Life In Christ Center, 3095 Cherry Heights Road, The Dalles, Oregon 97058

(541) 296-1136

Chapter 1: A Clear Title

Chapter 2: The Divine Mandate

Chapter 3: The Root Of All Evil

Chapter 4: First Things First

Chapter 5: The Attitude Of Gratitude

Chapter 6: Far Better Than Gold

Chapter 7: Giving God What Is His

Chapter 8: And Also Caesar

Chapter 9: People And Property

Chapter 10: Contentment

Chapter 11: A Stewardship Lifestyle

Chapter 12: Work

Chapter 13: Generosity

A CLEAR TITLE

"Mommy, where did I come from?"

"Daddy, how did the world get here?"

"Grandpa, who made the stars?"

These are the kind of questions little children ask. They are ultimate questions, and little children are not afraid to ask ultimate questions. Why? Because little children are not afraid of ultimate answers. Little children are honest. That is why Jesus said that if we are going to enter the kingdom of God, we must become as little children.

But little children grow up. And somewhere along the way most of them decide to create their own world, with themselves as the center of it. When this happens, they usually stop asking ultimate questions. They are busy running their own world. Also, they become afraid of ultimate answers.

Even when they are earning their degrees and are studiously weighing the merits of the various theories of the origins of the universe, they usually neglect the truly ultimate questions.

But little children are still asking them. Even with our advanced knowledge, when we face the vast mysteries of the universe, perhaps we are all still in kindergarten. If so, we should not be afraid to go back to "square one" and start asking ultimate questions again. And we should not be afraid of ultimate answers. If we are afraid of ultimate questions and ultimate answers, we should honestly ask ourselves why.

We were not present at creation. We did not observe the event. We cannot reproduce it under controlled "laboratory conditions."

That puts the answer to the question of origins outside empirical science. That leaves us with only one alternative--revelation. If we are to know anything for certain about the origin of things, the information must come to us from the One who was present when it happened. And if God is intelligent enough to create the cosmos, He certainly is intelligent enough to know the importance of giving us an accurate and adequate record of it. This He has done.

Divine revelation informs us that if God had not spoken, there would be nothing. "And God said...." We read this several times in Genesis, Chapter One. Also, in 2 Peter 3:5 the apostle states, "By the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the water and in the water" (KJV). And in Hebrews 11:3 we read "Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear" (KJV).

That is precisely the faith that is in harmony with the facts and demanded by reason.

At the completion of His work of creation, God looked at everything and pronounced it very good.

From all of this it should be clear to us that there is only one logical answer to the question, "Who owns it all?"

Moses knew the answer. He told the Pharaoh of Egypt that the plague of the hail would go just as it had come, so that Pharaoh would know that the earth is the Lord's (Exodus 9:29). Later, Moses reminded Israel that the heaven and the heaven of heavens belong to God, the earth also and all that is in it (Deuteronomy 10:14).

Here are God's own statements on the matter:

"All the earth is mine" (Exodus 19:5).

"The land is mine; for you are strangers and sojourners with me" (Leviticus 25:23).

"The silver is mine, and the gold is mine" (Haggai 2:8).

"Every beast of the forest is mine, and the cattle upon a thousand hills" (Psalm 50:10).

When the congregation of Israel had willingly and joyfully brought in the costly materials for the construction, furnishings, and service of the temple, David responded with a beautiful prayer of thanksgiving. It is recorded in 1 Chronicles 29:10-16. Here are some pertinent excerpts:

"Everything in heaven and earth is yours."

"Wealth and honor come from you; you are the ruler of all things."

"But who am I, and who are my people, that we should be able to give as generously as this? We are aliens and strangers in your sight, as were all our forefathers."

"As for this abundance that we have provided for building you a temple for your Holy Name, it comes from your hand, and all of it belongs to you" (NIV).

Also, in Psalm 89:11 the psalmist confesses: "The heavens are Yours, the earth also is Yours; the world and all its fullness, You have founded them" (NKJV).

So the fact is established. The matter is settled. Everything belongs to God--all natural resources, all finished products, all personal and corporate assets, even our bodies and souls. They all belong to God on two grounds: by right of creation and by right of conservation. That is, He alone created it and He alone sustains it.

This is our Father's world.

"The earth does not belong to us. We belong to the earth." The grade school boy was parroting what he had been taught by someone else. What he and whoever put that notion in his head do not realize is that both statements are wrong. The earth does not belong to us. Neither do we belong to the earth. The truth is that both we and the earth belong to the Creator.

At one time or another most believers have stood on some view point and looked out over a grand panorama of mountains, valleys, ocean, or sky, and have felt their souls stirred to exclaim, "It all belongs to my Heavenly Father!" And so it does.

Then we get into our car and drive back to our home, our farm, or our place of business or employment. When it comes into view, the feelings we experience are different from those we felt when we were standing on the edge of grandeur. It becomes our home, our farm, our business. We should remind ourselves that it still all belongs to our Heavenly Father. For so it does.

Whether it be personal possessions or corporate holdings, the ultimate Owner is God. The logs in the sawmill, the metal coming from the steel mill, the inventory at the store, the land, the factory, the office buildings--the ultimate title to all of these does not rest with the proprietor or the stockholders. It is with the Creator. He is the ultimate Proprietor of it all.

But what does God want it for? What is He going to do with it? He does not need anything to sustain Him. He is sufficient in Himself. Why does He hold the title to it?

Good questions. The answers are to be found in God's marvelous wisdom and purposes, revealed to us only in part. But from what He has revealed, we derive some basic understandings.

Did you ever make something for someone else to use, something you continued to own but made for others to use because you love them? It made you happy to make them happy.

Revelation 4:11 says, "You are worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power; for You created all things, and by your will they exist and were created" (NKJV). They exist by His will and for the purposes of His will. Those purposes spring from His love for us. God's love directs His power according to His wisdom to accomplish the greatest good. And we are the object of that love.

As we study The Scriptures, we learn that God created this world for the use, good and enjoyment of the human race. We are created in His image as the masterpiece of His creation, and He made this earth to be a bountiful place for us to live in during this life. So we read in Psalm 115:16, "The heaven, even the heaven of heavens, are the Lord's; but the earth He has given to the children of men" (NKJV). He has given it to us to manage according to His will for our good and His glory.

The mandate is recorded in the very first chapter of the Bible:

"Then God said, 'Let us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.' And God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. And God blessed them; and God said to them, 'Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it; and rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.'" (Genesis 1:26-28 NASB).

Later, the mandate was reaffirmed to Noah. It is recorded in Genesis 9:1-3:

"Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth. And the fear of you and the terror of you shall be on every beast of the earth and on every bird of the sky; with everything that creeps on the ground, and all the fish of the sea, into your hand they are given. Every moving thing that is alive shall be food for you; I give all to you, as I gave the green plant." (NASB).

The mandate is echoed in Psalm Eight. Speaking of man, verse six says, "Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands; thou hast put all things under his feet" (KJV).

Man has effectively exercised that management role, as James 3:7 testifies: "For every kind of beasts, and of birds, and of serpents, and of things in the sea, is tamed, and hath been tamed of mankind." (KJV).

Some have misconstrued and misused this God-given mandate as a justification for the exploitation of our environment. That is an obvious perversion of The Scriptures. God's mandate to us is to manage our natural environment and resources, and management demands responsible policies and procedures. Management means protection and conservation, not waste and destruction.

On the other hand, some have adopted the dangerous philosophy expressed in the words of the grade school boy mentioned earlier. If we see ourselves only as products of the planet, we will be driven to an extreme form of environmentalism, an idolatry that makes Earth a new age "goddess," and that leads in its practical application to valuing matter over mankind.

As someone has aptly said, "Save the earth, but do not worship the planet."

All of creation, including us, must worship the Creator.

God has appointed us as stewards (managers) over this planet. Our divine appointment as managers of God's earth covers everything. It also carries with it an accountability to the Owner, and the fact that God holds us responsible should cause us to do some sober thinking.

A steward is someone who is entrusted with the authority and responsibility to manage someone else's property and/or affairs as though they were his or her own. It is not his or her own, of course, and for that reason it is to be managed in strict accordance with the will of the owner. The steward is accountable for the way it is managed and for the results.

So it is with us. So then, the first thing we need to know is God's purpose in creating and sustaining our natural environment, including its resources, so we can manage it properly for that purpose.

