READY FOR A NEW ADVENTURE
Just in case you are keeping count – this is Blog number 593. That’s over 11 years – one Blog every week!
We have traveled together with you, in words and pictures, into over 150 countries and I have had the opportunity to introduce you to thousands of my dearest friends from around the world and have been able to relate to you literally hundreds of my favorite stories and experiences. What a fun adventure!
This last year was unique -- and a bit taxing for me. If you will recall, I had started out writing about the subject of “goodness.” Early into the series, you, the readers, began responding with comments and questions regarding “who is the author of goodness?” “How can I live out this goodness in my daily life?” “How can I explain this “goodness” to my friends?”
Then, some of my friends began asking me “What do you personally believe – can you just put it into simple words for us?”
About that time, I was reminded of C.S. Lewis’s statement that “if you can’t put your faith into the vernacular, it is either because you do not understand it or you do not believe it.” I accepted the challenge to try to simply articulate what I believed in the weekly Blog form (I must admit, it was way more challenging than I figured it would be).
Last week was the final Blog of that series. Those of you who followed along faithfully for the whole last year might be interested to know that we have gathered all those Blog pages together and massaged them into book form. Those written pages have already been turned over to the editors and a publisher. I thank you, personally, for being an important part of the whole adventure! We’ll keep you posted on the progress of that production.
Now, I would like to shift gears a bit. Most of the past eleven years of Blogs have included some pretty deep subjects and some rather lengthy articles. I think it would be fun to switch for a while and present some little nuggets or “gems” of short statements or quotes for personal thought and consideration. Over the past 80 years of my life, I have tried to listen well and observe life carefully. I got into the habit of jotting down and filing away little quotes and seed thoughts I would glean as I would move around this old world. I would like to share some of those tid-bits of thought provocation with you in the up-coming Blogs.
Please beware—this is my caveat: I have no intention of tracing down every author or validating each and every quote gleaned from my years of conversations from around the world. If I recognize a familiar quote and can locate the author, I will pass it on. If it is one of my own quotes from one of my writings – I will follow it with a “JWJ”. I hope the material shared will be both, edifying and stimulating!
I think we will call the following Blog
SEED THOUGHTS
THAT ALTERED MY BRAIN
Let’s have some fun and get started on the new adventure. See you NEXT WEEK!
I BELIEVE . . . CONFESSIONS OF AN ECONOMIST Part 2
(Continued): In the previous section, I tried to graciously un-align myself, as an economist, from the scarcity, choice and cost paradigm being the unquestioned premise for our economic traditions. I have become convinced that the foundation of our economic thinking and planning should not be based on the perspective of scarcity, choice, and cost.
For the well-being and productivity of our culture and global community, it would seem to be a much wiser option to base our economic structure on a profoundly more optimistic and productive view: Abundance, Choice, and Accomplishment.
Of course, the whole idea of the discipline of economics will always be to help us make better choices in life. We would still need to make choices, since life will always be filled with alternatives. We’d still need to figure out what to produce from our resources and who would produce and distribute the resulting goods and services. We would still need to determine how and for whom the goods and services should be produced. Each of those aspects would require our creativity, our wills, and our ability to choose. What would change, however, is the very basis of our decisions – the reality of abundance as opposed to scarcity.
As previously stated, I believe the doctrine of scarcity promotes bondage. The doctrine of abundance promotes freedom.
It took many years and many miles to make me aware of the startling differences between the philosophies of scarcity and abundance. Concepts set into motion consequences, and those consequences are ultimately measurable. (I share more details of my journey of transition from scarcity to abundance in my published book: “Better Off – How America Got Wealthy & You Can Too!” 2016, Library of Congress #2016902189)
The idea of the economic paradigm of Abundance, Choice and Cost made a lot of sense to me from an academic standpoint. It also proved valid from a psychological perspective. Likewise, it proved advantageous from the bottom-line vantage points of historic culture and pragmatic business principles.
I must, however, admit that perhaps the most convincing persuasion for me to switch from the scarcity approach to an abundance paradigm was nothing less than a spiritual persuasion. I decided to do a search of the biblical scriptures and see what they had to say about the issue.
Here is a sampling of what I discovered:
And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus. (Phil. 4:19, NIV)
Ask, and you will be given what you ask for. Seek and you will find. Knock, and the door will be opened. For everyone who asks, receives. Anyone who seeks, finds. If only you will knock, the door will open. (Matt. 7:7,8, TLB)
The Lord will give you an abundance of good things in the land, just as he promised: many children, many cattle, and abundant crops. He will bless everything you do; and you shall lend to many nations, but not borrow from them. (Deut. 28:11-13, TLB)
Those who search for me shall surely find me. Unending riches, honor, justice and righteousness are mine to distribute. My gifts are better than the purest gold or silver! My paths are those of justice and right. Those who love and follow me are indeed wealthy. I fill their treasuries. (Prov. 8:17-21, TLB)
All mankind scratches for its daily bread, but your heavenly father knows your needs. He will always give you all you need from day to day if you will make the Kingdom of God your primary concern. (Luke 12:30-31, TLB)
For God, who gives seed to the farmer to plant, and later on, good crops to harvest and eat, will give you more and more seed to plant and will make it grow so that you can give away more and more fruit from you harvest, (2 Corinth. 10:10-11, TLB)
Now glory be to God who by his mighty power at work within us is able to do far more than we would ever dare to ask or even dream of – infinitely beyond our highest prayers, desires, thoughts, or hopes. (Eph. 3:20, TLB)
Then this city will bring me renown, joy, praise and honor before all nations on earth that hear of all the good things I do for it; and they will be in awe and will tremble at the abundant prosperity and peace I provide for it. (Jer. 33:9, NIV)
The net result of scarcity is poverty – the net result of poverty is dependency – dependency upon those malevolent folks who would endeavor to manipulate the masses of people and the established wealth of this world for causes and enterprises that do not include the powerful beauty of this thing called “Goodness.”
Let’s join together and throw off the fetters of scarcity and redistribution that inevitably lead to poverty – and let’s embrace a new principle of liberty and virtue that lead to a life of opportunity and unfathomable abundance: “Abundance, Choice and Accomplishment.”
I BELIEVE . . . IN GOODNESS!
I BELIEVE . . . CONFESSIONS OF AN ECONOMIST Part 1
For as long as I can remember, I have always been intrigued by business deals and enterprise. I’ve loved the ideas of economics – especially as they relate to everyday life and culture. Ideas of value in exchange for value; ideas of being able to help other people become better off, and at the same time, being rewarded for the efforts with profit, recompense and wealth, are amazing concepts.
Making money was never a difficult thing for me throughout my life. I owned my own car and possessed a legal driver’s license at the age of 14. I was able to buy my own clothes, pay for all my own education and always have sufficient spending money throughout my growing-up years. It was fun, and very challenging - and very fulfilling. I guess I’ve been a businessman, and entrepreneur, and an economist all my life.
In my post-graduate education, I tried to learn all I could about the formalized ideas of economics. I understood well that the subject of economics was a discipline designed to help people make better choices throughout their lives. I bought “hook, line, and sinker” into the basic economic premise that the root principles of economics included the factors of “scarcity, choice, and cost.”
The idea behind the scarcity, choice, and cost paradigm, is that the commodities or “things” are considered scarce because they have alternative uses – and “we can come up with way more alternative uses for things than there are things.”
There will always be more demands for the commodities than there are commodities – therefore, -- we must ultimately choose how each thing or commodity will be used.
The “cost factor” in the scarcity, choice, and cost paradigm, is experienced in the foregoing of the other alternatives not chosen for the use of that commodity. In other words – the real cost of choosing Alternative “A” is the foregoing of Alternative “B” – what you had to do without. That is known as “lost opportunity cost.”
Our whole discipline of formal economics is built on the concept of scarcity, and how to make good and wise choices based on how to allocate limited or scarce items, when we have unlimited desires and uses for the obviously limited items available.
All of that seemed so natural – so logical – so “matter of fact.” Of course, it made sense!
I also loved the basic fact that nothing successful happens in an economic system until something is actually produced. And generally speaking, that success is built upon the growth factors of “land, labor, capital, and the entrepreneur.”
Throughout my lifetime, I have taught literally thousands of people in formal classes, economic seminars, speaking engagements, published books, and the internet, that those convenient factors of “scarcity, choice, and cost,” were the accepted and basic building blocks for developing an economy and for making good choices in life.
Now, however, I have had over 80 years to observe, and study, and travel, in over 150 countries on this earth. I have had the opportunity to actually see and experience how “this real-world works” and how concepts set into motion consequences.
I have a confession to make – I have come to believe that using the “scarcity, choice, and cost trilogy” – however logical and convenient the factors appear – is simply wrong-headed.
I have come to believe that making “scarcity” the academic, empirical, or experiential basis of our economic system will result in making fallacious calculations regarding reality. Promoting the expectation of scarcity becomes a self-fulling prophecy and it results in ultimate insufficiency and lack.
Focusing on the concept of scarcity squelches invention and ingenuity and encourages greed, entitlement and selfish expansionism. It encourages the idea of a zero-sum game and a closed economy where the participants are required to grab their “fair share” of what presently exists.
I have observed over the years, that many countries and cultures have handled this quandary over “limited supplies and unlimited wants” in a variety of ways. Many of the countries I have visited, where they have dictators and centralized governments, would simply solve the obvious problem by only allowing the elite leaders to have exclusive decision-making powers regarding the country’s assets and inventories -- “We, the elite, are smarter and better equipped to make all the decisions than all the other impaired and un-informed proletariat.” Thereupon, the problem was solved – limited items – but the people have no rights to have unlimited wants. Any other option would be against the law, and contrary actions or thoughts would be punished!
