The Bible says that the devil is a liar and Jesus himself referred to the Devil as the Father of Lies. In order to deceive us and to weaken the Church the devil targets Christians with his lies to make them ineffective in advancing God’s kingdom, or worse still, that they fall away altogether. I lost count long ago the number of people I have seen fall away.
Furthermore the Bible makes it clear we are in a spiritual battle. This battle rages 24/7 and will not end until Jesus returns. It is a war for souls and we see the damage of this every time we turn on the evening news or open a newspaper.
The problem is many Christians in the Western world, especially those born since World War 2 have only known prosperity and therefore have been lulled into complacency and for many it seems like a deep sleep! The world has become their ‘playground’ when in fact it is a battlefield. You only have to see just how much our culture has changed in the past 50 years to see the very real impact that this battle has had.
Let’s look at two bible passages that highlight the problem:
For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.
Ephesians 6:2
We know that we are children of God, and that the whole world is under the control of the evil one.
1 John 5:19
So what? Well this spiritual realm flows into the natural realm and we see it in the area of personal finances by what people believe about money and the flow on effect to their behaviour.
Let’s look at some of the lies the Devil has told us and ask yourself whether you have believed any of these. Now is a chance to align your beliefs and your behaviours to the word of God!
THE DEVIL’S LIES VS GOD’S TRUTH
LIE ONE: “YOU DON’T HAVE ENOUGH”
How many people feel like that? No doubt a huge proportion of the Church has said at one time or another “if I had more money, I would be happy… or give more…. or save more….” But would we?
GOD’S WORD SAYS:
“keep your life free from the love of money, and be content with what you have”.
Hebrews 13:5
Having money is not a problem, it is the ‘love’ of money that creates all the problems. It is an attitude of the heart. We need to learn contentment. What you have is enough, what you have is good.
LIE TWO: “IT IS BETTER TO WITHHOLD OR YOU MAY MISS OUT”
Have you ever felt that tension between giving to Church or a cause you believe in, but at the same time thinking about how you could spend that money on something you want? You feel it is a choice between two distinct options and you can only have one. Whilst that may in fact be the case, it often reflects a lack of understanding of the loving, generous father we serve.
GOD’S WORD SAYS:
“Good will come to those who are generous and lend freely, who conduct their affairs with justice” Psalm 112:5
“The generous will themselves be blessed, for they share their food with the poor.”
Proverbs 22:9
God is not in the withholding business, he is in the generosity business. He wants us to be generous to others in need in the way that he has been generous to us. The inevitable consequence of a generous life is that God will take care of us and ensure all our needs are met.
LIE THREE: “YOU WILL BE HAPPIER IF YOU HAVE MORE”
Study after study shows that once your income reaches a certain level, any future increases offer little if any benefit to your personal happiness. In fact wealth can often bring considerable pain and sorrow if it is not dealt with properly.
Having grown up in an affluent environment and attended an expensive school, a quite easy observation was that money bought no additional happiness. What may of looked all rosy on the outside was often no more than a façade. Don’t get me wrong, poverty is terrible but having wealth won’t solve one’s problems.
GOD’S WORD SAYS:
“Whoever loves money never has enough; whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with their income. This too is meaningless”
Ecclesiastes 5:10
As a financial planner, I distinctly remember a few clients who were the kind who were never happy with the investment returns they received, even if the results were very good. I even had one client who would bring in the newspaper and show me the performance tables of the best performing managed funds, out of a universe of nearly 10,000 funds in Australia. He would say to me “why are we not in this fund, it did 71% last year?” To which I would reply “can you tell me which fund you think will do that sort of return next year out of the 10,000 funds to choose from?” To which of course he’d reply “I don’t know” and then I would say “Nor do I”. Some people believe that investment advisers should have crystal balls.
Falling in love with money can ruin your life!
LIE FOUR: “THE MORE MONEY YOU HAVE THE MORE VALUABLE YOU BECOME”
This is one of those subtle lies. If you fly first class you will be treated better than if you fly economy, however the only reason they of course treat you better is because of the dollar value you represent to them, rather than because you are of value to them as a person.
We often fall into the trap in thinking that our value is in what we do (I’m a …) or what we have (I drive a ….) and so on. But as Jesus said “life does not consist in an abundance of possessions”. Your self worth is not based on your net worth. When our self worth is based on what we do or what we have then we are suffering from an identity crisis.