Everything exists for God's glory and His and our happiness. This should always be our ultimate aim in everything, including our stewardship of His earth. It was for the highest good--His and ours--that He created us. And it is for that highest good that He has given us this beautiful and bountiful world to be our home in this life. It follows, then, that God put these natural resources here for all of us. Ecclesiastes 5:9 says, "The profit of the earth is for all; the king himself is served by the field."

Our responsibility, therefore, is to manage the resources of this planet in such a way that everyone will share in them as fully as possible as God intended. This involves sharing as fully as possible in both their diligent production and also their wise and unselfish consumption.

This requires us to establish proper priorities and to live by them. Whatever resources God allows to come into our possession or under our control are really His. He has committed them to our management and we are morally obligated to develop and use them wisely for the greatest good. This should motivate us to productivity, not passivity. Free enterprise is intended to create and spread the wealth; socialism tends to restrict creative productivity, and therefore it tends to spread the poverty.

The Bible plainly teaches that stewardship requires faithfulness. "Moreover it is required in stewards that a man be found faithful" (1 Corinthians 4:2 KJV).

"He who is faithful in what is least is faithful also in much; and he who is unjust in what is least is unjust also in much. Therefore if you have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches? And if you have not been faithful in what is another man's, who will give you what is your own?" (Luke 16:10-12 NKJV).

In the above passage in Luke Jesus teaches us that faithfulness and honesty in material things is a necessary requirement before God will give us true spiritual riches. God gives us a chance to demonstrate that we can handle financial responsibilities before He gives us spiritual responsibilities. How we handle money is a test of how we will handle the truth.

Before we consider the characteristics and the results of the faithful conduct of this stewardship, let us review what the general human record has been. Again, we look at the testimony of The Scriptures. The picture it paints is exactly what we see in human conduct and experience.

If we were to ask a thousand people from all walks of life, representing all socio-economic levels, "How much money would it take to make you happy?" a common answer (though expressed in different ways) would be "A little bit more."

Even with our present and growing world population, if everyone loved God and one another, the resources of the earth would provide enough for all if properly utilized. The problem is that most people do not love God with all their heart and their neighbors as themselves. So then, the great problems of greed, waste, pollution, and poverty are not essentially economic or political problems. They are essentially moral problems.

Idealistic attempts have been made and are continuing to be made to solve these gigantic problems and inequities by imposing on the culture some kind of economic system that will enforce equality. This is usually done in the name of "democracy." The result is a government-enforced uniformity that lessens freedom and limits opportunity. It is based on the erroneous premise that human beings are highly developed animals to be domesticated by government--fed, clothed, housed, otherwise taken care of, and controlled.

Others have attempted to achieve equality through "voluntary" co-operative arrangements, such as utopian communities. But unless the hearts of the participants are ruled by the love of God, these also tend to become authoritarian. What does not come from the heart becomes imposed by authority.

So the problem is human selfishness. Too many people are living for themselves. As long as they do, no amount of external control will completely solve the resulting social problems--economic and otherwise. Economic injustices do not create selfishness and greed. Selfishness and greed create economic injustices. If people change the system without changing their hearts, selfishness will still find a way to get what it wants. Sinners will still be sinners. As long as they remain sinners, they will continue to behave like sinners.

That fact notwithstanding, some social and economic systems do provide more opportunity for selfishness to exercise and express itself. On the other hand, they also provide more opportunity for love (good will) to exercise itself. So the question is, how do we choke down the one without smothering the other? At what point does the malignancy of selfishness (sin) necessitate the restriction of some kinds and degrees of freedom? These are questions social philosophers, social scientists, and (yes) social "engineers" have been wrestling with for centuries.

Money attracts greed as honey attracts bees. As we all know, money is a medium of exchange. It buys what people need and/or desire. Money represents the thing. By possessing money (or its equivalent) we possess potentially the thing it will buy. Therefore money becomes a very handy tool of selfishness. So we should not be surprised to find the love of money wherever selfishness is at work.

"Perverse disputings of men of corrupt minds, and destitute of the truth, supposing that gain is godliness; from such withdraw thyself. But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain that we can carry nothing out. And having food and raiment let us be therewith content. But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition. For the love of money is the root of all evil; which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows" (1 Timothy 6:5-10 KJV).

We notice that the Bible does not say that money is the root of all evil. It is the love of money that is the root of all kinds of evil. In human society money is a necessity. Rightly used, it is a powerful servant. But fall in love with it, and it will destroy you--and yours.

Money talks. Affluent societies seem to rest on the assumption that the meaning of life is to be found in what money can do and what it can buy. Happiness is equated with material possessions. When people see their happiness in things, those things become the controlling element in their lives.

Certainly God intends for us to enjoy our possessions and to derive good from them. He desires that we use them, but not that we abuse them. When we become dependent on them for our happiness and well-being, we abuse them. They become our masters. The irony is that when they become our masters, we can no longer truly enjoy them. Slaves do not truly enjoy being under a master. We truly enjoy our possessions only when they are our servants.

When we become dependent on things for our happiness, we become insecure. Will we get enough things to make us happy? Material possessions have a way of eluding us. They take wings and fly away. Someone has said, "Money talks; it says 'goodbye'."

Frustration is a sibling of insecurity. The advertising industry knows this very well. Our contentment is their worst enemy, and they are out to destroy it. Their purpose is to convince us that our happiness depends on owning and using their products. If they can convince us of that, we will be discontented until we buy them. This does not apply to products that alleviate pain and promote genuine well-being, but products that appeal mainly to personal passion ("the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and his pride in possessions"--1 John 2:16 NIV).

Buy and use, and your social and personal goals will be achieved. What really matters (they tell you) is not whether or not your husband prefers that brand of coffee, but the anticipated compliment that you will receive. Buy and drive that car and your friends will really notice you! Use this after-shave and you are guaranteed to attract the girls. If you are not using this deodorant, can you really be sure. In other words, security, happiness and fulfillment are to be found in the possession and use of things. This is the basic assumption.

But it is a false assumption. Jesus exposed this erroneous prevailing philosophy and corrected our values when He told us, "Take heed and beware of covetousness, for one's life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses" (Luke 12:15 NKJV). Things are to be used, but life is not to be found in their abundance.

This does not discredit free enterprise or disprove the principle behind economic freedom. Free enterprise provides the best opportunity for the wise and productive management of our resources for the greatest good to the greatest number. The selfish exploitation of free enterprise has produced the evils and scandals of corporate greed. But greed does not reside in the system; it resides in the hearts of sinners. Greed and other forms of selfishness can and do flourish equally in any economic system. Each economic philosophy and resulting system provides its own unique conditions and opportunities for selfish exploitation and the economic and social inequities it produces. For this reason Marxist-Leninist revolutionary movements are naively simplistic in their notions of economic determinism and their assumption that socialism would create equality and a "workers' paradise."

The answer is the gospel of Jesus Christ. Genuine repentance and saving faith in Jesus Christ totally changes the motives of the heart and therefore the entire life. That is the most radical and positive revolution imaginable.

How happy the world would be without the devastation caused by covetousness and greed. If human society universally loved God with all their heart and their neighbors as themselves, and managed the resources of God's earth for the greatest good of all, it would be like inhaling the atmosphere of Heaven. No wonder Jesus taught us to pray, "Thy kingdom come."

But that kingdom has not yet come in its fullness. This is our Father's world, but most of it is still enemy-occupied territory. The selfish uprising against the God of love and His rightful rule of love is still in full swing. Satan is furious and sinners are generally having things their own way. Today, any "intrusion" of Biblical principles by those who uphold them is met with fierce resistance, usually in the name of some kind of "freedom." In one form or another the rebellion has been going on throughout human history, and it will dominate the human drama until Jesus returns.

The Bible records God's full and descriptive indictment of human covetousness and greed. Job described the situation in the ancient world, the world of his day.

"Some remove the landmarks; they violently take away flocks, and feed thereof.

"They drive away the ass of the fatherless; they take the widow's ox for a pledge.

"They turn the needy out of the way; the poor of the earth hide themselves together.

"Behold, as wild asses in the desert, they go forth to their work, rising betimes (early and diligently) for a prey; the wilderness yieldeth food for them and for their children.

"They reap every one his corn in the field, and they gather the vintage of the wicked.