Marx, Engels, and Lenin saw the wealth of the Russian tsars as a scarce pile of “wealthy stuff.” They figured that if they could get their hands on the “golden egg,” they would be able to control it and redistribute enough of it to buy the support of the proletariat. The redistribution would be according to their ideas and dictates of equity.
But their system was inherently flawed because it failed to include any ideas of growth, investment, positive incentive, rewards, enterprise, discovery, or sustainability in the equation. They figured that they would be able to continuously use from the scarce “pile of stuff” that had belonged to the tzars. It never dawned on them that that only production generates wealth, and wealth in form of income pays the bills.
As soon as they realized they were quickly burning through the scarce “pile of stuff,” it dawned on them that they would be forced to invade their neighbors and rape and pillage the neighbor’s scarce “piles of stuff” in order to survive. Their aggressive expansionism reached countries bordering the Caspian Sea, then, on to Central Asian countries of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, etc., etc. Finally, in 1981, the game was up – bankruptcy. The scarcity game is a self-fulfilling prophecy. Now we observe again, from the sidelines, as the disparate Russian government is once more being forced to employ expansionism tactics in Ukraine, Poland, etc. in order to meet economic demands.
Here’s what I believe happens when we become incessantly preoccupied with scarcity and depletion as the basis for our economy:
We lose a proper perspective regarding the good things we already possess. We begin to hoard and become stingy toward others.
We abandon an attitude of gratitude and become acutely aware of what other people have in comparison to what we have.
We adopt the idea that we’re entitled to more than we have, and we fear that we might end up with even less.
We spend our time worrying about not having enough, even though we’ve never figured out just how much is enough.
We’re tempted to believe that the reason others have more is because they somehow took our share away from us.
We begin to subconsciously think of ways to redistribute things that others have, so that those things can justifiably become ours.
We become attached to people we consider strong enough to take away things from the people who possess them and redistribute them to us.
Our fear of scarcity, and our preoccupation with perceived inequities, shuts down our creative problem-solving skills and drives us toward deeper dependency on government and other groups that offer to take care of us.
Let me, therefore, submit an alternative paradigm as the basis of our economic thinking. Why not use the trilogy of “Abundance, Choice, and Accomplishment”?
I have become convinced, as an economist, that the doctrine of scarcity promotes bondage – the doctrine of abundance, choice, and accomplishment promotes freedom.
If we envision and promote a world of scarcity and depletion, the natural consequences will be to hoard. covet, and redistribute what others possess to give ourselves the advantage. If we would, however, engage our intelligence, creativity, and ingenuity into discovering a world of abundance, we would find ourselves tapping into a whole new world of resources to meet our needs and desires. We would discover ourselves inventing brand new ways to harness and use resources that had been previously and completely overlooked, because of our belief and presumption in the false doctrine of scarcity.
Being hooked on the addiction to the wrong-headed ideas of the scarcity model has convinced us, for example, that energy has become an endangered resource. Our civilization currently runs on sixteen terawatts of power, and yet we really need to triple or quadruple that amount to meet the energy needs of the twenty-first century.
But instead of discovering how to increase our energy supply, we spend all of our efforts worrying about how to live with less power and arguing over who will control it. We consider selling energy credits or carbon footprints to the highest bidders and passing laws to limit production and consumption. We even discuss ways to decrease demand through population control. All of these so-called solutions to the problem of limited supply are based on our shared belief in deficiency and inadequacy. Those charlatans who have ideas of absolute control of the international energy supply, are more than excited to use the concept of “scarcity” in order to manipulate the world marketplace.
So, wouldn’t it make more sense to base our choices on the possibility and probability of abundance?
Systems matter! Concepts matter!
When I was eleven years old, Dwight D. Eisenhower ran against Adlai Stevenson for the presidency of the United States. I was pretty passionate about the general and even wore an “I Like Ike” badge, wrote a poem, and made a poster for the campaign. World War II was over, and I recall General Eisenhower assuring the American people that the technology used to develop the atom bomb could be harnessed for peaceful purposes.
He talked about nuclear power turning saltwater into freshwater that could be used to irrigate arable land around the world and transform it into a breadbasket for millions of hungry people. He also explained that the harnessed power of the atom could one day be safely used so that shortages of electricity would never occur again anywhere on the earth.
After his election in 1952, President Eisenhower spoke to the fledgling United Nations organization in New York City and laid out the plan for his Atoms for Peace program:
“The United States pledges before you—and therefore before the world—its determination to help solve the fearful atomic dilemma—to devote its entire heart and mind to find the way by which the miraculous inventiveness of man shall not be dedicated to his death but consecrated to his life.”
Imposed fear, greed, and political manipulation, pretty much sabotaged President Eisenhower’s dream. In the ensuing years, technological advances in atomic research lagged behind, even as the universal knowledge base kept growing exponentially. The vision never faded, and now, for the first time, information and technology are catching up with our dreams and ambitions, not just in the area of atomic power, but in so many other areas.
I am still cheering for and believing in the optimistic commitment of President Dwight Eisenhower – “I still Like Ike.” I would like to look at just one example of the possibilities of pursuing this idea of abundance rather than scarcity:
One of the most effective contemporary organizations dedicated to carrying out Eisenhower’s Atoms for Peace dream is Terra Power. Dr. Nathan Myhrvold, one of the brightest minds in the world today, and his colleagues at Terra Power still believe that “nuclear energy is the only proven generation source that can provide the large-scale, base load electricity needed to meet the world’s growing energy demands.”
Generation 4 nuclear energy as a preferred, affordable, and safe alternative to fossil fuels and other energy sources has never been in a stronger position, and the energy industry is now seeing the potential benefits. Unfortunately, the continual bashing of nuclear energy over the past forty years nearly drowned out the triumphs and essentially brought construction of new facilities to a standstill. Whenever nuclear energy is mentioned, people are programed to think of the Chernobyl disaster in 1986 or the reactor meltdown in Fukushima, Japan, in 2011. These catastrophes were indeed tragic, but the risks should not prevent us from forging ahead with research and construction while making every effort to prevent future disasters. Despite these challenges and setbacks, however, nuclear-energy research and technology have made huge strides in recent years toward safer and more effective energy production.
In recent years, Terra Power and its founder, Bill Gates, began developing the traveling wave reactor (TWR), which Dr. Myhrvold claims is the world’s most simplified passive fast-breeder reactor. Terra Power states the TWR cannot melt down, has no moving parts, and can shut down its own reactors without human help or interference. Since the TWR doesn’t require any nuclear enrichment, the risks and problems associated with handling spent fuel rods and storing nuclear waste are eliminated.
The hotter-burning Generation 4 technologies make a whole lot of sense. The TWR’s small reactors can be designed to burn liquid fluoride thorium, which is four times more available than uranium and doesn’t produce any long-lasting nuclear waste, since the waste is burned up. The liquid thorium could solve two problems at the same time by meeting the fuel needs of the TWR and burning up the existing supply of spent fuel rods. According to Dr. Myhrvold, " We could power the world for the next one thousand years just burning and disposing of the depleted uranium and spent fuel rods on today’s stockpiles.”
Terra Power, Toshiba, and Westinghouse are also developing a Generation 4 small modular reactor called the SMR. The SMR, which is about the size of a refrigerator, can be manufactured, assembled, and sealed at a controlled assembly plant. These reactors are designed to operate for decades—some models have a sixty-year service life—and can safely store their own spent fuel. The size of the reactor makes it much easier to cool, and it also uses less fuel.
Unlike conventional reactors, SMRs can be installed underground, which makes them less susceptible to earthquake damage, and when they reach the end of the line, they can be safely returned to the factory for dismantling and disposal. Apparently, some models even come with their own sealed burial casks. Several SMRs are also designed to run on thorium rather than uranium.
Terra Power, in collaboration with the Gates Foundation, wanted to invent a safe, cost-effective, and convenient power supply that can be built, buried, and forgotten. When the SMR technology is eventually approved, it will be used not only in the United States but also in the developing world, where dams, windmills, and electric distribution grids are too time consuming and costly to erect.
When the peddlers of doom, gloom, and fear are hawking their wares of “scarcity, scarcity, and scarcity” at the top of their lungs, it’s prime time for brave, forward-thinking, and creative folks to articulate a message of hope, possibility, and abundance. I wonder just how far advanced we would already be, had we not wasted so much of our efforts and ingenuity trying to prove why such ideas of nuclear power possibilities would not work. My bet is, that we would have already been several generations ahead of where we are presently. But thanks to you, President Eisenhower, for your bold dream to harness the power of the atom for peaceful purposes. There is no scarcity of energy!
Next Week: Confessions of an Economist Part 2: (continued)
I BELIEVE . . . STEWARDSHIP OF LIFE Part 4: The leveling Question of the Ages (Continuation of the Joseph Story)
(cont.) Joseph had no way of even imagining the wrath and vengeance of a rejected woman. But, with clear insight, he refused her advances on two grounds:
His relationship with Potiphar
His relationship with God
“My Master trusts me with everything in the entire household; he himself has not more authority here than I have! He has held back nothing from me except you yourself because you are his wife. How can I do such a wicked thing as this? It would be a great sin against God.” (Gen. 39:8-9 TLB)
Mrs. Potiphar’s aging ego could not tolerate the thought of rejection. After all, . . . who did this young slave boy think he was? She was “Mrs. Somebody” . . . he was Mr. Nobody.” He should have been flattered by her proposition. Certainly, all he needed was a little help to overcome his apparent stuffy idealism. In a moment of insistence, she desperately grabbed hold of his coat. But she had totally misjudged the uncompromising character of Joseph. As he broke away and fled, he left her holding his coat – circumstantial evidence that she would later use in her accusation of rape.
Such a charge would certainly mean quick death for Joseph by his master: a man who killed people for a living – the king’s chief executioner.
Well, Joseph . . .
