choose to receive things from God, we cannot receive only good things and refuse hard things (Job 2:10).
Titus 3:13 says this, “Do everything you can to help Zenas the lawyer and Apollos on their way and see that they have everything they need”. Making sure others have everything they need requires both time and money. Since both are a part of our lives, we cannot hold either of them back if we are to truly submit to God’s will. We cannot give our money, and then keep all our time to ourselves and expect God to be satisfied. On the other hand, we cannot constantly be volunteering for service while holding tightly onto our money. God wants a relationship with us – not just the part of us we are willing to part with.
So the answer is yes – God wants you to freely give of your time and your money. While the Holy Spirit will guide you in life’s decisions (some of which involve jobs and finances), you are to be thankful for the wages you earn. I ask that you read and pray over Mark 12:41-44. Jesus notices how people give their money. He’s not as concerned with how much they are giving.
Question: Does God feel sad when we are also sad?
Answered by: Brad Warren, who has been a volunteer with us since April, 2006.
Answer: Yes, I believe the Bible supports the idea that God exhibits a range of emotions. The first that comes to mind is John 11:35 where Jesus weeps in the midst of the sadness brought on by Lazarus’ death. What is interesting about this verse is that Jesus almost immediately thereafter resurrected him. It is a verse that puts Jesus’ full humanity on display and that God the Son would still feel sadness to a point of tears despite knowing that he’s about to change the circumstances.
In addition, we know Jesus felt anger when he cleared the Temple, joy on many occasions, and stress in the Garden of Gethsemane. And in a particularly important verse we read that ‘We do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses…’ Here we have a Savior God who stands in complete solidarity with his own.
God the father certainly feels wrath toward sin (Romans 1:18), Love towards his Son (Matthew 3:17; 17:5), and joy over his people (Zephaniah 3:17). And the Holy Spirit is grieved when we sin (Eph 4:30). Indeed it would be hard to imagine, based on the entire revelation of God’s character and the manner in which he relates to us, that he would not feel sadness when we are sad. He is no stoic tyrant but a compassionate King who is jealous for his people’s hearts (Exodus 34:6, 14).
It is helpful to remember, though, that none of these emotions are in any way driven by or pressing towards any deficiency within him. His sadness does not break him nor does his anger run rampant causing him to sin. He feels these things with us (even toward us) as a sovereign Lord ‘who works all things together for good for those who love him and are called according to his purpose’ (Romans 8:28).
God’s purposes are for his glory and defeating sin is part of that process. Neither he nor we can defeat sin without a fight. And fighting means pain. Our tears are either directly or indirectly related to sin and God, in His quest to free us from their penalty, power, and presence, reminds us in the midst of despair that one day, he will wipe away ever tear and that there will be no more pain (Rev 21:4)