"They cause the naked to lodge without clothing, that they have no covering in the cold.

"They are wet with the showers of the mountains, and embrace the rock for want of shelter.

"They pluck the fatherless from the breast, and take a pledge of the poor.

"They cause him to go naked without clothing, and they take away the sheaf from the hungry" (Job 24:2-11).

In other words, these oppressors drove the poor and their families into the desert to scrounge around early and diligently for something to eat, some desert plants and animals. The victims were wet and cold, and tried to find shelter by huddling close to some rock.

Sounds like Ebenezer Scrooge with a vengeance!

We open the Bible to the Book Of Exodus and discover an entire nation being held in slavery, serving the desires of their cruel masters. Exodus 1:13,14 testifies: "And the Egyptians made the children of Israel to serve with rigor, and made their lives bitter with hard bondage, in mortar, and in brick, and in all manner of service in the field; all their service, wherein they made them serve, was with rigor."

Slavery is one of the hideous stalks that sprout from the root of all evil. Bribery and injustice are more of its malignant foliage. According to 1 Samuel 8:3 the sons of Samuel "walked not in his ways, but turned aside after lucre, and took bribes, and perverted judgment."

Violence is another result of the love of money. God denounces it in the severest terms. Listen to the judgment of The Almighty on greed and its resulting injustices.

"Woe to men mighty at drinking wine, Woe to men valiant for mixing intoxicating drink, who justify the wicked for a bribe, and take away justice from the righteous man!" (Isaiah 5:22,23 NKJV).

Jeremiah directed the following prophecy against Shallum (Jehoahaz), son of king Josiah: "Woe to him who builds his palace by unrighteousness, his upper room by injustice, making his countrymen work for nothing, not paying them for their labor... But your eyes and your heart are set only on dishonest gain, on shedding innocent blood and on oppression and extortion" (Jeremiah 22:13 and 17 NIV).

The story is told of a single young man who moved to a small community in one of the southern states to get started in life as a landscaper. His dream was to build a business of his own, marry, and settle down as a family man and a member of the community.

For a while things went well. He was able to invest in some equipment, and soon he had two or three men working for him. Being young, single, and full of life, he bought himself a Corvette.

One day he bid successfully on a landscaping job for the estate of a very well-to-do widow in the city. It was a $12,000 contract. He bought the materials, did a good job, and paid his men.

But the guardian of the estate was also the heir. He happened also to be a close friend of the local judge. After paying the young man as stipulated in the contract, he turned around and sued him.

When the young landscaper came before the judge, the judge looked down at him and said, "Now, boy, I like you. You seem like a fine young man to me. But I notice you drivin' that fancy car around town, and I think that's just too much car for a young fella like you. The money to buy that car came from the hard-workin' people of this community, and I don't think it's right for you to be takin' that much money from our citizens. Now, if you had been a member of one of our fine established families, it might be different. But you came in here from California, and you've been makin' a profit from our local folks here. So I think you'd just better give that twelve thousand dollars back to Miss____________."

It devastated the young man, broke him financially, and tore the zest for life out of him and poisoned his spirit with bitterness.

"Indeed the wages of laborers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, cry out; and the cries of the reapers have reached the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth" (James 5:4 NKJV).

Covetousness was Achan's downfall, costing not only his own life but also the lives of others. The record is found in The Bible in The Book Of Joshua, chapter seven.

Let us listen to the word of the Lord through the prophet Amos: "For three sins of Israel, even for four, I will not turn back my wrath. They sell the righteous for silver, and the needy for a pair of sandals. They trample on the heads of the poor as upon the dust of the ground and deny justice to the oppressed" (Amos 2:6,7 NIV). "You trample on the poor and force him to give you grain.... You oppress the righteous and take bribes and you deprive the poor of justice in the courts" (Amos 5:11,12 NIV).

Yes, there are those who will perpetrate a religious fraud in their greed. Simon the sorcerer was so cynical that he assumed that the gift of God could be purchased with money. He had witnessed the miracles that Philip the evangelist performed and heard the clear message of the gospel of Christ. He saw believers baptized in the Holy Spirit as Peter and John laid hands on them. He saw the transformation that took place in the community. Still, he would not shake off the notion that it was all a commercial enterprise! (see Acts 8:18).

Paul warned Titus against certain deceivers "who subvert whole houses, teaching things which they ought not, for filthy lucre's sake" (Titus 1:11 KJV). "Filthy lucre" means "base gain."

Likewise, Peter warned believers about false teachers. "And through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you." "An heart they have exercised with covetous practices" (1 Peter 2:3,14 KJV). The religious crook is the worst crook of all.

The psalmist prayed to be delivered from the fate of sinners whose "right hand is full of bribes (Psalm 26:9, 10 KJV).

For the sake of money some of the soldiers at the tomb of Jesus were willing to deny His resurrection (Matthew 28:11-15). That is what bribery will do to a person's soul.

When Felix, the Roman governor, heard Paul's words concerning "righteousness, temperance, and judgment to come," he trembled. But he did not repent. Later, he tried to persuade Paul to bribe him for his freedom. He turned from the priceless treasures of truth, and instead sank into the slime-pit of bribery. How detestable! We read the sordid account in Acts 24:24-26.

The prophet Ezekiel continued the Lord's indictment against ancient Israel. "In you they take bribes to shed blood; you take usury and increase; you have made profit from your neighbors by extortion, and have forgotten Me" (Ezekiel 22:12 NKJV). "With their mouth they show much love, but their hearts pursue their own gain" (Ezekiel 33:31 NKJV).

Earlier, the prophet Hosea compared the northern kingdom to a person who loved to oppress, holding the "balances of deceit" in his hands (Hosea 12:7).

Jeremiah reported concerning Judah, "From the least of them even to the greatest of them, everyone is given to covetousness; and from the prophet even to the priest, everyone deals falsely." (Jeremiah 6:13 and 8:10 NKJV).

This condition did not come about all at once. Many years before Jeremiah's time, by the word of the Lord the prophet Isaiah charged the rulers of Jerusalem with being "companions of thieves; everyone loves bribes, and follows after rewards. They do not defend the fatherless, nor does the cause of the widow come before them" (Isaiah 1:23 NKJV).

The prophet Hosea reminded ancient Israel that the very resources they used in Baal worship had come from God. Speaking of the nation in the feminine, he said "For she did not know that I gave her corn, and wine, and oil, and multiplied her silver and gold, which they prepared for Baal" (Hosea 2:8 KJV). "Corn" in the KJV means "grain."

The poor have always been the victims of human mismanagement of this world and its resources. When we look at human history as a whole, the picture that emerges is the rich getting richer and the poor getting poorer.

Only the gospel of Jesus Christ and the application of Biblical principles can change that, and in many situations they have changed it.

"The wicked in his pride persecutes the poor" (Psalm 10:2 NKJV).

"He who mocks the poor reproaches his Maker (Proverbs 17:5 NASB).

"There is a generation whose teeth are like swords, and whose fangs are like knives, to devour the poor from off the earth, and the needy from among men" (Proverbs 30:14 NKJV).

The foolish person schemes "to keep the hungry person unsatisfied and to withhold drink from the thirsty" (Isaiah 32:6 NASB).

In a scathing prophecy against Jerusalem, Ezekiel likened the city to Sodom, and even worse. "Behold, this was the guilt of your sister Sodom: she and her daughters had arrogance, abundant food, and careless ease, but she did not help the poor and needy" (Ezekiel 16:49 NASB).

Even after Judah had suffered the severe chastisement known as the seventy year Babylonian captivity, the returning Jews reverted back to the same repressive practices that had been much of the reason that God's judgment had fallen upon their fathers. When the people complained to Nehemiah, he responded with his usual vigor. He called the nobles and rulers together and urged them: "Please, let us leave off this usury. Please, give back to them this very day their fields, their vineyards, their olive groves, and their houses, also the hundredth part of the money and of the grain, the new wine, and the oil that you are exacting from them" (Nehemiah 5:10,11 NASB).

Jesus showed us that He was well aware of the economic facts of life when He said that we have the poor always with us (Matthew 26:11).