What’cha Gonna Do with What’cha Got?
Why were all those bizarre situations being deposited into Joseph’s Trust Account? Was it possible that God had a plan? Could God see from His vantage point that His promise to Abraham . . . that he would become a great nation . . . would, of necessity, be fulfilled through the TRUSTWORTHINESS of his great-grandson Joseph? Perhaps, it was possible that –
God had to take Joseph to those depths – so that – when he later took him to great heights, he would not get dizzy and fall.
Instead of sudden death, Joseph was thrown into prison, . . . on a charge of which he knew he was not guilty. While there, he realized that he had reacted correctly. To have given in to the illicit desire for self-gratification would have been to yield to the spirit of greed. And somehow, he knew that:
God’s Economy Was Not Based on Greed.
Joseph also realized that:
God Had Guaranteed to Take Care of All His Personal
Needs as Trustee as Long as He was Faithfully
Administrating His Trust Account.
Even in jail Joseph remained sensitive to his administrative responsibilities. He maintained a good, positive attitude and believed in the multiplication of God’s protection and guidance. Joseph knew that:
God’s Multiplication Would Begin with His own Subtraction.
Therefore, he purposefully subtracted his own personal rights to attitudes of.
Bitterness
Disappointment, and
Discouragement
But, even with a good attitude, he still had to remain in his circumstances . . . he had to stay in jail:
It Was Up to God to Determine the AMOUNT, KIND and
TIMING of The Compensating Balances.
Joseph released the results of the future, knowing that he was only accountable for the present inventory of his Trust Account:
What’cha Gonna Do with What’cha Got?
For two years Joseph proved himself a Trustworthy Administrator while in jail:
In fact, the jailer soon handed over the entire prison administration to Joseph, so that all the other prisoners were responsible to him. The chief jailer had no more worries after that. For Joseph took care of everything, and the Lord was with him so that everything ran smoothly and well. (Gen. 39:22-23, TLB)
One day, he received two prisoners from the king’s court. They were in trouble. While they were there, they both had dreams they did not understand. Joseph realized that:
Deposited Into His Trust Account Was Exactly
What Someone Around Him Needed.
He knew God would help him again interpret dreams – he had done it before. He interpreted the dreams with precise accuracy. The chief butler was returned to his position and the chief baker completely lost his head. As the chief butler left the jail, Joseph asked him to have Pharaoh review his case. He requested that he put in a good word for him and suggest to Pharaoh that he be freed, since he was innocent of any wrongdoing. But sure enough, the butler forgot, and Joseph stayed in jail for another two years.
One night, however, it was Pharaoh’s turn to dream. As he explained his dreams to his wise men and fortune-tellers, they all admitted they had not the power to interpret his dreams. Only then did the court butler remember Joseph, the young Hebrew in Potiphar’s jail who had correctly interpreted his dream two years prior. Joseph was called before the king, told of the dreams, and was asked if he could interpret them. He publicly recognized God as the Source and relinquished his rights to any personal acclaim:
“ I can’t do it by myself . . .but God will tell you what it means! (Gen. 41:16, TLB)
Joseph then proceeded to explain to Pharaoh the meaning of his dreams:
7 years of abundance
7 years of famine
He then suggested to the king that the wisest man in Egypt should be set in charge of the operation of grain storage for the first seven years and grain distribution for the next seven years. All the king’s men quickly agreed that Joseph, obviously, should be that man!
Well, Joseph . . .
What’cha Gonna Do with What’cha Got?
In 1686 B.C. Joseph, at the age of 30, was made the second most powerful man in Egypt, second only to Pharoah himself. With that position of power, he had the perfect opportunity for revenge on Potiphar and his wretched wife. But again, Joseph was:
Able to LOOK Beyond the Immediate and
Deal with the Real Issue.
He relinquished his right to revenge and recognized the reality that:
God’s Economic Success Would Cost Him Everything
He Held Closer to Him Than God’s Plan.
Joseph had proven himself a Trustworthy Administrator in small things, and now, God had entrusted to him the fate of an entire nation. He responded with an equal amount of TRUSTWORTHYNESS in his new assignment and became honored and respected throughout the land.
Actually, God had not just entrusted Joseph with the fate of one nation . . .but with the ultimate fate of many nations.
After the seven years of plenty, Joseph had stored more grain than the Egyptians could inventory. But the seven years of plenty came scorchingly to an end, and the people of the known world began to feel the effects of the famine.
From all over, the people began coming to Joseph to buy food from his granaries. Among those who came bowing at the feet of Joseph, asking to buy grain, were 10 men from Canaan. Immediately he recognized the men – his brothers – but they did not recognize him. There they were . . . the men who plotted to kill him over 20 years earlier . . . the ones who had sold him into slavery . . . the ones who had ripped his coat to shreds, had soaked it in lamb’s blood, and had given it to his old father telling him that surely some wild animal had killed his favorite son. There they were, delivered into Joseph’s hands like a batch of three-week-old mice in the paws of a Siamese cat.
Well, Joseph . . .
What’cha Gonna Do with What’cha Got?
Joseph once again relinquished his right to revenge and retaliation and quickly decided on a plan to ultimately salvage the entire family from starvation. Without revealing his identity to his brothers, he began implementing that plan which took an entire year to accomplish. With five years of the famine left, Joseph revealed himself to his family, reconciled the scars of the past, and sent for the entire Israeli family of 70 to join him in Egypt. Where did they settle? Well, Land o’ Goshen, of course – the most fertile, delta area of Egypt. There, protected and sheltered by the strength of Egypt, the little group of 70 Israelis began to grow and multiply.
In the meantime, Joseph continued to skillfully administer the Egyptian wealth. Before long, he became the greatest trader in the known world. He became the
Grand Barter Master.
By the time the famine was scarcely into its third year, the people came to Joseph with an interesting problem. They had no more money. . . they had given it all to him in exchange for grain. Realizing that he controlled the monetary systems of the known world, Joseph suggested that they begin trading him all their livestock for the desired grain. That seemed to make sense to them. If Joseph owned the livestock, then he would have to feed them, and they would have more left over to feed their hungry families. By the end of the fourth year of famine, Joseph controlled not only all the monetary systems of the known world but also all of the livestock.
Next, the people came to Joseph and explained that they had no more money and no more livestock to trade. . . but they did have real estate. For the fifth and sixth years of the famine, the people brought their warranty deeds to their properties and exchanged them for food . . . until Joseph also controlled all the land for Egypt.
In the final stages of the famine, the people came from all over and told Joseph of their starving families back home, how the old folks were dying from lack of food, and how the children’s tummies were expanded by malnutrition. They told Joseph that the only thing they had left to trade was themselves and they would pledge themselves in servitude for the remainder of their lives if only Joseph would feed them. Joseph was happy to share his storehouse of supply in exchange for their loyalty to Egypt. Joseph now had control over all the monetary systems, all the livestock, all the real estate, and all the people . . . not a bad position. And, when the famine was over, he gave grain to all to plant. He required them to keep all but 20 percent for themselves. That 20 percent would be perpetually owed to Pharoah.
With God’s wisdom, Joseph had engineered a successful economy for Egypt that would give protection and remain stable for the required 430 years . . . until the night when Moses would lead out of Egypt back to Canaan not just a band of 70 Israelis but a full-grown nation of 600,000 men, as well as women and children. God had kept His promise to Abraham to make him into a mighty nation like the stars in the sky and the sand on the seashore. And God was able to fulfill that promise to Abraham through the absolutely surrendered life of Joseph. It was never a point of confusion in Joseph’s mind as to his true Source. He realized that he was an important part – but none-the-less – only a part, in GOD’S AMAZING ECONOMY.
The principle was still the same. . . God to People . . . People to People.
Said Joseph to his brothers,
God turned into good what you meant for evil, for he brought me to this high position I have today – So That – I could save the lives of many people. (Gen. 50:20, TLB)
Joseph’s life became the unquestionable testimony that:
God Can Do a Lot with a Little
IF – He Has All There is of It!
Well, friend . . . it’s now your turn to take a deep breath, square those stately shoulders, forget the past, look intently into the future, and answer the ageless question that demands to be answered by every person born . . .
What’cha Gonna Do with What’cha Got?
Next Week: Confessions of an Economist
I BELIEVE . . . STEWARDSHIP OF LIFE Part 3: The Leveling Question of the Ages: What'cha Gonna Do with What'cha Got?
The deeper I dive into the research and possibilities of a life of Christian stewardship that has been made available to me while I am here on this earth, the more I am astounded and overwhelmed. God has actually extended an invitation to me – personally-- to become a partner with the One who created and presently owns everything that exists! Let that sink in!
He has allowed me to step right up and participate in receiving the Direct Gifts and the by-products of the Gift Exchange program to satisfy and fulfill every need that I will have while living my lifetime here on earth.
Then, that awesome Benefactor has personally invited me to enter into an Agency Agreement with Him that virtually gives me a Power of Attorney which endows me to enter into transactions here and now, where I have the ability to negotiate those deals and ask for anything that my Heavenly Partner would have asked for if He would have actually been here in the flesh.
But there is even more! He then makes me a Trustee. . . where all that estate and inheritance is deposited into my “Trust Account.” And it is deposited there with the full intent to be distributed out in order to benefit the kingdom of God! It is all placed there to be administered by the trustee for the distinct and intended benefit of others. I have been given the opportunity to be that “Trustworthy Administrator.” I become well equipped and able to be generous on every occasion. What an overwhelming thought – that I am being counted on to be an integral part of this Eternal Plan for meeting the needs of others around me!
When we begin to fully understand the awesome possibilities of such an arrangement between the God of the universe and members of His highest creation – we are faced with an ultimatum – a set of terms issued by the Creator, the misappropriation or the rejection of which may lead to a severance of relations. Yes, we are faced with the greatest leveling question of all ages:
What’cha Gonna Do with What’cha Got?
