“Why does God want my money?” Many will ask themselves this when they do not want to obey His instructions about money. They would rather keep it all and decide for themselves how much to give, if at all, and to whom. It is a trick question, really. God does not want your money… He wants your heart.
Matthew 6:19-21 19“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. 20“But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal; 21for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
The point is that God warns us we can not have two masters. We can not serve both God and money.
Luke 16:13 13“No servant can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.”
He wants us to choose Him over money.
Matthew 6:33 33“But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.
God knows that helping us to consciously choose to put Him first will put us on the right path in life. We will not only please Him, but find more joy in life as well and live with the right priorities. Many who choose to serve money find ruin and destruction.
1 Timothy 6:9-10 9But those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a snare and many foolish and harmful desires which plunge men into ruin and destruction. 10For the love of money is a root of all sorts of evil, and some by longing for it have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.
“Does God really care how much I give?” Yes. Once again, whether you use your money to honor God or to serve yourself is quite telling as an indicator of your heart. If you are trying to calculate the bare minimum you can give God and “get by” you are missing the point. He wants your heart. God especially does not like when we lie to Him or cheat Him, claiming before Him or before men to bring a certain amount and then refusing to do so. Yes, He gets angry.
Malachi 3:8-10 8“Will a man rob God? Yet you are robbing Me! But you say, ‘How have we robbed You?’ In tithes and offerings. 9“You are cursed with a curse, for you are robbing Me, the whole nation of you! 10“Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, so that there may be food in My house, and test Me now in this,” says the LORD of hosts, “if I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you a blessing until it overflows. 11“Then I will rebuke the devourer for you, so that it will not destroy the fruits of the ground; nor will your vine in the field cast its grapes,” says the LORD of hosts. 12“All the nations will call you blessed, for you shall be a delightful land,” says the LORD of hosts.
Acts 5:1-11 1But a man named Ananias, with his wife Sapphira, sold a piece of property, 2and kept back some of the price for himself, with his wife’s full knowledge, and bringing a portion of it, he laid it at the apostles’ feet. 3But Peter said, “Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and to keep back some of the price of the land? 4“While it remained unsold, did it not remain your own? And after it was sold, was it not under your control? Why is it that you have conceived this deed in your heart? You have not lied to men but to God.” 5And as he heard these words, Ananias fell down and breathed his last; and great fear came over all who heard of it. 6The young men got up and covered him up, and after carrying him out, they buried him.
7Now there elapsed an interval of about three hours, and his wife came in, not knowing what had happened. 8And Peter responded to her, “Tell me whether you sold the land for such and such a price?” And she said, “Yes, that was the price.” 9Then Peter said to her, “Why is it that you have agreed together to put the Spirit of the Lord to the test? Behold, the feet of those who have buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out as well.” 10And immediately she fell at his feet and breathed her last, and the young men came in and found her dead, and they carried her out and buried her beside her husband. 11And great fear came over the whole church, and over all who heard of these things.
Perhaps the better question is not “Why does God want my money?” but rather “Why am I unwilling to trust God with the money He provided me?”
Prayerfully consider your finances and ask God to help you obey Him. What changes should you consider with your finances so that you are in obedience to His word?
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