The Book of Proverbs opens with an appeal for wisdom. The plea includes the following vivid warning. "My son, if sinners entice you, do not consent. If they say, 'Come with us, let us lie in wait for blood, let us ambush the innocent without cause; let us swallow them alive like Sheol, even whole, as those who go down to the pit; we shall find all kinds of precious wealth, we shall fill our houses with spoil; throw in your lot with us, we shall all have one purse,' my son, do not walk in the way with them. Keep your feet from their... path, for their feet run to evil, and they hasten to shed blood. Indeed, it is useless to spread the net in the eyes of any bird; but they lie in wait for their own blood; they ambush their own lives. So are the ways of everyone who gains by violence; it takes away the lives of its possessors" (Proverbs 1:10-19 NASB).

What was true then is still true today. Covetousness and greed still characterize a world in rebellion against God and the moral law that He administers. Covetousness is included in the stern indictment against the Gentile world, recorded in the first chapter of Romans. We are now living in the last days, and 2 Timothy 3:2 tells us that in the last days "men shall be... covetous."

How do you feel when you see and hear reports of mass starvation caused by deliberate and unbridled selfishness? Does it make you angry when scenes of human suffering in parts of the third world are followed by scenes of greedy gluttons lavishing their riches on their own indulgences? Do you feel bitter when someone is trampled on by those who control the system?

Now, the person who believes that the only judgment and hell there is is the one we create for ourselves here in this life must have a difficult time living with reality. If that person is truly thoughtful about the matter, his or her frustration must be intense. If the only retribution for injustices is what comes in this life, things are way out of balance. And from a merely human standpoint there is no chance of a real change. No wonder many activists are driven to violence and nihilism by their frustrations and anger.

People do suffer in this life many of the consequences of their sins. We reap what we sow (Galatians 6:7). This fact is taught in the Bible and demonstrated in human experience. Nevertheless, if the only penalty for sin is what happens in this life, a lot of people are getting off practically scot-free.

The psalmist had a big problem with this, as we read in Psalm 73. We could summarize his frame of mind in a paraphrase. "Hey, I don't get it. Look at the way those guys live. They're getting away with everything. They curse and swear and live like the devil. But nothing bad seems to happen to them. They're making money hand over fist. They're in good health, even when they're old. Me? I live for God and pay my tithes, and what good has it done me? My truck is always breaking down. I've had crop failures three years in a row. My kids are always sick. The bills are piling up. How come?"

Then the psalmist went to the sanctuary. There he began to see beyond the end of his nose. He took a good look at things from God's perspective. He took a good, long look at where everything is heading. He saw where he was going and where the wicked are going, and (again paraphrasing) he began to feel differently about things. "Sorry, Lord. Guess I was acting a little dumb. You're my life and my treasure. You're my strength, and You're going to take care of me. You know what's happening and You're going to make it all come out right. So I'm going to trust You."

Sin has its consequences, both natural and governmental. That is, some of the consequences of sin are to be found in the natural retribution it brings upon the sinner. If we do wrong, we set in motion a set of cause and effect circumstances that often come right back on us. This is the law of sowing and reaping (see Galatians 6:7,8).

But that is not all. As was said earlier, if natural consequences were the only punishment for sin, the penalty would be so low as to be almost trivial in view of the real guilt of sin. It would amount practically to no penalty at all. For that reason many people shrug it off with the attitude, "Yeah, I know what it could do to me, but I'll get by." And if sin's natural consequences were its only penalty, they would in fact be practically getting by.

But there is also a governmental penalty for sin. This refers to the moral rule of God. God has made it clear that He is the Judge of the whole earth. He is a just Judge. He will execute the just penalty upon sin, including the love of money and all of its resulting evils.

"Though he heaps up silver like dust and clothes like piles of clay, what he lays up the righteous will wear, and the innocent will divide his silver. The house he builds is like a moth's cocoon, like a hut made by a watchman. He lies down wealthy, but will do so no more; when he opens his eyes, all is gone. Terrors overtake him like a flood; a tempest snatches him away in the night" (Job 27:16-20 NIV).

"Surely every man walks about like a shadow; surely they busy themselves in vain; he heaps up riches, and does not know who will gather them" (Psalm 39:6 NKJV).

The Book of Proverbs is a treasure-chest of divine wisdom. To ignore or disregard its instructions and warnings is sheer folly. Here are some of those warnings, quoted from the King James Version.

"Treasures of wickedness profit nothing, but righteousness delivers from death" (10:2).

"He who is greedy for gain troubles his own house, but he who hates bribes will live" (15:27).

"Getting treasure by a lying tongue is the fleeting fantasy of those who seek death. The violence of the wicked will destroy them, because they refused to do justice. Whoever shuts his ears to the cry of the poor will also cry himself and not be heard" (21:6,7,13).

"He who oppresses the poor to increase his riches, and he who gives to the rich, will surely come to poverty" (22:16).

"One who increases his possessions by usury and extortion gathers it for him who will pity the poor. A faithful man will abound with blessings, but he who hastens to be rich will not go unpunished" (28:8,20).

A person who is in a hurry to get rich will not go unpunished because a money-hungry person will do something dishonest before long and get caught and punished.

We read now the words of the Preacher, found in the Book of Ecclesiastes, chapter 5, verses 8-14 (NKJV).

"If you see the oppression of the poor, and the violent perversion of justice and righteousness in a province, do not marvel at the matter; for high official watches over high official, and higher officials are over them.

"Moreover the profit of the land is for all; the king himself is served from the field.

"He who loves silver will not be satisfied with silver; nor he who loves abundance, with increase. This also is vanity. When goods increase, they increase who eat them; so what profit have the owners except to see them with their eyes?

"The sleep of a laboring man is sweet, whether he eats little or much; but the abundance of the rich will not permit him to sleep.

"There is a severe evil which I have seen under the sun: riches kept for their owner to his hurt. But those riches perish through misfortune...."

This passage emphasizes the vanity of riches. More exactly, it teaches us that riches will disappoint all who try to find real satisfaction and fulfillment in them.

God's judgment on greed and its attendant evils is strongly voiced in Isaiah 10:1,2. "Woe to those who make unjust laws, to those who issue oppressive decrees, to deprive the poor of their rights and withhold justice from the oppressed of my people, making widows their prey and robbing the fatherless" (NIV).

Also, we find this graphic picture in Jeremiah 17:11. "Like a partridge that hatches eggs it did not lay is the man who gains riches by unjust means. When his life is half gone, they will desert him, and in the end he will prove to be a fool" (NIV).

Jesus warned His disciples to beware of the scribes and Pharisees. One reason was that those religious leaders had corrupted their spiritual positions for unjust gain. He said, "They devour widows' houses and for a show make lengthy prayers. Such men will be punished most severely" (Mark 12:40 NIV).

Of course, it is not only possible but also true in fact that people can become rich through honest means. However, wealth is commonly gained by selfish people through selfish means for selfish purposes. For that reason riches and righteousness are very seldom associated together in The Scriptures. That riches usually involve selfish motives and means is implied in our Lord's pronouncement of woe upon the rich.

"Woe to you who are rich, for you are receiving your comfort in full. Woe to you who are well-fed now, for you shall be hungry" (Luke 6:24,25 NASB).

Jesus illustrated the folly and spiritual bankruptcy of materialism in some very graphic parables. One is found in Luke 12:16-21. Here it is in the New King James Version.

"The ground of a certain rich man yielded plentifully. And he thought within himself, saying, 'What shall I do, since I have no room to store my crops?' So he said, 'I will do this: I will pull down my barns and build greater, and there I will store all my crops and my goods. And I will say to my soul, "Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years; take your ease; eat, drink, and be merry."' But God said to him, 'You fool! This night your soul will be required of you; then whose will those things be which you have provided?' So is he who lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God."

Although the man in the parable gained his wealth legitimately (so far as we know), his motive was all wrong. He was totally selfish. He considered it all to be his, showing no gratitude toward God or regard for others. He was a secular man who tried to feed his soul on goods. His aim was to use it all for self-gratification. He disregarded God and spiritual values, and assumed himself to be the master of his own future. No wonder God called him a fool.

Another pertinent parable is found in Luke 16:19-25. It is the account of the rich man and Lazarus. In this parable the problem with the rich man was not that he was rich, but that he displayed the selfishness so common to the rich. He lavished everything on himself, totally disregarding the poor man lying at his gate. That is why he went to hell, and that is why others like him will follow him there.