Welcome to the exercise of eternal choice – “Here is what you have been given and what you possess: NOW, what are you going to do with it?” It is up to me to decide what I will do with what I have. How I respond to that choice will determine my lifestyle -- both here and hereafter:
What’cha Gonna Do with What’cha Got?
To the person whom we would adjudge as having very little of this world’s talents and treasures, the question still comes:
What’cha Gonna Do with What’cha Got?
To the person who seems to have a controlling grasp on information systems, industry, energy, Hollywood entertainment, real estate, media and communications, politics, retail commerce, investments, and social clout, the question is still the same:
What’cha Gonna Do with What’cha Got?
How you individually answer that leveling question will determine your quality of character and your life. We have stated earlier that what we refer to as HISTORY is the mere recordation of how people – just like you and me – have responded to that penetrating question.
No one can escape the question because it is so intricately woven into the very fabric of life. Life’s pattern is then determined by the behavior of the one answering the question:
What’cha Gonna Do with What’cha Got?
One of the most dramatic designs ever woven into the fabric of a human was woven into the life of a man named . . .
*JOSEPH*
At an early age Joseph received into his Trust Account some very interesting possessions. He inherited a set of circumstances that, even on the surface, spelled trouble.
Joseph was 1 of 12 sons born to the old patriarch, Jacob. He was 1 of 2 sons born to Jacob’s favorite wife, Rachel. Leah, Rachel’s sister, was Jacob’s not-so-favorite wife.
As you will recall, Jacob had received Leah as a “surprise package” from her father, Laban. Jacob, thinking he had married lovely Rachel at the previous night’s ceremony, woke up to the sunlight of the honeymoon’s first morning and – what a surprise! What a great way to start out a new marriage: with the wrong girl! He had married Leah, not Rachel!
Well, for Jacob the situation was about like that of the fellow who proposed to his girl in a garage . . . and then couldn’t back out. But Jacob was intent on acquiring the lovely Rachel (in addition to Leah). So, he had his credit card limits increased, contracted for seven years of installment payments, and went into debt for his new capital improvement . . . lovely Rachel. But Leah would not give up that easily. She thoroughly enjoyed being married to Jacob and set out to win his love and respect through the procreation of many sons. The competition was “in tents” as both wives raced for Jacob’s favor. Can you imagine the stress level of that household? Such was the setting into which Joseph was born.
Well, Joseph . . .
What’cha Gonna Do with What’cha Got?
The competition of the wives was exaggerated into hatred in the children. Joseph’s half-brothers deeply resented the favoritism that was shown to Joseph by Jacob. Into Joseph’s Personal Portfolio of Possessions was placed a “coat of many colors” like the ones worn by priests and kings. Given to him as a gift from his father, it set him apart from the rest of the crowd – a prime target for hate. That smoldering hatred was fanned into a flame by another one of Joseph’s possessions. He dreamed dreams . . . about himself. But dreaming wasn’t inflammatory enough. He also possessed the ability to interpret his own dreams. When, through his interpretation, he notified his brothers that someday they would all bow down and pay homage to him, the hatred exploded.
Well, Joseph . . .
What’cha Gonna Do with What’cha Got?
In 1700 B.C., when Joseph was 16 years old, his little brother Benjamin was born. What a cute little kid! His very own little brother – only real “full” brother. But tragedy drowned out the excitement of that day. For with the birth of his little brother . . . came the death of his mother. The beautiful, highly favored Rachel was dead. Gone now was the security and protection of his esteemed mother. Gone was the tender love and understanding. Within the family he was now seen as a part of the competition that had lost. The unbridled resentment of his half-brothers now ran unchecked.
Into young Joseph’s Trust Account were being deposited circumstance that appeared to be absolutely ruinous.
Well, Joseph . . .
What’cha Gonna Do with What’cha Got?
But Joseph realized that: It’s not the set of circumstances in which you find yourself . . . but how you respond to those circumstances that makes all the difference in the world.
Scarcely more than one year later, when Joseph was 17 years old, he had the occasion to catch the full force of the blast furnace of his half-brothers’ hate. They had full intention of killing Joseph – but decided rather to market their hate for 20 pieces of silver.
No longer were they saying, “Listen to the kid . . . he’s a prophet.
Now they were determined to, “Sell the little kid . . . for a profit.
They sold Joseph as a slave to a passing camel caravan on its way to Egypt for half the price of a common slave. Joseph experienced the feelings of total rejection and contempt from those closest to him. He realized that they had carried out their murderous intent and, at the same time, had made money on his uncertain fate.
Well, Joseph . . .
What’cha Gonna Do with What’cha Got?
Upon arriving in Egypt, Joseph was sold as a slave to Potiphar – the captain of the king’s bodyguard and the king’s chief executioner. For nine years he faithfully served his master. His energy level was high – his administrative abilities were amazing – his priorities were chosen with the wisdom of a sage – and his character was as sterling as the purest silver.
The phenomenon of success was now being liberally dispensed into Joseph’s Trust Account. Where Joseph’s brothers had responded to their circumstances with expressions of jealousy, hatred, and murder, Joseph continually portrayed a remarkable spirit of courage, honesty, and confidence in God. His wholesome attitude was reflected in his work. He was reliable in his assignments and morally pure in his relationships.
Thank you, Joseph for faithfully answering when faced with the question . . .
What’cha Gonna Do with What’cha Got?
But Joseph’s real trials were just beginning. As he advanced in the administration of Potiphar’s house, he was thrown more and more into association with Potiphar’s wife. Joseph was a tall, dark, handsome young Hebrew of 26. Potiphar’s wife was pampered, impulsive, and bored with life. She began to zero in on Joseph -- targeting him for her illicit affections.
Well, Joseph . . .
What’cha Gonna Do with What’cha Got?
Next Week: You don't dare miss the rest of the Joseph story!
I BELIEVE . . . STEWARDSHIP OF LIFE Part 2: Components of my Stewardship Privilege: The Gift Exchange - The Agency Agreement - The Trust Account
I. “The Gift Exchange”
Everything you possess in your estate today came to you as a result of a Direct Gift or a Gift Exchange. We learn from the earliest writers of the Old Testament that everything we have comes from God:
Everything we have has come from you, and we only give you what is yours already! (I Chron. 29: 14 TLB)
So, what in the world is my “estate”? Who told you that I have an “inheritance”?
A quick trip to Black’s Law Dictionary will inform us that an estate is: “. . . a word of the greatest extension, and comprehends every species of property, real and personal” . . . like – everything!
It describes inheritance as: “. . . an estate in things . . . descending to the heir.” In other words, your inheritance is everything you have received from someone else.
If someone approached you and asked, “How did you get everything you have today?” You would probably reply rather quickly, “I worked for it, Dummy – how’d you get yours?”
You are to be commended for your honesty! But perhaps, the question could be answered with a little more depth. More accurately, it could be stated: “You TRADED for all your acquired possessions.”
When you get up in the morning and start your work day for that favorite employer of yours, you simply exchange your skills and time for something known as a paycheck which you give to some kind of a banking institution that allows you to parcel out amounts that you then exchange with other individuals or enterprises, for things you want and need. You may alter this routine at times, but basically, the principle is fundamental.
But as you trace the steps backward, you still come again to the ultimate question . . . “Where did you get the basic commodities that you used as trading material for everything else you wanted and needed?” Short answer – THEY WERE GIVEN TO YOU.
You did not purchase your time allotment which you now hold as a possession . . . It was given to you.
You did not negotiate for your basic physical characteristics . . .You inherited them.
You did not bargain on the open market for your basic intellectual capacities . . . You received them as a gift.
You did not ardently go to battle and finally win the power to choose . . . That power was given to you.
Even the environment in which you move and perform your trading activities came to you as . . . part of your inheritance.
It is of extreme importance for you to recognize that everything you now possess was received directly as a gift or was the by-product of a GIFT EXCHANGE.
One of the often-overlooked phrases used in Christ’s parable of the “Talents” (Matthew 25:14-30), reveals the true origin of all possessions: “To one HE GAVE five talents: To one HE GAVE two: To one HE GAVE one. The simple but all-encompassing phrase, “HE GAVE,” can be traced to the beginning of time . . . the complex concept, “HE GAVE,” reaches beyond the limitation of our imagination.
Ultimately, there is only one source of all possessions, one “sole proprietor” of all that exists, whether ordinary or yet to be discovered. That one sole proprietor is Jehovah God – “Yahweh” – the One who describes himself as: “I am that I am” – equally: past, present, and future:
The Giver of every Good and Perfect Gift.
II. “The Agency Agreement”
Now that we have established the notions of your estate, and also your inheritance, let’s discover what we can about your agency agreement.
An Agent, says Black’s Law Dictionary, is a person authorized by another to act for him -- one entrusted with another’s business who undertakes to manage the affair and to render to him an account thereof. In Christ’s teachings, while he was here on earth, we are given a great example of the agency concept:
“I appointed you to go and produce lovely fruit always, so that no matter what you ask for from the Father, using my name, he will give it to you.” (John 15:16 TLB)
The term “using my name” is simply the carrying out of the Agency relationship. It is a “power of attorney” to do as His (Jesus’) agent, what He would do, what He would say, what He would request, if He were here personally.
The definition of a “Power of Attorney” is: a written document given by one person or party to another, authorizing the latter to act for the former in specified matters.
And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus. (Colossians 3:17 NIV)
And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father. (John 14:13 NIV)
Until now you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask and you will receive and your joy will be complete. (John 16:24 NIV)
An Agency relationship has been established between Christ and his chosen believers. We are to carry out Christ’s Will here on earth just as if He were here; himself – in person.