GOD’S WORD SAYS:
But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.
1 Peter 2:9
Do you see yourself this way? God is the ultimate loving father, who would do anything for you. In fact he has already. He sent his only son to die for you. I don’t know many people willing to die for me, do you?
Many of us are suffering from an identity crises because we allow our value to be determined by things that don’t last or by other people. We need to reclaim our identity as children of God. You are precious and are worth more than any earthly treasure.
Ask yourself: do you really believe this? If not, why not?
LIE FIVE: “MONEY PROVIDES YOU WITH SECURITY”
On face value this may seem true. After all if you’ve build up an emergency fund, then you have a bit of security. However the problem with money is it can disappear in a blink of an eye.
The 2008 Global Financial Crisis showed that money can be here one minute and gone the next.
GOD’S WORD SAYS:
“Do not weary yourself to gain wealth, Cease from your consideration of it. When you set your eyes on it, it is gone. For wealth certainly makes itself wings Like an eagle that flies toward the heavens”.
Proverbs 23:4-5
What a thought? Your money can develop wings and fly away. We need to learn to depend on God for our provision and not on our own strength and assets.
LIE SIX: YOU NEED DEBT TO BUILD WEALTH
Debt in our culture has become so normal, with almost everybody using debt at some point, that very few stop to consider whether the use of debt is God’s way of providing for us.
The common logic goes if “I don’t borrow money then I will never own a home”, but is this really the case? Does God not know your needs?
GOD’S WORD SAYS:
The bible has some clear messages on debt and this first verse is more of a warning message.
The rich rules over the poor, and the borrower becomes the lender’s slave. Proverbs 22:7
“The Lord will open the heavens, the storehouse of his bounty, to send rain on your land in season and to bless all the work of your hands. You will lend to many nations but will borrow from none”
Deuteronomy 28:12
And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus.
Philippians 4:19
You don’t need debt, no matter how much people tell you that you do.
LIE SEVEN: “ALL YOU HAVE IS YOURS, YOU DESERVE IT”
I confess that as a financial planner, I am guilty of saying this. I would have a client sitting in front of me talking about their retirement plans and I would say something like ‘you’ve worked hard, you deserve to enjoy it’. It is one of those half truths. On the one hand we do have to work hard, save, and act with integrity, but is it right to saw we deserve it?
GOD’S WORD SAYS:
“The earth is the LORD’s, and all its fullness, The world and those who dwell therein.” Psalm 24:1
You may say to yourself, “My power and the strength of my hands have produced this wealth for me.” But remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth, and so confirms his covenant, which he swore to your ancestors, as it is today.
Deuteronomy 8:17-18
There you have it. What we have belongs to God, not to us, and we are to be stewards of it, regardless of how little or how much it is and irrespective if we’ve worked hard to built it. After all it is God that gives us the ability to produce wealth. Yes, we must play our part, but the ability itself is from God!
LIE EIGHT: “CHRISTIANS SHOULDN’T BE WEALTHY” OR WORSE “CHRISTIANS SHOULD BE POOR”
This is one of those lies that won’t go away, and has held the Church back fulfilling the great commission. The point of our life is not to get wealthy, it is to serve Jesus and advance his kingdom. God uses us as his hands and his feet, and his messengers with the good news. He empowers us with the ability to produce wealth so that our own needs are met and so that we can meet the needs of others and so that we can take the good news to the ends of the earth.
If Christians are poor how can we help others? How can I give someone warm clothing if I am in poverty myself. We are not to accumulate wealth to live lavishly, but to live generously.
The bible warns us about the dangers of wealth because of the risk that it can between us and God, not because wealth is bad or evil, but because it can be seductive and distract us from putting God first. We can see this in the western world where its prosperity has led to it turning it’s back on God, and as a result it is rapidly in decline.
GOD’S WORD SAYS:
“Keep falsehood and lies far from me; give me neither poverty nor riches, but give me only my daily bread. Otherwise, I may have too much and disown you and say, ‘Who is the Lord?’ Or I may become poor and steal, and so dishonor the name of my God.”
Proverbs 30:8-9
8 And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.
2 Corinthians 9:8
The tragedy of this false belief has held back the great commission. Sure God doesn’t need money to achieve his goals. He can create it out of thin air if he wanted to. Even faster than a modern day central banker!! However he chooses to rely on men and women living generous lives with the resources that he blesses them with in order to fulfil his purposes.