This brings us to an important point: the love of money does not necessarily depend on how much money we have. It is the commitment of the heart. A multi-millionaire can be a wise and benevolent steward of the resources under his control. On the other hand, a person without two dimes to rub together can be a slave to the love of money. In general, however, wealth presents temptations that carry the heart away.

In his first Corinthian letter Paul instructs believers on how we are to relate to professed Christians who by their conduct betray an evil state of heart.

"But now I have written to you not to keep company with anyone named a brother who is a fornicator, or covetous, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or an extortioner--not even to eat with such a person" (1 Corinthians 5:11 NKJV).

The reason believers are to have no communion with those who practice such things is that "neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, shall inherit the kingdom of God" (1 Corinthians 6:9,10 NKJV).

It might startle some to find the covetous listed right along with adulterers and thieves, but that is exactly how God categorizes this sin.

When God wanted someone who would say in stern, graphic language what He had to declare about a matter, He sometimes chose James. No wonder, then, that what God wanted said about this sin is found in James 5:1-6.

"Come now, you rich, weep and howl for your miseries that are coming upon you! Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are moth-eaten. Your gold and silver are corroded, and their corrosion will be a witness against you and will eat your flesh like fire. You have heaped up treasure in the last days. Indeed the wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, cry out; and the cries of the reapers have reached the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth" (NIV).

What does the love of money do?

It makes a mockery of justice. "A wicked man receives a bribe from the bosom to pervert the ways of justice" (Proverbs 17:23 NASB).

It turns a man into a cheat. "'Bad, bad,' says the buyer; but when he goes his way, then he boasts" (Proverbs 20:14 NASB).

It overthrows nations. "The king establishes the land by justice, but he who receives bribes overthrows it" (Proverbs 29:4 NKJV).

It chokes the word of God out of the mind and heart. "Now he who received seed among the thorns is he who hears the word, and the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and he becomes unfruitful"" (Matthew 13:22 NKJV). It does this by blinding the mind with false "values." In Christ's parable of the marriage feast, when the king called the invited guests, "they made light of it, and went their ways, one to his farm, another to his merchandise" (Matthew 22:5 KJV).

The love of money so degrades the human soul that a man or woman will betray the Savior if the price is attractive enough. For one man, thirty pieces of silver was all it took (Matthew 26:15,16).

It so calluses a man that he can coldly gamble over the Savior's garment, while overhead His precious blood is dripping away for the sins of the world (John 19:23,24). Thus gambling rapes the human spirit.

It incites people to oppose the gospel and those who preach it. Such was the case when, at the command of Paul in the name of Jesus, the demon-possessed girl at Philip was liberated from her spiritual bondage. "When her masters saw that the hope of their gains was gone, they caught Paul and Silas, and drew them into the market place unto the rulers (Acts 16:19 KJV).

It damns the soul forever. The sad story of Ananias and Sapphira will stand forever as a tragic testimony to this fact. Because of the love of money they lied to The Holy Sprit and died in church as a consequence (Acts 5:1-11).

An extensive review of the Biblical record of sinners' misconduct and the mishandling of their stewardship of God's earth is a wearisome task, especially while those same evil practices continue all around us. The love of money still rules. We read about it in The Bible; then we look up and see it going on in full vigor. Nevertheless, if we are to explore the whole subject of managing God's world, we must give proper attention to the evils that result when selfishness gets its way.

Whatever selfishness touches it corrupts. We are becoming increasingly aware of what is happening to God's earth with its resources during this time when it is largely in the hands of managers who have little or no real regard for the rights and will of the Owner.

People who are outraged by the results of greed have two basic alternatives. The one does not recognize a Moral Governor who is able and determined to rectify the inequities and bring about His kingdom and order in His own way and time. Consequently, they who take that alternative feel that they have to take matters into their own hands, through either reform or revolution. However, true reform is possible only when it accompanies and is the product of a genuine spiritual awakening. Without that spiritual and moral rebirth, reform is only external and limited. And revolution through the class struggle, with all of its hate, violence, and repression, only replaces one evil with another.

The other alternative rests on the premise that there is a God in heaven who upholds moral order, who overcomes evil with good, and who will bring about peace and justice in His way and time. Consequently, believers should not be frustrated. We know that God's way is reconciliation, not revolution. We believe that through the death and resurrection of His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, God has provided the single means to redeem and change sinners and bring about reconciliation among people. We see the evidence of this in human experience. We see that reconciliation with God leads directly to reconciliation among the reconciled. God's way is the only way to true peace and justice, and we follow it.

We also know that even though others reject His way, God knows how to protect and to provide for those who put their trust in Him. He assures us of that in His word.

"He raises the poor from the dust and lifts the beggar from the ash heap, to set them among princes and make them inherit the throne of glory" (1 Samuel 2:8 KJV).

"Thou, O God, hast prepared of thy goodness for the poor" (Psalm 68:10 KJV).

"I will abundantly bless her provision; I will satisfy her poor with bread" (Psalm 132:15 KJV).

Our firm confidence in the ultimate triumph of God and His kingdom keeps us from cynicism, fanaticism, and despair. God will establish righteousness on the earth. So we earnestly pray, "Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven" (Matthew 6:10 KJV). Amen!

In this gospel age God is pursuing His ends by moral means. He is offering pardon and reconciliation to all who submit to Him and believe on His son, Jesus Christ. God is changing society by changing people, and He is doing it by love and truth.

Philemon was a Christian slaveholder, probably a kind and gentle one. One of his slaves, Onesimus, ran away. Somehow Onesimus came in contact with the apostle Paul, who led him to Christ. When Paul sent Onesimus back to his master, he urged Philemon to receive him, "no longer as a slave but more than a slave, as a brother beloved" (Philemon, verse 16 NKJV). "A brother beloved." Slavery cannot survive that!

Paul did not tell Onesimus to go back and organize a slave uprising, kill Philemon and the other slave owners, and establish a "just" social order by revolution. Neither did he order Philemon to release his slaves. He simply reminded Philemon that Onesimus is now his brother, and that he is to treat him as such both in the flesh and in the Lord. That is God's way of bringing about social justice.

This does not mean that Christians should not work for reform. Because believers have the highest motive for desiring social change--love--we should be the most active in working for the greatest good. But the character of our actions will be consistent with the character of our motive. We will not illogically attempt to achieve good ends by evil means. This would be as absurd as yelling "quiet!" in a hospital ward.

The real remedy is the change that is brought about in people's hearts by the gospel--rooting out selfishness by the triumphal entry of Christ into the heart and the establishment there of the liberating rule of love and truth.

Accordingly, we recognize that all other efforts at reform are only measures to curb and inhibit selfishness by placing external restraints on it and by reducing its opportunities for its development and expression. These are necessary, of course, as long as sinners remain in orderly society. People who will not be governed by God and His love must be ruled by law.

Though reforms are made and social progress is to be achieved, evil will not be eliminated from society during this present age. This is man's probationary time. God is working with human free will by means of truth and moral suasion. The human response is voluntary. When people choose to disobey, God does not prevent it or its consequence, though He does everything wisely possible to inhibit those consequences providentially.

So the innocent suffer. But the righteous are patient, knowing that the Judge of all the earth will do right (Genesis 18:25). His kingdom will come. His will shall be done in earth as it is in Heaven.

"Even so, Come, Lord Jesus!"

The sermon was drawing to a close and the minister was extending the invitation. Among those who came to the front was a young man in his teens. After standing a few moments with his head bowed, suddenly he looked up and prayed earnestly, "Lord, I'll serve yuh if yuh'll only help me get a git-tar!"

Our prayers often reveal our values. If we agree to serve the Lord "only if," we deceive ourselves. The "if" is more important to us than the Lord. That is serving the "if," not the Lord. We truly serve the Lord when it is for His sake first of all.

True Christians have made up their minds that Jesus Christ is worth more than anything and everything. This is implied in saving faith. Nothing less is believing with all the heart. People who are trying to live the Christian life only for its benefits to themselves are selfish at heart. They are living for themselves, not the Lord. They are hypocrites.

Satan is the "accuser of the brethren," and this is exactly what he accused Job of doing. "Does Job fear God for nothing?" he asked cynically (Job 1:9 NKJV). God had blessed and prospered Job. So Satan leveled the same accusation against Job that is often made against Christians: "Yeah, he goes to church only for what he can get out of it." This is true of hypocrites, but it is not true of genuine Christians.

Nevertheless, God has promised to bless and prosper those who love and obey Him.