But let the Agent be put on notice: Make certain that whatever it is that you are asking for, is what Jesus Christ would have asked for. If you endeavor to acquire and accumulate things for your own selfish manipulation or consumption alone, you will be breaching your fiduciary responsibility. If you use your “power of attorney” to ask for things that Christ would not have asked for, the situation could result in your being charged with forgery.
You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it. (John 14:14 NIV)
Wow! The whole idea of the “Agency Agreement” in relationship with God, Himself, is enough to stretch your mind and challenge your heart! It also makes me think about the tremendous responsibility that goes along with my Life of Stewardship!
III. “The Trust Account”
It was an amazing day when it vividly dawned on me that it is possible that all that I possess has been given to me . . . and I am simply a Trustee. . . all my estate and inheritance has been deposited into my “Trust Account.” And it had been deposited there with the full intent to be distributed out in order to benefit the kingdom of God!
When that insight dawned on me, I went back to Black’s Law dictionary to find out for myself. I looked under “Trust” . . .
Trust: A right of property, real or personal, held by one party for the benefit of another. A confidence reposed in one person, who is termed the trustee, for the benefit of another. . . Any arrangement whereby property is transferred with intention that it be administered by the trustee for another’s benefit.
Oh, my goodness! . . .What a concept – Is it really possible that all those things listed in my “Inventory Portfolio” were placed there by God, either directly or through a “gift exchange” not for my enjoyment alone, but also for the benefit of others?
I then went to God’s Word and found:
You will be made rich in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion . . .
(2 Corinthians 9:11 NIV)
I took special note of the “so that” which revealed the true motivation for accumulation:
God
· Sole Proprietor
· Owner and Grantor of Everything
Deposits Certain Things into My
TRUST ACCOUNT
Financial Inventory Relational Inventory
Personal Inventory Spiritual Inventory
Special Inventory
What I have inherited up to the present is what I have in my current inventory portfolio.
So, . . . back to Black’s Law Dictionary:
Trust: (continued) A fiduciary relation with respect to property, subjecting person by whom the property is held to equitable duties to deal with the property for the benefit of another person which arises as the result of a manifestation of an intention to create it. An obligation on a person arising out of confidence reposed in him to apply property faithfully and according to such confidence; as being in the nature of deposition by which proprietor transfers to another property of subject entrusted, not that it should remain with him, but that it should be applied to certain uses for the behoof of third party.
I didn’t know that a person could have a spiritual experience just reading a Law Dictionary! But I was beginning to clearly understand that this is not an option but a mandate. It talked of obligation . . . and confidence:
So, God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. And God blessed them, and God said unto them: Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth. (Genesis 1:27-28 KJV)
The apostle Paul posed a penetrating question to his friends in Corinth:
What do you have that God hasn’t given to you? (I Cor. 4:7 TLB)
Obviously, the answer is . . . NOTHING! Everything I have in my inventory portfolio, ultimately came as a bestowment from God. But that bestowment brings with it an obligation. A “fiduciary relationship” is created:
So, . . . back to Black’s Law Dictionary:
Fiduciary Capacity: . . . when the business which he transacts, or the money or property which he handles, is not his own for his own benefit, but for the benefit of another person, as to whom he stands in a relation implying and necessitating great confidence and trust on the one part and a high degree of good faith on the other part.
We have been given our inheritance for a reason. God, the Owner of everything, deposits into our Trust Account not only sufficiency for meeting our own needs, but inventory portfolios which are expressly for the benefit of others. Without his generous deposits, we would be hopelessly destitute.
Consider for a moment the confidence that God expressed in you, when he deposited your inheritance into your Trust Account believing that you would respond to that arrangement as a “Trustworthy Administrator.” He is counting on you as an integral part of his plan for meeting the needs of others around you. If you fail in your TRUSTEE responsibility, the whole plan suffers. But as you faithfully respond and others faithfully respond, then God’s plan has a chance to function efficiently.
**So, the inventory in your Trust Account is to be Administrated by You, the Trustee, for the Benefit of Others:
Tell them to use their money to do good. They should be rich in good works and should give happily to those in need, always being ready to share with others whatever God has given them. (I Tim. 6:18 TLB)
For God, who gives seed to the farmer to plant, and later on, good crops to harvest and eat, will give you more and more seed to plant and will make it grow SO THAT you can give away more and more fruit from your harvest. (2 Corinth. 9:10 TLB)
**As You, the Trustee, Transfer inventory out of your Trust Account into the Trust Accounts of Others, God Makes Compensating Deposits into your Trust Account . . . thus Allowing you to Give Even More into the Trust Accounts of Others:
Now it is required that those who have been given a trust must prove faithful. (I Corinth. 4:2 NIV)
For the man who uses well what he is given shall be given more, and he shall have abundance. (Matt. 25:29 TLB)
Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. (Luke 6:38 NIV)
There is no need for God to make a compensating deposit into your Trust Account until you have made a Trust Account Transfer (TAT) into the account of another.
**God Determines the AMOUNT, KIND and TIMING of the Compensating Deposits . . . the Trustee is Only Responsible for the Current Inventory in the Account.
If you are really eager to give, then it isn’t important how much you have to give. God wants you to give what you have, not what you haven’t. (2 Cor. 8:12 TLB)
Many people become disillusioned and even bitter because they try to dictate to God the AMOUNT, KIND and TIMING of the compensating deposits. Relax into the awareness that God has everything under control. God is so creative, and He knows exactly what He needs you to have in your TRUST ACCOUNT. What is it that you are going to do with what you have?
Recall what God’s response was to Moses when he was in need of a great miracle in escaping Egypt and Pharaoh – “What is that in your hand, Moses?” Concentrate on how you are going to manage what it is that you have and not what you haven’t.
**God Has Guaranteed to Take Care of All Your Personal Needs as Trustee as Long as You Are Faithfully Administrating Your Trust Account.
Now unto him that is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us . . . (Ephes. 3:20 KJV)
Day by day the Lord observes the good deeds done by godly men, and gives them eternal rewards. He cares for them when times are hard; even in famine, they will have enough . . .I have been young and now I am old. And in all my years I have never seen the children of the godly go hungry. Instead, the godly are able to be generous with their gifts and loans to others, and their children are a blessing. (Psa. 37:18-19, 25-26 TLB)
**A Neglected Opportunity for a Trust Account Transfer (TAT) Negates the Necessity of a Compensating Deposit.
It is possible to give away and become richer! It is also possible to hold on too tightly and lose everything. Yes, the liberal man shall be rich! By watering others, he waters himself. (Prov. 11:24-25 TLB)
**As a Faithful Trustee, Your Trust Account Is Guaranteed Never to Be Declared “Bankrupt.”
The good news is that you will always have something in your Trust Account that you can share with someone around you:
But my God shall supply all your needs according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus. (Phil. 4:19 KJV)
The Lord will give you abundance of good things in the land, just as he promised: many children, many cattle, and abundant crops. He will open to you his wonderful treasury of rain in the heavens, to give you fine crops every season. He will bless everything you do; and you shall lend to many nations . . . (Deuteronomy 28:11-13 TLB)
Those who love and follow me are indeed wealthy. I fill their treasuries. (Prov. 8:21TLB)
Bring all the tithes into the storehouse so that there will be food enough in my Temple; if you do, I will open up the windows of heaven for you and pour out a blessing so great you won’t have room enough to take it in! “Try it! Let me prove it to you! Your crops will be large, for I will guard them from insects and plagues. Your grapes won’t shrivel away before they ripen,” says the Lord of Hosts. “And all nations will call you blessed, for you will be a land sparkling with happiness. These are the promises of the Lord of Hosts.” (Malachi 3:10-12 TLB)
**Deposited into Your Trust Account Is Exactly What Someone Around You Needs.
Tell those who are rich not to be proud and not to trust in their money, which will soon be gone, but their pride and trust should be in the living God who always richly gives us all we need for our enjoyment. Tell them to use their money to do good. They should be rich in good works and should give happily to those in need, always being ready to share with others whatever God has given them. (I Timothy 6:17-18 TLB)
. . . but you should divide with them. Right now, you have plenty and can help them; then at some other time they can share with you when you need it. In this way each will have as much as he needs. (2 Corinth. 8:14 TLB)
How is your sensitivity level to God’s will as it relates to the needs of those around you?
**If You Try to Selfishly Hoard That Which Has Been Deposited into Your Trust Account, It Will Become “Miser’s Manna” and Will Turn into Rot!
For unless you are honest in small matters, you won’t be in large ones. If you cheat even a little, you won’t be honest in greater responsibilities. And if you are untrustworthy about worldly wealth, who will trust you with the true riches of heaven? (Luke 16:10-11 TLB)
Do you remember the interesting episode that occurred during the exodus of Moses and the children of Israel? God had promised that He would provide for His people. When they needed direction, He sent a cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night to guide them. When they were thirsty, God had Moses strike a rock with that humble rod, and water poured out. When people became hungry, God produced a phenomenal product called “manna” which looked a lot like early morning frost and tasted like honey bread. God instructed them that they did not need to be apprehensive about the sufficiency of the Source or greedy in their gathering. God assured them that there would always be enough to meet their needs.
However, taking God at His word doesn’t always seem to be the natural course for mankind. Sure enough, their fears found them fetching and hoarding more than they needed. And when they went back to their hoarded treasure, they found not “manna” but only mildew and maggots!
WHAT A SURPRISE -- WHAT AN AWSOME TRUTH!
Whenever you get a blessing from God, give it back to Him as a love gift. Take time to meditate before God and offer the blessing back to Him in a deliberate act of worship. If you hoard a thing for yourself it will turn into spiritual dry rot, as the manna did when it was hoarded. God will never let you hold a spiritual thing for yourself, it has to be given back to Him that He may make it a blessing to others. (Oswald Chambers)1
I am so very thankful for the personal privilege of the Stewardship of Life opportunity, along with the three Components of such a privilege: The Gift Exchange, The Agency Agreement, and The Trust Account.
