Working versus “The world owes me a living!”

David W Palmer

We looked earlier at love’s motivation to give, and the Holy Spirit’s instructions to look after the poor. Having understood this, we can be tempted to put ourselves in the place of the “poor”—believing that we should be the recipients of this giving, instead of the giver of it. We could be duped into expecting the church to support us (while we take a holiday under the guise of “living by faith”). Anticipating this misunderstanding and/or temptation, the Holy Spirit had the apostle Paul write the following:

(2 Thessalonians 3:10–12 EMTV) “For even when we were with you, we commanded you this: ‘If anyone is not willing to work, neither let him eat!’ {11} For we hear that some are walking among you in a disorderly way, not working at all, but being busybodies. {12} And to such people we command and urge by our Lord Jesus Christ that they work in quietness (the opposite of being a busybody) and eat their own bread.” (Parenthesis added)

In truth, according to this passage, we should all work—but not to provide for our own needs; we should see our employment as our assignment from God for his kingdom purposes. Our job is not our identity or our source; it is the place God has assigned us to serve and exert our influence. The income we receive from this—if any—should be immediately processed through our conviction that giving is God’s way.

If we work diligently in God’s assignment, we will have adequate provision for food, etc., and have a surplus to funnel into giving:

(Ephesians 4:28 MKJV) Let him who stole steal no more, but rather let him labor, working with his hands the thing which is good, so that he may have something to give to him who needs.

Obviously, while working diligently in our assignment, we will have provision so we can give to those in need; but also so we can be responsible not to burden others with our needs. The apostle Paul set the example in this:

(2 Thessalonians 3:6–9 MSG) Our orders—backed up by the Master, Jesus—are to refuse to have anything to do with those among you who are lazy and refuse to work the way we taught you. Don’t permit them to freeload on the rest. {7} We showed you how to pull your weight when we were with you, so get on with it. {8} We didn’t sit around on our hands expecting others to take care of us. In fact, we worked our fingers to the bone, up half the night moonlighting so you wouldn’t be burdened with taking care of us. {9} And it wasn’t because we didn’t have a right to your support; we did. We simply wanted to provide an example of diligence, hoping it would prove contagious.

Vow of poverty?

Another deception the enemy perpetrates is that God’s will is for us to be poor. Satan has had a lot of success with this ploy, because he can use isolated verses—and yes, even the words of Jesus—to mount a convincing argument. For example, he can quote Jesus as saying, “Blessed are you poor” (Luke 6:20 NKJV).

The way to counter Satan’s spurious argument for a vow of poverty, however, is not simply to quote other verses back to him as we do normally with his lies. We cannot fight scripture with scripture—especially when the enemy is using New Testament verses. If we do, we end in the classic “text jam”—like a traffic jam of verses until nothing can break the deadlock. This is how the enemy seduces Christians into forming factions; they then shout at each other with the passages that support their stance. These “text wars” have been carried on for years on many topics—like the permissibility of women ministering in church, divine healing, predestination, and the use of slaves, etc.

Truly, the only way to decipher the truth in these cases is to make a complete study of the whole Bible on the given topic. In doing this, I suggest the following approach:

Begin with Jesus—what did he teach, what did he do, what is the example of his own life?

Next, study the apostle’s doctrines—for example, what did Paul teach?

Then look at the early church’s actions: what did the apostles do themselves, and what did they tell the churches to do? {Here we must be aware that we cannot simply read and apply what was instructed or done in a given church, assuming it applies automatically to us. First, we need to understand fully what was going on in their midst at the time that required that particular instruction or action. Then see if we are in a similar or parallel situation—if so, that word may apply to us.}

Finally, expand the Bible study to the whole of the Old Testament as well.

By taking this approach, we don’t get caught up combating each other over single verses that may be taken out of context, or in trying to apply Biblical instructions given to people to resolve issues vastly different to the ones we are facing.