And how do we respond to these blessings? How do we handle the resources God has allowed to come into our possession and/or under our control? What are the responsibilities of our stewardship? How should we conduct ourselves in this trust? And what should be our attitudes?

For answers and guidance we turn again to The Scriptures. There we find the principles and precepts clearly and authoritatively laid out by The Holy Spirit.

First of all, good stewardship begins with a correct set of values. A good steward has his or her priorities in proper order.

"He led you through the great and terrible wilderness, with its fiery serpents and scorpions and thirsty ground where there was no water; He brought water for you out of the rock of flint. In the wilderness He fed you with manna which your fathers did not know, that He might humble you and that He might test you, to do good for you in the end.

Prosperity has caused many to forget God. Jesus spoke of "the deceitfulness of riches" (Mark 4:19). Riches deceive by eroding one's perception of eternal values, gradually replacing spiritual priorities with material ones. The fall comes when the heart yields to the false gods of materialism.

"If riches increase, set not your heart upon them" (Psalm 62:10). In other words, keep first things first.

Jesus said, "But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you" (Matthew 6:33). We should keep our heart so firmly set on eternal values that God could safely make a multi-millionaire out of us if He so chose.

When our Lord commanded, "Do not labor for the food which perishes" (John 6:27 NKJV), He was not instructing us to quit our jobs and be lazy. Not at all. A person who truly seeks first the kingdom of God should be one of the most highly motivated people on earth. We have the greatest possible reason to be as productive as we can be. A lazy Christian is an impossibility, unless he is ignorant. What Jesus taught is that we are not to make things our chief goal, not even our daily food, as important as that is. Spiritual values are far more important than even the most necessary of material values. There is where the true "taxonomy of needs" begins.

Jesus put it another way when He said, "What shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?" (Mark 8:36). Colossians 3:2 puts it this way: "Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth" (NKJV).

When we are told that "they who buy" should be "as though they possessed not" (1 Corinthians 7:30), the intent is not that we are to be careless about our possessions. That would be contrary to the basic principle of stewardship. It means simply that we should not become anxious over them. We are not to allow concern for our possessions to weigh us down spiritually.

Moses was certainly an outstanding example of someone who had a proper sense of eternal values. In Egypt he was surrounded by all kinds of worldly attractions. What Satan offers to most people is only "peanuts" compared to what he offered Moses. Had he chosen to live for his own self-gratification, Moses could have done so in grand style. But he esteemed "the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt, for he had respect unto the recompense of the reward" (Hebrews 11:26). No, it was not an ultimately selfish choice. Rather, it was a proper sense of eternal values, values in themselves as well as to him.

Yes, Egypt had treasures. My wife and I had the opportunity to view the treasures of King Tut's tomb when they were on display in New Orleans. I remember the thoughts that went through my head as we moved from one gold-laden showcase to another. "So this is the stuff that some people go crazy over," I mused. I reflected on that fact that Moses could have had as much gold as this, and perhaps more, if he had only chosen to remain in Egyptian royalty. But Moses saw something far more valuable!

Moses had his priorities straight. His values were correct and solid. The will of God had so won his heart that the pleasures of sin were no competition at all.

So it was with the apostle Paul. He declared, "Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord; for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ" (Philippians 3:8).

No wonder God could trust Moses and Paul with great spiritual and eternal riches! Their hearts were free from the love of things.

And really, only when people's hearts are free from the love of things can God trust them with things. This is a principle of God's economy. No wonder the meek shall inherit the earth (Matthew 5:5). The meek are not living for the earth. Their hearts and minds are set on higher values. For that reason God can trust them with the earth, and in His time He will give it to them.

It must be frustrating to be an atheist, to look at the abundant blessings surrounding us and experience a sense of gratitude but have no-one to thank.

Part of the Biblical indictment against the gentile world is that "when they knew God, they glorified Him not as God, neither were thankful" (Romans 1:21).

God created a beautiful, bountiful earth, arranged it for us to live in, then gave it to us to manage and enjoy. Our stewardship of God's earth is a gracious privilege. God blessed us by granting it to us and He continues to bless us day by day by what the earth yields for our benefit.

God gives us pure air, majestic snow-capped mountains, green hills and fertile valleys, placid lakes, rippling brooks, mighty rivers and surging oceans. He thought enough of us to decorate our earthly home with flowers, wildlife and fish. He established four seasons. He built refreshing variety into the earth's natural features and resources. He stocked the ground with useful elements and resources. In all of nature, to the tiniest details, we see expressions of God's loving care for us, His generosity, His affection toward us.

But the world as we know it is not what it was originally, when Adam and Eve strolled through Eden's verdant pathways. It now groans under the curse that came upon it because of man's sin. Yet even in its entropy its beauty is magnificent.

How dead must be the soul that can stand before even one feature of earth's grandeur--whether the product of the original creation, or the result of subsequent catastrophic action that God used to sculpture new breath-taking spectacles--and not sense the stirrings of awe and gratitude before the Lord God Jehovah, the Creator of it all!

How irreverent, how crass must they be who have no respect for the planet as the property of Almighty God, they who disregard their solemn responsibilities as stewards over His earth, they who rape its delicate beauties, plunder and waste its resources and pollute its systems.

Christians should take the lead in the protection and conservation of our natural environment. We should not wait for the materialists or the nature-worshipers to set the agenda. We should set it and lead it. We should be examples of respect for our Heavenly Father's world.

Many people have been heavily influenced by eastern religions in their attitude toward nature. To them nature itself has taken on a divine quality. The earth itself has become a "goddess." This theology is sometimes labeled "deep ecology." In some cases this view regards all life as sacred. One expression of this attitude is found in the notion of reincarnation.

Concurrent with this is the evolutionary premise that man is merely the product of nature and therefore only a part of nature. All of this is reinforced by a "back-to-nature" revolt against the depersonalizing effects of a highly technological and industrialized economy. Add some strong pragmatic concerns for self-preservation and survival. Blended all together they produce our contemporary concern for the protection and preservation of our environment.

It is a shame that Christians waited for these forces to shape a quasi-cultic ethic concerning nature instead of boldly advancing a truly Biblical one.

We do not worship "mother nature," but Father God! Although we respect life in its various forms, only human life is sacred. We are not merely the product of nature. Both we and nature are the product of God's creative word. Our bodies are made of the elements of earth, but our spirits and souls--our essential personhood--transcends matter. We worship the Creator, not the creation. We respect the planet out of reverence for God, Who created it and Whose it is. We do this not out of insecurity, mis-directed "spiritual" sentiment, or a denial of our human dignity that would have us bow to nature as though it were our "Mother."

As Christians--ministers, teachers, parents--we should include the clear Biblical perspective of nature as part of our total instruction and training.

This should help cultivate the "attitude of gratitude." If we love God and appreciate the precious planet He has given us to manage and enjoy, our natural response will be gratitude and thankfulness.

Thankfulness is much more than merely saying "thanks" in passing. Thankfulness is an attitude, a continuous state of heart-gratitude that bubbles up frequently in spontaneous expressions of appreciation and praise.

And let us not be ashamed to thank God publicly for His benefits. Before Jesus fed the five thousand (Matthew 14:19) and the four thousand (Matthew 15:36), He publicly prayed and gave thanks to the Father. Also, in front of hundreds of soldiers, sailors, and fellow-prisoners, Paul "took bread and gave thanks to God" (Acts 27:35).

We should never be embarrassed to bow our heads and give thanks for our food, whether we are at home or in public. We do not have to make a show of it, of course. But neither should we try to hide our prayer by giving the impression that we are just rubbing our forehead. If we are alone, a silent prayer will do. If we are in a group with family and/or friends, the prayer should be audible just within the group.

Returning thanks at meals is more than a tradition. Its practice is rooted in Biblical principles and practice. In 1 Timothy 4:3-5 we read that God has created all food "to be received with thanksgiving of them which believe and know the truth. For every creature of God is good, and nothing to be refused, if it be received with thanksgiving; for it is sanctified by the word of God and prayer."

Because of religious convictions, some people abstain from certain foods, particularly meat. We should always be courteous enough to respect their convictions and charitable enough not to judge their weak conscience.

"He who eats, eats to the Lord, for he gives God thanks; and he who does not eat, to the Lord he does not eat, and gives God thanks" (Romans 14:6 NKJV).