Next Week: Stewardship of Life Part 3: The Leveling Question
I BELIEVE . . . STEWARDSHIP OF LIFE Part 1: Does God Have an Economy?
INTRODUCTION
We began this journalistic adventure by articulating some of the intriguing aspects of the phenomenon called “Goodness.” As I was finishing writing my thoughts and observations regarding “goodness,” our faithful readers of my weekly blog, began responding online. They began asking that I further explain the precepts behind the idea of goodness, e.g., where does goodness originate? How can I pursue and obtain goodness? How can I help my friends better understand the idea of goodness?
So, I agreed to try to put into our common vernacular, some of the basic concepts of our religious beliefs. For the next 25 or 30 weeks I endeavored to distill into simple language, some of the basic biblical teachings that I have personally embraced over the years.
Needless to say, that became a far more involved task than I had anticipated. The more I got into trying to simply state my beliefs, the more I began to realize the absolute need for all of us to put down in our own vernacular what it is that we believe. There just aren’t very many people in our present culture who can simply and consistently articulate what it is that they believe. In fact, most folks don’t even have a clue as to where to go to find out where truth is even available.
Many of you are aware that I am an economist and a businessman. As I was trying to finish stating what I personally believe, I knew I needed to include what I personally believe regarding biblical truths and the subject of personal stewardship of life. God has freely shared his economic truths with us and his corresponding expectations for us.
God is the Author of Light -- the God of order, -- and not the author of confusion. He is eager to help us understand the biblical principles of stewardship and economics if we will make ourselves available to learn.
So, in this final section, I will try to simply articulate what “I Believe . . .” about Stewardship of Life, and God’s Economy:
PERSONAL STEWARDSHIP AND GOD’S ECONOMY
In my very first prize-winning economics book: “What’cha Gonna Do With What’cha Got,” published in 1982, I was unsophisticated and impulsive enough to simply ask the question, “Does God have an economy?” I came to the conclusion that, “Yes, indeed, God has an economy.”
The subject of economics is a study in making good decisions. That’s why the economics practitioners rely so heavily on charts and graphs and production functions. We need all the help we can get in order to make good choices! I had a feeling that God’s prescribed principles of economics were certainly not new, but, for the most part, they had been neglected and needed to be rediscovered. Should they be rediscovered, implemented, and adhered to, they could very well help us live with increased economic freedom and fulfillment.
Allow me to share here with you my short summary of the “Six Principles of God’s Economy” that I included as part of the book, back in 1982, “What’cha Gonna Do With What’cha Got?”
Principle #1: God Has Given:
God has already given – He gave first! Upon that truth rests the balance of the entire economic system. Everything that you have and enjoy has been given by God. He requires nothing from you that He has not already given to you:
The earth belongs to God! Everything in all the world is his! (Psalm 24:1, TLB)
O Lord, what a variety you have made! And in wisdom you have made them all! The earth is full of your riches. (Psalm 104:24, TLB)
Provisionally, you have everything you will ever need to fulfill God’s plan in your life.
My God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus. (Phil. 4:19, KJV)
God is not just the historical Giver, But He is actively involved in presently giving everything to you that you will ever need to become all that He ever had in mind for you to do and be. God is the source – everything else is a resource.
Principle #2: God Is Looking for a People:
God’s economy is not a “closed economy” – but the good news is that it’s an “open economy” and God has always had a people who were convinced enough of his integrity that they were willing to risk their lives and possessions on his economic principles. He is eager to locate those people today, so that he can live out his life and ministry through them. In fact, the relentless search is going on even today:
For the eyes of the Lord search back and forth across the whole earth, looking for a people whose hearts are perfect toward him, so that he can show his great power in helping them. (2 Chron. 16:9, TLB)
Principle #3: God’s Economy is Not Based on Greed:
“Greed” is the spirit of “me first – regardless of the cost or consequences.” That spirit is in direct opposition to the spirit set forth in God’s economy. However, even though it is in direct opposition, greed is not always clearly identifiable to the observer. Sometimes you can see it – sometimes you cannot. But you can be assured, that harbored selfishness will sooner or later surface into observable behavior:
The kingdom of Christ and of God will never belong to anyone who is impure or greedy, for a greedy person is really an idol worshipper – he loves and worships the good things of this life more than God. (Ephes. 5:5, TLB)
When you go after something with the motive of greed, that which you receive is different from that which you thought you were going to receive. It’s always twisted on you – thus, the life of disillusionment. The Bible is absolutely full of examples of this principle. But you can rest in the fact that:
Purity is best demonstrated by generosity. (Luke 11:41, TLB)
God has already generously given, and he is eagerly looking for a people characterized by their giving not their grabbing.
Principle #4: God Always Repays When You Give . . .but You Don’t “Give to Get”:
I have to admit, that as an economist, I have to chuckle to myself when I hear a TV or Internet fundraiser suggest that if you will send a substantial donation to him or her, that God is under obligation to give you back a “hundred-fold” in return . . . “you plant one seed of corn with me and my program today, and God will grow you a whole ear of corn-seeds for yourself tomorrow.” It is so true – yet so false!
There is no little booklet on “Ten Easy Lessons How to Bring God to the Bargaining Table, whereby, You Can Give Him a Little Bit and Force Him to Give You a Bunch, so that You Can Live Selfishly Ever After” – no such book! But the Scripture says:
And who could ever offer to the Lord enough to induce him to act?” (Romans 11:35, TLB)
Obviously, the answer is “no one.” God owns it all anyway and cannot be bribed, manipulated, of blackmailed. It is certain that God always repays when you give – but you don’t “Give to Get” in God’s economy.
Oswald Chambers, in his book: “My Utmost for His Highest” states:
Our Lord replies in effect, that abandonment is for Himself and not for what the disciples themselves will get from it. Beware of an abandonment which has a commercial spirit in it . . . If we only give up something to God because we want more back, there is nothing of the Holy Spirit in our abandonment; it is miserable commercial self-interest. 1
The principles of God’s economy are much deeper than the surface, selfish syndrome of “getting.” But there is a possibility of entering into a relationship with God where you give to him, and you don’t care if he ever gives it back to you in like-kind or even in this life-time. It is a relationship that the old prophet Habakkuk was trying to explain to the people of his day . . . a relationship that is based on the integrity of God and a confidence that God is who he says he is and that he presently has everything under control:
Even though the fig trees are all destroyed, and there is neither blossom left nor fruit, and though the olive crops all fail, and the fields lie barren; even if the flocks die in the fields and the cattle barns are empty, yet I will rejoice in the Lord; I will be happy in the God of my salvation. (Habakkuk 3:17-18, TLB)Principle #5: God’s Multiplication Begins with Your Subtraction:
What a revolutionary concept! As you subtract your rights of ownership to what you possess, God has the opportunity to bless and multiply it for His purposes.
That principle sounds strange when first presented. If you want to find something, you must lose it. If you want to hold onto something, you must first surrender it. If you want to keep something you must relinquish it. That sounds strange.
King Solomon, however, found that principle very valid:
It is possible to give away and become richer! It is also possible to hold on too tightly and lose everything. (Proverbs 11:24, TLB)
He was not just talking in riddles. He was trying to communicate an extremely important principle. The things that you hold on to so tightly in life are the things that usually have a way of being squeezed right out from between your fingers. The tighter you squeeze . . . the more they slip through. But the things that you are willing to release are the things that multiply.
I have often used the example of Johnny Appleseed walking through the countryside of the New Frontier. Imagine, if he would have just walked around with a pocket full of apple seeds – “I’m the great Johnny Appleseed . . . I have a pocket full of apple seeds . . . as long as I have this pocket full of apple seeds, I’ll always be the great Johnny Appleseed.” The pioneers would have looked at him and adjudged him as being an “airhead.” But Johnny Appleseed knew that if the frontier countryside was to be covered with apple trees, he would have to take those seeds out of his grubby pocket, let go of them, bury them in the ground, and walk away. He couldn’t even go back 90 days later, dig them up, and see how they were doing. But, as he released his rights to them, the miracle took place.
I also think many times of the young lad who was willing to let go of his lunch that consisted of five little barley loaves and two small fish. He gladly gave them over to Jesus and then had the incredible opportunity to see his little lunch miraculously turn into enough food to feed 5,000-plus people on that Galilean hillside. Amazing!
As you gratefully release your possessions to God, he is able to bless and multiply them to the benefit of His Kingdom. If you are obedient to God and faithful with what he has entrusted to you – then God enjoys multiplying what he already owns for the sake of advancing his Kingdom business.
Principle #6: Success in God’s Economy Will Cost You Everything You Value More Than Him:
In God’s economy you are always admonished to sit down and count the cost. There is a cost that must be considered when dealing with God’s principles. As William Buckley once wisely observed:
“Idealism is fine, but as idealism approaches realism . . . the cost may become prohibitive.”
There are some folks who become aware of the cost and back away. The cost seems too prohibitive. There are others, however, who simply need someone to help them turn over the price tag so that they can more clearly understand the value and the true price.
Every situation of your life includes alternatives. You were faced with many alternatives even today. Alternatives demand choices. You must continually choose the alternative you most highly desire. The cost of the alternative you choose is the value of the next highest alternative that was foregone in selecting it. In other words, the cost is the value of the alternative you could have had but decided to do without. Those are opportunity costs.
Success in God’s economy will cost you the foregoing of those alternatives that are not consistent with His principles. And therein lies the beauty and excitement of the principles of God’s economic system – those COST choices actually become the entry ways into new opportunities and adventures of a life of true wealth and stewardship.
God has allowed us an opportunity to become partners and co-inheritors with Jesus Christ while we are still on this earth. We are given the distinct and unimaginable privilege of being Trustees and Stewards of heavenly wealth while we are still alive on this earth. What are some of the Components of such a privileged life of Stewardship?