The overall Bible evidence is that poverty is part of the curse. Blessing meant provision, well-being, safety, wholeness, and freedom. If Jesus’s statement was only, “Blessed are you poor,” it would be an oxymoron—a contradiction in itself; it would be saying, “Blessed are you living under the curse.” No, the blessing they are in line for is because of the second half of the statement: “Yours is the kingdom of God.” These people would not be dependent on the world’s system for pseudo blessing; they know it is not right to try to gain what looks like blessing by following the devil’s way of lying, cheating, manipulating, etc. They are in that place—poor by trying to live godly in the world’s system—and are thus ready to be fully dependent on God and his kingdom system.

Beginning with Jesus, here is a quick answer to the devil’s out-of-context quote from Jesus, “Blessed are you poor”: if we look at the surrounding sentences and context of this verse, we obtain a clearer understanding of what he was meaning. Note that he was speaking to his “disciples,” meaning people who were learning to do life Jesus’s way:

(Luke 6:20–21 EMTV) Then He lifted up His eyes toward His disciples, and said: “Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God. {21} Blessed are you who hunger now, for you shall be filled. Blessed are you who weep now, for you shall laugh.”

In verse twenty, our Lord says, “Blessed are you who are poor,” but then he gives the reason they are blessed; it is not because they are poor, but because they [now] have the Kingdom of God. In other words, they are blessed because they now have a blessing source through God’s kingdom words coming to harvest in their lives. This meant that they wouldn’t have to live under the curse’s poverty any more.

In contrast, in verse twenty-four Jesus says, “Woe to you who are rich,” implying that those who became rich in the world’s system (without using God’s kingdom system) have a major problem: their wealth is not blessed; it has tied them to the devil, and it is not thief-proof.

Jesus goes on to say: “Woe to you who have been filled, for you shall be hungry. Woe to you who laugh now, for you shall mourn and weep.” Note the word “now’”; this implies their current state—they got to laugh before they heard Jesus explain God’s kingdom. In other words, they got happy in the world’s cursed system. Sadly, this is not permanent or eternal laughter; weeping and mourning were coming for them—and probably eternally for those who are rich and happy in the world’s system.

In a similar way, in verse 21 (above), Jesus expands on his statement that the [currently] poor are blessed because they [now] have the Kingdom of God. He expands his opening statement by delineating thus: “Blessed are you who hunger now, for you shall be filled. Blessed are you who weep now, for you shall laugh.” Jesus’s whole statement is a contrast between those who got rich, full, and happy in the devil’s system, with those who did not. However, now that Jesus has explained the Kingdom of God and how God’s system works, they can be blessed—permanently.

Conclusion

Overcoming the enemy’s weed called the “deceitfulness of riches” is vital to a successful Christian life; it is crucial if we are to bring a 100–fold increase to the word God sows into our hearts.

To overcome any deception, we need deep humility, a heart of submission, and a relentless commitment to …

(2 Timothy 2:15 MKJV) “Study earnestly to present yourself approved to God, a workman that does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the Word of Truth.”

In particular, in overcoming deception about riches and God’s will to provide, we need to know God’s word on this topic from Genesis to Revelation.

We also need to be thinking in giving—walking humbly with the Holy Spirit, obeying his prompts to give, and obeying his written commands in the Bible where money is concerned. For example: tithing, giving to the poor, and sowing to the spirit (by financially supporting preachers and teachers, etc.).

Another important strategy against this deception is to stay constantly vigilant and alert to any thoughts or temptations contrary to God’s word. To overcome them, we need to put on God’s full armor and keep his sword at hand—that is, ensure that God’s word fills our hearts in overflowing abundance. This way, we will be ready to pull down “strongholds,” cast down “imaginations,” and bring every thought captive to Christ (2 Cor. 3–5 KJV).

And finally, we need to be diligent in our assignment. If that is gainful employment, then, while living by faith for our own needs—focusing our real work on our faith—we will have seed to sow from our remuneration, and some resources to relieve the poverty of others.

Remember: wisdom is the principal thing as we live by faith.

Today, I encourage you to think back over all the aspects of overcoming the deceitfulness of riches, and formulate ways to apply them in your life. God bless you and lead you into his “wealthy place” for you—where you will be blessed beyond what the world can possibly understand:

(Psalm 66:12 KJ2000) “You have caused men to ride over our heads; we went through fire and through water: but you brought us out into a wealthy place.”