To all the gifts and blessings that God has bestowed upon us, may there be added a thankful heart.

We can never merit God's blessings. But we can take the cup of salvation that is offered to us so freely, and call upon His name.

Whenever times are uncertain, a sense of uneasiness invades the public mind. People in general feel insecure. Many see themselves as personally vulnerable before the forces that appear to threaten them. Some panic. The price of gold and other precious metals rises as people grasp for something they believe they can trust.

But what can we trust with absolute certainty? Is any material possession so secure that we cannot possibly lose it? Is the government our guaranteed provider? Does it have unlimited resources?

And if we look for security within ourselves, can any of us say for sure that our personal inner resources are sufficient and never-failing? If they are not, then where shall we find real and ultimate security? Where can we put our trust with absolute certainty and security?

Again, we reflect on the position of the steward. Remember, a steward is someone who is entrusted with the goods of another. The steward is responsible to manage those goods properly and productively. He should be very concerned about that. But he does not worry about where they are coming from. As long as the owner is wealthy, the steward is secure and confident.

Suppose that you go to work for a multi-billion dollar corporation. The corporation puts some expensive equipment under your control and trains you to operate it with the guarantee of good wages and a liberal bonus. As long as that corporation is in business and you are working for it, you would not worry about an income.

That is exactly where the believer in Christ stands in his or her stewardship of God's world. Our Heavenly Father owns it all. He has committed a part of it to each of us to use and to manage for His glory and the greatest good, with the promise that He will supply all of our need (Philippians 4:19).

Now, God's resources are immeasurably greater than those of any human corporation. He will always be in business, and so long as we remain faithful to Him in our stewardship we have no worry over whether or not our needs will be supplied.

God is our ultimate Source of supply. As His stewards, let us place our total trust in Him. He is the solid Rock of our confidence.

We must be careful that we do not transfer our trust from the Supplier to the supply. As it has been often said, we do not look to the supply at hand but to the Hand of supply. On this very point the apostle Paul instructed young Timothy.

"Charge them that are rich in this world, that they be not highminded, nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God, who giveth us richly all things to enjoy; that they do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to distribute, willing to communicate; laying up in store for themselves a good foundation against the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life" (1 Timothy 6:17-19 KJV. Some manuscripts read "life indeed").

Placing our trust in material possessions rather than in God is a sin. Long ago Job stated: "If I have made gold my hope, or have said to the fine gold, Thou art my confidence; if I rejoiced because my wealth was great, and because mine hand had gotten much;... this also were an iniquity to be punished by the judge, for I should have denied the God that is above" (Job 31:24,25,28 KJV. "Should" means "would").

The first part of Psalm 52 is addressed to the "mighty man" who boasts himself in his mischief. Verses 6 and 7 declare: "The righteous also shall see, and fear, and shall laugh at him: Lo, this is the man that made not God his strength, but trusted in the abundance of his riches, and strengthened himself in his wickedness" (KJV).

Here are two passages in Proverbs that speak directly to this issue: "He who trusts in his riches shall fall, but the righteous will flourish like the green leaf" (Proverbs 11:28 NASB). "A rich man's wealth is his strong city, and like a high wall in his own imagination" (Proverbs 18:11 NASB).

After His disappointing encounter with the rich young ruler, Jesus said to His disciples: "How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God!... Children, how hard is it for them that trust in riches to enter into the kingdom of God! It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God" (Mark 10:23-25 KJV).

The reason for the difficulty (yes, even moral impossibility), is that the rich are prone to trust in their riches. Left to their own devices, that is exactly what they will do. The tendency is too strong to be overcome except by the work of the Holy Spirit in conviction and regeneration.

Whatever we put our trust in we tend to cling to. If we cling selfishly to riches, we are not loving God with all our heart and our neighbor as ourselves. And without love, we are not in the kingdom of God.

Placing our trust in riches is wrong because doing so puts material things in the place in our hearts where God alone should be.

As we know, material things are insufficient and temporary. This is a strong reason why we should never put our trust in them.

"Riches do not profit in the day of wrath, but righteousness delivers from death" (Proverbs 11:4 NKJV).

"Do not wear yourself out to get rich; have the wisdom to show restraint. Cast but a glance at riches, and they are gone, for they will surely sprout wings and fly off to the sky like an eagle" (Proverbs 23:4,5 NIV).

"Be diligent to know the state of your flocks, and attend to your herds; for riches are not forever... (Proverbs 27:23,24 NKJV).

"There is an evil which I have seen under the sun, and it is common among men: a man to whom God has given riches and wealth and honor, so that he lacks nothing for himself of all he desires; yet God does not give him power to eat of it, but a foreigner consumes it. This is vanity and it is an evil affliction" (Ecclesiastes 6:1,2 NKJV).

Christ admonished the lukewarm Laodicean church: "Because you say, 'I am rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing'--and do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind and naked--I counsel you to buy from Me gold refined in the fire, that you may be rich... " (Revelation 3:17,18 NKJV).

The collapse of the world-system symbolized by Babylon is described in Revelation 18. Included in the lamentation made over the city are these words: "For in one hour so great riches is come to nought" (verse 17 KJV).

Why put our trust in the things of earth, when God is faithful to provide all of our needs? Our Heavenly Father is limitless in every way. His resources are vast. He is our all-sufficient Provider. He assures us over and over that He cares for us. He reminds us that we daily witness His care for each of His creatures, including the birds of the air. This is how the Father is. Jesus said so. Following is part of what our Lord taught us in the Sermon On The Mount.

"Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.... No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon. Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not the life more than food and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature? So why worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Now, if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? Therefore do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' of 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For after all these things do the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all of these things. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble" (Matthew 6:19-21,24-34 NKJV).

The Bible records that God prospered Abraham (Genesis 24:35), and also Isaac (Genesis 26:12). He promised Israel that if they would obey Him, He would bless and prosper them in every way.

"If you walk in My statutes and keep My commandments, and perform them, then I will give you rain in its season, the land shall yield its produce, and the trees of the field shall yield their fruit. Your threshing shall last till the time of vintage, and the vintage shall last till the time of sowing; you shall eat your bread to the full, and dwell in your land safely" (Leviticus 26:3-5 NKJV).

No supermarkets. No fast-food drive-ins. No shopping centers. Just barren dessert, dry wadis, and flimsy tents. Yet they lacked nothing! God saw to it that the essentials were there, even if it took miracle after miracle to provide them. Such is the faithfulness of our God toward all who will trust Him!

Because Solomon asked for wisdom instead of riches, God honored him by granting him riches also (1 Kings 3:13).

God used ravens to feed Elijah (1 Kings 17:6). He kept the cruse of oil and the barrel of meal producing (verse 16). Out in the wilderness, fleeing from Jezebel, the prophet fell asleep under a broom tree. When he awoke, "there was a cake baken on the coals, and a cruse of water at his head" (19:6 KJV).

God sent an angel with instructions to be Elijah's personal chef. The prophet dined on "angel's food cake."

When the widow obeyed the word of the prophet Elisha and gathered all the containers she could find, God miraculously filled them all out of one pot of oil (2 Kings 4:1-7).

Psalm 1:3 promises that the blessed man "shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper" (KJV). It is God's guarantee!

In the beautiful Shepherd's Psalm, David testified that the Lord prepares a table before him in the presence of his enemies; He anoints his head with oil; his cup runs over (Psalm 23:5). He is our Shepherd, too.

Again, the Psalmist testified: "You visit the earth and water it, You greatly enrich it; the river of God is full of water; You provide their grain, for so You have prepared it. You water its ridges abundantly, You settle its furrows; You make it soft with showers, You bless its growth" (Psalm 65:9,10 NKJV). "You, O God, sent a plentiful rain, whereby you confirmed Your inheritance, when it was weary. Your congregation dwelt in it; You, O God, provided from Your goodness for the poor" (Psalm 68:9,10 NKJV).

We find more of God's promises to His people in Isaiah 30:23-25; 65:21,22; Ezekiel 36:29,30; and Zechariah 8:12.

Jesus reminded us that our Father in Heaven gives the sunrise to the evil and the good, and sends rain on the just and the unjust (Matthew 5:45).

On two separate occasions the Master miraculously fed the hungry multitudes (Matthew 14:20; 15:27). In doing so, He was doing what He saw The Father doing, and was merely acting in harmony with The Father's generous character.