Next Week: Part 2: Components of my Stewardship Privilege
I BELIEVE . . . TEMPTATION Part 2: Temptations Target the Physical, Psychical, and Spiritual
LEARNING FROM CHRIST’S EXPERIENCE WITH TEMPTATION
Temptations which are experienced as we live out our everyday lives, have a way of revealing a great deal about who we are and who we are becoming. They have a way of forcing us to crystalize our value system as we respond.
As Jesus lived out His life here on earth, He too, was allowed to undergo examination and experience temptation by Satan. As we study the temptations presented to Jesus and observe how He handled them, we can learn many helpful lessons.
Perhaps, one of the first lessons to be observed is that some of your most crucial temptations will follow immediately on the heels of a “spiritual high point.” Everything seems to be going along just fine. You are enjoying all the wonderful things afforded by the close walk with the Lord, and you are confident that life from this point forward will go on like this forever. Then. . . crash, bang! Another test.
I suppose that should not come to us as a total shock. For it is interesting to note that Christ’s period of great temptation followed a very observable “high point” in His life. It came immediately after the Holy Spirit visually descended upon Him and an audible announcement from the voice of God rang out from heaven saying:
This Is My Beloved Son, In Whom I Am Well Pleased. (Matt. 3:17 KJV)
That’s about as high a spiritual tide as you could imagine to catch and ride. But it was directly on the heels of that experience that Jesus was thrust onto His great testing ordeal. So, too, it is likely to be with us.
Another great lesson we can learn from Christ’s experience with temptation is that temptations come to us on different functional levels. They do not always appeal to the same areas of response. Satan appealed to Christ on three different levels of His existence.
THE PHYSICAL
Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. And after He had fasted forty days and forty nights, He then became hungry. And the tempter came and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.” But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.’” (Matt. 4:1-4 NASB)
Just from observation, it seems that Satan nearly always appeals on the level of the physical desires first. Such would be the case in the lives of Eve, Lot, Esau, King David, etc. If Satan can trip you up on this fundamental level, he needs go no further.
Satan appealed first to Christ on the physical (body) level. Christ was hungry: “Command that these stones become bread.”
The physical level is a very common level of temptation and often results in conflict in the Born-Again Christian’s life. Imagine every area of physical need that you might have and that is a potential area for temptation. The appeal is to satisfy the legitimate physical needs, such as physical appearance, sexual fulfillment, recreation, food, drink, cars, houses, etc., with an out-of-balance or perverted means.
THE PSYCHICAL
The second level of appeal targeted is the psychical level, i.e., the areas of the mind, emotions and the will:
Then the devil took Him into the Holy City; and he stood Him on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God throw Yourself down; for it is written, ‘He will give His angels charge concerning you; and on their hands they will bear Thee up, lest You strike Your foot against a stone.’” Jesus said to him, “On the other hand, it is written, ‘You shall not tempt the Lord your God.’” (Matt. 4:5-7 NASB)
Satan here is appealing to Christ’s psychical function, e.g., he “reasoned” with Him by actually quoting Scripture to Christ. Satan also was trying to persuade Jesus, through His emotions to do the “spectacular” – be a miracle worker – “jump off the roof!”
Satan secondly appealed to the psychical (soul) function of Christ, i.e., His mind, emotions, and will.
Satan, in this situation, is also trying to manipulate Christ into doubting God’s character. Today, Satan may appeal to you by selling you on the idea that, “since you belong to the Lord, nothing bad can happen to you.” That sets you up for drawing the conclusion when you do meet up with difficult situations that, obviously, God is not who He says He is and cannot be counted on to meet your expectations.
It is interesting to note here, that Christ lived His life here on earth in total obedience to God and never once required God to prove Himself.
Today, as in Christ’s time, the masses are hungry for mystery, miracle, and someone with charisma and a sense of authority to feed their longing for the “sensational.” The psychical level is very vulnerable to temptation from Satan.
THE SPIRITUAL
As you have learned previously in this study, you worship in Spirit and in Truth. Your spiritual is your heart function. You worship with your heart. Observe next, how Satan subtly heads with his temptation, directly toward the “control room” – the heart, as he tempts Christ:
Again, the devil took Him to a very high mountain, and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world, and their glory; and he said to Him, “All these things will I give you, if you will fall down and worship me.” Then Jesus said to him, “Begone, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God and serve Him only.’” Then the devil left Him; and behold, angels came and began to minister to Him. (Matt. 4:8-11 NASB) Satan wanted Jesus to worship him.
In the third temptation, Satan went directly after the spiritual (heart) function: “Worship me
This temptation for “misdirected worship” is the most subtle for every Christian alive. Even the most seasoned saint is susceptible at this point, for it deals with spiritual attitudes and intentions of the individual.
The old saint may not be bothered with illicit sexual gratification but watch out when he does not get his way on the church planning committee or does not get elected to the prestigious position.
This area of temptation deals with doing the “right” things for just the “wrong” reasons. It is an area where spiritual attitudes may manifest themselves in a vast array of varied forms – from self-pity all the way to spiritual pride. It is an area where we are forced to ask ourselves, “Why am I doing the things I am doing?”
The temptations of Christ, which we find recorded in the gospels, are included there for our personal instruction. We can learn from Christ’s responses and attitudes. We can likewise learn that we can expect to be tempted according to the different functional levels of our physical, psychical, and spiritual characteristics.
Another great insight that we can adopt is that Christ never answered Satan in any of His temptations with a single “no” answer that might have left the nagging temptation unrelieved. But rather, by the use of God’s Word, He gave a triumphant positive that totally swallowed up the negative. That technique and power is available for us to use today as we encounter our own temptations.
After dealing with the subject of the “necessity of temptation” you just might be tempted, yourself, to say – “Well now, if temptation is so necessary for growth in my life. . . if temptation is so good – then perhaps, I should go out and find some!” But Christ gives a very clear warning at this point when he makes the admonition to pray, “lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.” He also, specifically warns that we, “Watch and pray, lest ye enter into temptation.”
Temptation is not to be fooled with or taken lightly – much less with an unwise spirit of bravado. In dealing with temptation on any level, you must recognize the source of your strength and victory.
PRACTICAL APPLICATION
In this session on temptation, you have learned that confrontation is the facing of moral alternatives and that temptation is an endeavor to persuade you to actively select a certain alternative by means of argument and influence. You have also learned that temptation is: (1) Natural, (2) Neutral, and (3) Necessary.
Between you and the next level of spiritual maturation that God has designed for you, stands a situation that, of necessity, includes temptation.
When you have faced that real life and death struggle, one where the facts on the one hand, look so sweet, so sensible, and so secure – yet – on the other hand, there is an awareness of the simple, consistent “oughtness” of God’s persuasion – and when you have come through that situation having chosen what you know to be “right” – then, you move from a position of theory and “simple lip service to God,” to a position of whole-hearted willingness to obey Him regardless of the personal cost. “Confrontation” . . . yes. “Temptation” . . . yes. “Obedience. . . yes. “Conflict” . . . NO!
Next Week: Stewardship of Life Part 1: Does God have an economy?
I BELIEVE . . . TEMPTATION Part 1: The Christian Experience Includes Temptation
TEMPTATION AND THE VICTORIOUS LIFE
Throughout the years, many Christians have been robbed of their emanant victory on their spiritual journey because they experienced temptation along some line. It may have resulted from some well-meaning friend who told them that, “Christians just don’t have those kinds of thoughts.”
So, since in all honesty they knew that they had experienced such thoughts flitting their way through their minds on occasion, they deducted that there was something wrong with them spiritually. In fact, they may have been so disappointed in themselves for having such thoughts, that they concluded there was no chance of them ever living a victorious Christian life.
Before we move forward, let’s return to the graphic we studied earlier regarding the continuation process of the Christian experience:
The Christian experience is a journey. Life goes on after the Born-Again and Spirit-Filled episodes. In the continuation process you will always experience the confrontation of alternatives.
Alternatives are necessary. We rightly say that the power to choose is the greatest power given to us by God. But, without the presentation of alternatives, we could never exercise that power to choose.
Temptation is the “sales pitch” used to influence you to choose one or the other of the alternatives.
God is glorified through your life when you “on purpose” choose the righteous alternative. It is through the exercising of your power to choose that you select alternatives that determine your moral relationship with God.
Your character is the sum total of all those alternatives you have chosen. True Christian character is built one day at a time through successfully handling confrontation and temptation.
The outcome of temptation will always reveal the true source of your faith and the object of your dependence. The outcome of confrontation and temptation will also reveal your readiness level for your next installment of “insight-opportunity-obedience” that you learned about in the session on OBEDIENCE.
Confrontation, then, assists in your adventure of becoming all that God ever had in mind for you to become. It gives you an opportunity to crystallize your desires and by choice, determine your ultimate destiny.
The old Methodist theologian, John Wesley wrote:
In Him we have peace. In Him we have power!
Preserved by His grace throughout the dark hour.
In all our temptations He keeps us, to prove
His utmost salvation, His fulness of love.
It will be time well spent for us to investigate thoroughly this subject of temptation. For, how we recognize and react to temptation will determine our moral character.
Temptation is not to be taken lightly. For, within each occasion of temptation lies the seeds of potential moral conflict, defeat, and damnation.
DEFINITIONS
Consider the following definitions:
Tempt: (1) to put to trial, to test;
(2) to endeavor to persuade, to induce, incite
Persuade: to argue into an opinion or procedure
Induce: to move by persuasion of influence
Incite: arouse to action
Test: examination; subjection to conditions that show real character
Now, let’s synthesize these ideas into a functional definition of temptation:
TEMPTATION: An endeavor to persuade a person to actively select a certain alternative by means of argument and influence. (This usually carries the connotation of being tempted to do evil)
Confrontation is the presenting and facing of moral alternatives. Then comes an endeavor to persuade, induce, and incite you to choose one of the alternatives, i.e., temptation.