The word of God assures us that all of God's gracious promises now belong to the believer in Christ. We are the objects of His care, the beneficiaries of His grace. All things are ours.

"And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work" (2 Corinthians 9:8 KJV).

"Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, 'Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you'" (Hebrews 13:5 NIV).

"My God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus" (Philippians 4:19 KJV).

Because 3 John 2 is a salutation, some practically dismiss its content. Others have taken what it says to extremes. Notwithstanding, it still remains the desire of the Holy Spirit, placed in The Scriptures through the mind and by the hand of the apostle John: "Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth" (KJV).

The story is told about a pastor who was lamenting to one of his parishioners over the fact that so few people in the congregation were tithing. As the story goes, the man asked the pastor to give him permission to write a letter to all the members, reminding them of their stewardship responsibilities. The pastor granted him permission. A few days later the pastor received this written response from one of the members: "Thank you for your letter reminding me to be sure my tithe is current. Sorry that I let things get behind. Enclosed is my tithe check. By the way, there is only one 't' in 'dirty' and no 'c' in skunk."

Some people have reported seeing a bumper sticker that reads: "Tithe if you love Jesus; anybody can honk."

The tithe is ten percent of the actual increase from our labors and investments. It is based on God's ownership of His creation and is an integral part of our stewardship of that creation. It is a moral principle and obligation built into God's economy for this present world.

When we tithe we are not giving anything to God; we are merely taking our hands off what is His. We are honoring Him and putting Him first in our attitude and actions toward His property.

Tithing has always been God's appointed way of supporting His spiritual work on earth. It existed before the Law of Moses. Abraham paid tithes to Melchizedek, the priest of God (see Genesis 14:18-20 and Hebrews 7:4-9).

One of the visible features of the national revival in Judah under King Hezekiah was the gathering of the tithe from all over the land (see 2 Chronicles 31:5-10).

Almost 300 years later, during the days of Ezra and Nehemiah, the descendants of those who had returned from the Babylonian captivity vowed together to renew their obedience to God. Part of that commitment was to bring in the tithe to the house of God (see Nehemiah 10:37, 38; 12:44).

The New Testament emphasizes the fact that we are "bought with a price" (1 Corinthians 6:20). A person who lives according to this principle should have no problem tithing. It has been said that love for the Lord takes the "stew" out of stewardship!

Jesus endorsed tithing. He said to the scribes and Pharisees, "You give a tenth of your spices--mint, dill and cummin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law--justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former" (Matthew 23:23 NIV).

Because tithing is based on God's ownership of His creation and is an integral part of our stewardship of that creation, tithing is still a moral principle and obligation built into His economy for this present world. It is part of man's obedience to God in every age.

Tithing existed before the Law of Moses; it was later built into the Law of Moses; and it continues today apart from the Law of Moses. Tithes and offerings are still God's established means of supporting ministers and ministry. The Lord has "ordained that they which preach the gospel should live of the gospel" (see 1 Corinthians 9:7-14).

It is of great importance, though, to make a distinction between the established and permanent principle of tithing itself and the dispensationally limited Old Testament regulations that governed tithing in Israel under the law. Christians can bring themselves under bondage to a lot of Mosaic rules and regulations concerning the what and how of tithing that applied to Israel under the Law but that do not apply to believers under grace.

But at the same time, the blessings God promised to those who tithe are still true and valid today, even though they were given during the time of the Old Testament. They are promises given to those who obey the principle of tithing however that principle is applied in a particular age.

As in everything else, the motive of genuine Christians in obeying God in tithing is love, not what we can "get out of the deal." We are not "bribing" God, bargaining with God, or putting God in debt to us. Remember, we are merely taking our hands off what is already His, and He will honor us for so honoring Him.

Tithing is not a "church rule" to be enforced. Rather, it is to be taught to believers and expected from believers. For believers, tithes and offerings are an act of love, obedience, and worship under grace. It is an act between the person and God.

As a pastor, I do not know and I do not want to know who is tithing or how much, and who is not tithing. In that way I can serve all the people alike, freely and without favoring any.

Part of the principle of tithing is that the tithe is to be brought to the storehouse, not scattered all over the country. We feed those who feed us. No one gets fed at one restaurant and then pays the bill at another one across town.

Also, we tithe on what we earn, not on what someone else earns. The believer who has a spouse who is not a believer should not try to tithe on the income of the unbelieving spouse or any other family member. If the income is jointly earned, the believer should reasonably expect the right to tithe on his or her portion of the income. However, the believer would be unwise to try to force the issue and by so doing to bring about a crisis in the relationship.

On the same principle, a minor who is a believer should reasonably expect the right to tithe on his or her own income. However, if he or she has parents who are unbelievers and they forbid their son or daughter to tithe, in this case obedience to parents is a greater obligation before God than tithing. A Christ-like attitude is what God expects.

Once in a while we hear of people who are not Christians who tithe anyway for strictly utilitarian reasons. They know it is a principle that produces good results. The unsaved husband who does not want his Christian wife to tithe is working against himself. He is losing money! If for no other reason than his own self interest and the financial good of the family, he ought to encourage her to tithe. In fact, he really ought to get right with God and start tithing himself.

In view of the promises that God has made to people who tithe, anyone who is not tithing is losing money. The question is not, "can we afford to tithe?" The truth is: "we can't afford not to tithe."

Now, tithing and making financial contributions to the church will not save anyone. God will not be "bought off" by people who refuse to love and obey Him. He made that clear to the selfish and disobedient people of northern Israel through the prophet Amos. "'Come to Bethel and transgress, at Gilgal multiply transgression; bring your sacrifices every morning, your tithes every three days. Offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving with leaven, proclaim and announce the freewill offerings; for this you love, you children of Israel!' says the Lord GOD" (Amos 4:4,5 NKJV).

Jesus gave us a parable about a Pharisee who boasted, "I give tithes of all that I possess" (Luke 18:12 KJV), but who was not right with God because of his selfish pride.

No works of our own--including any amount of money we might give--can save us. "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any man should boast" (Ephesians 2:8,9 KJV).

Tithing out of love for God puts us into partnership with God. We have outstanding examples of people who partnered with God in their tithes and offerings. We are told that James Kraft when he was on the verge of bankruptcy was reminded by someone that he had not taken God into partnership. Kraft started to tithe, and today millions eat his cheese and other products.

We are also told about H. P. Crowell (Quaker Oats); Heinz (57 varieties); Stanley S. Kresge (K-Mart), who dedicated his business "in the name and for the sake of Jesus Christ"; Welch (grape juice, etc.); Proctor of Proctor And Gamble; A. A. Hyde (Mentholatum); Wallace Johnson (Holiday Inns); William Colgate, who started tithing when he was still a boy; J. C. Penney; R. G. LeTourneau.

These and many other people took God into partnership by tithing (and in some cases double and triple tithing, and more). They did it out of love for God and His kingdom, and God honored them as He promised.

Many years ago I had an aunt by marriage who said to me one day late in her life, "When I was younger, I refused to tithe because I thought we could not afford it. We became so poor I envied the chickens when I saw them eating worms because they had meat to eat. I realized why we were getting so far down financially and decided to tithe. When we began to tithe, we began to prosper."

I can still remember the fire in her eyes as she drove home her point to this young preacher: "TELL THE PEOPLE TO TITHE!"

Oh, yes, and some unexpected blessings might just happen to come to those who tithe. The story is told of two shipwrecked men stranded on a tiny island in the Pacific Ocean. One man leaned back against the lone palm tree, smiled to himself, and remarked, "I make three million dollars a year."

The other man retorted, "How is that going to help you now? Your three million dollars a year won't get you a piece of bread or a drink of water out here in the middle of nowhere!"

The first man replied smugly, "I make three million dollars a year. And I tithe. And my pastor will find me!"

As an institution in itself, human government is an extension and application on earth of God's universal moral rule.

This certainly does not imply that all rulers have governed or are governing wisely or benevolently. On the contrary, the history of human government is a millennia-long narrative of oppressive and often brutal autocrats conquering and ruling the people for their own selfish pleasure. Relatively few have governed for God's purpose in human government--the good of the people.

Nevertheless and in spite of all the abuses of human government, the institution itself serves a vital function in human society. Anarchy is not an option. Even the most cruel and despotic regimes carry out at least the very basic functions of gove