Conflict comes when you recognize that there is something inside you that wants both alternatives. During the process, you begin to identify first with one alternative, then the other alternative. That moral conflict is a clash, a struggle, a battle for mastery of your spiritual control center – your heart.
Be aware of the possibility that the process of confrontation, temptation, and conflict, will also affect your psychical and physical functions as well as your spiritual function. Temptation has a way of affecting every part of your existence.
The exercising or activating of your will is always the prerequisite for gaining peace, when it comes to confrontation, temptation and conflict. You must choose an alternative.
THREE SIGNIFICANT ASPECTS OF TEMPTATION
In this session we will be considering three important facets of temptation:
Temptation is NATURAL
Temptation is NEUTRAL
Temptation is NECESSARYTEMPTATION IS NATURAL
If you had not been born with certain natural desires, there would be no such thing as temptation in your life. Unless there is desire, there is no temptation. The reason that temptation is experienced by every person who has lived, is because every person who has lived has possessed needs and desires which require fulfillment.
Temptation always comes through your natural desires and functions, and you can rest assured that those natural desires and functions are universal and common:
No temptation has overtaken you but such is common to man; (I Cor. 10:13 NASB)
The problem lies in the fact that temptation is aimed at seeing to it that your universal and common need and desire is fulfilled and satisfied in a less-than-legitimate way.
Even if you are the most saintly of Spirit-Filled Christians, you still retain certain susceptibilities to temptation. Every natural, legitimate, lawful function is vulnerable and open to temptation at some point.
It has been stated previously throughout these sessions that, “God is to be glorified by your freely choosing righteousness.” That being the case, it is necessary for there to be a built-in subjection to a probationary position to see if, in fact, you will choose correctly. Temptation is a natural part of that program.
In the everyday situations of life, you are allowed to be exposed to confrontations where you will become aware of both alternatives, i.e., righteousness and evil. You will experience in a very real way the persuasion and convincing appeal of righteousness.
Temptation is a part of the formula, because there is no other way human obedience can be tested and perfected. God has allowed, however, for you to be subjected to this position with the inevitable cost of the possibility that you might choose evil and reject righteousness. But God has also promised that you need not fall to any illegitimate temptation, because for every temptation he has promised a way of escape and the availability of grace and strength sufficient to victoriously overcome any evil:
No temptation has overtaken you, but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, that you may be able to endure it. (I Cor. 10:13 NASB)
It is helpful to recognize that even though the experience of temptation is very common and universal, yet each individual temptation is “tailor-made” to your particular situation. Your most likely point of vulnerability will probably not be the same as that of the person next to you.
You are most susceptible at the point of your own affinity, i.e., your personal likes and dislikes, which will largely determine your potential areas of confrontation and temptation. You will usually be tempted in an area where you are most sensitive to a particular type of appeal. For example: You would not be tempted to cheat on your income tax if you had not made enough money that year to be required to fill out a tax form.
Perhaps, the most subtle and most dangerous temptations come when the evil solicitor enters in through little unobservable incidents, which seem to be nothing, yet open your heart to much greater temptations.
You can be sure that every temptation that confronts you comes because it exactly suits your condition. Satan knows you very well. He knows your likes and dislikes. He, therefore, is extremely successful in knowing exactly where and when to temp you. He will naturally use any avenue of moral or amoral desire as an occasion to persuade you to actively select an evil alternative that would pervert the good and take the keen edge off your spiritual relationship with God.
TEMPTATION IS NEUTRAL
Before we proceed with this section, let’s go back and review what we learned in the session on the Born-Again Life regarding our definition of “sin as an act.”
SIN 1. A willful transgression against a known law of God (James 4:17)
AS AN * which brings about *
ACT 2. Separation from God ( Isaiah 59:2)
Temptation, in and of itself, is not sin. Temptation is the “sales pitch” which appeals to the natural desire. The tempter engages persuasion, suggesting that it would be advantageous and enjoyable to pursue the situation. It sets up the opportunity for satisfying the natural desire in an illegitimate manner.
But each one is tempted when he is carried away and enticed by his own lust. Then when lust has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and when sin is accomplished, it brings forth death. (James 1:14-15 NASB)
James is saying here, that when wrong desire has conceived – that is, when man’s free will, his power of choice, has been married to the perverted use of that legitimate desire – when he has consented to it, and joined himself to it, then the child of that marriage (or result) is “SIN.”
Seeing that temptation is not sin has brought liberation to many Christians who have had unwarranted guilt and condemnation imposed upon them due to the misunderstanding of their instincts and desires. Usually, as a consequence, their Christian profession seemed hypocritical to them because they were feeling a secret contradiction to what they were claiming.
If the individual rejects the evil persuasion and is obedient and steadfast in alignment with God’s Will, then, that individual has not sinned. Temptation is neutral, waiting to be acted upon.
Jesus, during his life here on earth, was tempted – just as we are tempted. Yet, He rejected the temptation and chose righteousness and was therefore, without sin.
For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weakness, but one who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin. (Heb. 4:15 NASB)
TEMPTATION IS NECESSARY
Throughout the Scriptures we are not only foretold of the certainty of difficulties and temptations, but we are also instructed as to how we should handle those situations and the attitude expected from us when they become our lot:
Dear brothers, is your life full of difficulties and temptations? Then be happy, for when the way is rough, your patience has a chance to grow. So, let it grow, and don’t try to squirm out of your problems. For when your patience is finally in full bloom, then you will be ready for anything, strong in character, full and complete. (James 1:2-4 TLB)
Temptations met and mastered are the only high road to stabilization of character. For, character is the sum total of all the alternatives which you have chosen. There is no way that spiritual progress can take place without you choosing that alternative which is consistent with the desires and nature of the Holy Spirit:
We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials for, we know that they are good for us – they help us to learn to be patient. And patience develops strength of character in us and helps us trust God more and more each time we use it until finally our hope and faith are strong and steady. Then, when that happens, we are able to hold our heads high no matter what happens and know that all is well, for we know how dearly God loves us, and we feel this warm love everywhere within us because God has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with His love. (Romans 5:3-5 TLB)
As a Spirit-Filled Christian, you have a real advantage as you live out your spiritual journey. God has promised not only to help you desire what is right for your life by helping you know what He wants, but also, He has promised to be there and help you achieve the desired outcome.
. . . for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good. purpose. (Phil. 2:13 NIV)
You can depend upon God’s love and assistance to help you choose the correct alternative in every situation of temptation. Times of testing are essential to your progress and maturity. Christian maturity will not take place without choice. In order to have choice, there must be at least two alternatives presented. Those alternatives will be based on desires. Desires will ultimately be governed by your basic motivation. Basic motivation stems from your heart.
The heart is controlled by either carnal selfishness, or righteousness, i.e., the Holy Spirit. That is why it is so important for you to have a Spirit-filled and controlled life when it comes to dealing with temptation. The most effective way to combat and neutralize Satan’s “sales pitch” as he persuades you to choose his selected alternative is to be so filled and controlled by the Holy Spirit, that you move swiftly and confidently through the situation to the selection of the righteous alternative, based on the power of the Holy Spirit that is at work inside of you.
As a child of God, don’t expect to be exempt from the program of examination and testing:
I know, my God, that you test men to see if they are good men. (I Chron. 29:17 TLB)
You can, however, count on the fact that He is very aware of when you are going through the testing and has made ample provision for you to come through the situation stronger than ever before and more dependent upon Him for the strength and power to make it successfully through the next trial:
And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are called according to his purpose. (Romans 8:28 KJV)
The existence of temptation and testing in your life must never be allowed to become a point of discouragement. Difficulties are not intruders, but rather, opportunities for spiritual growth and maturation. They give wonderful occasions for worship and praise to God.
What I want from you is your true thanks; I want your promises fulfilled. I want you to trust me in your times of trouble, so I can rescue you, and you can give me glory. (Ps. 50:14-15 TLB)
If you have Christ living in you through the Holy Spirit, you already, potentially, have victory over any given situation. For, “Greater is He that is in you, than he that is in the world.” Christ has already overcome the world and makes that “overcoming power” available to you whenever you have need of it.
I am reminded of the story of the two wrestlers: In the scheduled match, Wrestler “A” thoroughly overpowers Wrestler “B” and wins the victory. But, Wrestler “B” never knows the full strength of Wrestler “A” because he has been overpowered by him. Wrestler “A”, however, knows the full strength of Wrestler “B” because he has met him in competition and fought to the victory over Wrestler “B”.
Satan, the tempter, has no way of knowing the full strength of Christ who is living His life through you and giving you the power necessary in every situation. But Christ, since He has met and fought Satan and overpowered him on every occasion to absolute victory, knows the full strength of Satan.
There is no question as to whether Christ in you, or Satan, has the greatest strength. Christ is more than conqueror in every situation. He has already overcome sin, death, and hell and wants to make that power available to you on every occasion of temptation in your life. He desires that you be more than conqueror in every step of your journey to spiritual maturation and fulfillment.
It should never be a point of confusion as to the origin of the evil “sales pitch.” Never entertain the thought that it might be God who is setting you up to ever participate in evil. Even though God uses times of difficulty and temptation for your spiritual growth and development, yet you can be assured that it is never God who solicits you to do evil:
When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone. . . (James 1:13 NIV)
God has paid a very high price for your redemption and reconciliation and will tax the very sand on the seashore and the stars in the sky to see to it that you are capable of living a victorious Christian life here on earth as you become all that He ever had in mind for you to become.
Next Week: Temptation Part 2: Temptations Target the Physical, Psychical, and Spiritual