Will Davis Jr.: Your purpose in life isn’t to make money.

“Your purpose in life isn’t to make money. It isn’t to live a comfortable lifestyle, to prepare for your retirement, or even to provide well for your family. Believe it or not, you’re designed for something far better and much more exhilarating. If you limit your life’s purpose to acquiring wealth or living comfortably, then you’ll never have enough and you’ll never be satisfied…

The Bible offers a better way. In the wisdom of God, the Bible includes countless verses about money and wealth, and the futility of pursuing either…Beyond that, it tells us that we are going to be held accountable for how we manage what God has given us–specifically, our money and other resources. It tells us that we are to care for the poor, the widows, and orphans, and to help spread the hope-giving message of Jesus Christ. And it promises that there is great joy and contentment to be found in living with less, giving more, and seeking to serve others by using what God has given us.”

Will Davis Jr. in Enough: Finding More By Living With Less (Grand Rapids: Revell, 2012) 11, 13.

“The hope that Christian giving will lead to material prosperity (as divine compensation) derives from a selfish materialism that Scripture regularly rebukes (e.d., 1 Tim 6:9-10). This is not to deny the biblical promises that God rewards generosity (Prov. 11:25; Luke 6:38) but rather to emphasize that only unselfish giving is rewarded. The ironic teaching of Jesus is, essentially, “Expect nothing in return, and your reward will be great” (Luke 6:35; cf. 14:14).”

Mark Alan Powell, “Generosity” in Dictionary of Scripture and Ethics, gen. ed. Joel B. Green (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2011) 324.

“Who can outdo God in His generosity. If we poor humans give Him everything and surrender our whole being to His service? No, He is sure to stand by us, and with us, as everything in us will be His.”

Mother Teresa, in a letter dated October 19, 1947 in Come Be My Light ed. Brian Kolodiejchuk (New York: Doubleday, 2007) 87.

“Our external actions are meaningless and empty if they are not done in the love and Spirit of Jesus.”

Bill Adams in The Redemptorists of the Denver Province blogpost for 17 October 2012.

“We must be willing to abridge ourselves of our superfluities, for the supply of others’ necessities.”

John Winthrop (1588-1649), founder of Massachusetts Bay Colony, in “A Model of Christian Charity” written in 1630 aboard the Arbella. To read the document, visit: http://religiousfreedom.lib.virginia.edu/sacred/charity.html

Thou art the blessed God, happy in Thyself, source of happiness in Thy creatures, my Maker, Benefactor, Proprietor, Upholder. Thou hast produced and sustained me, supported and indulged me, saved and kept me; Thou art in every situation able to meet my needs and miseries.

May I live by Thee, live for Thee, never be satisfied with my Christian progress but as I resemble Christ; and may conformity to His principles, temper, and conduct grow hourly in my life. Let Thy unexampled love constrain me into holy obedience, and render my duty my delight. If others deem my faith folly, my meekness infirmity, my zeal madness, my hope delusion, my actions hypocrisy, may I rejoice to suffer for Thy name.

Keep me walking steadfastly towards the country of everlasting delights, that paradise-land which is my true inheritance. Support me by the strength of heaven that I may never turn back, or desire false pleasures that will disappear into nothing.  As I pursue my heavenly journey by Thy grace let me be known as a man with no aim but that of a burning desire for Thee, and the good and salvation of my fellow men.

Puritan Prayer: “Divine Support” in The Valley of Vision: A Collection of Puritan Prayers & Devotions, ed. Arthur Bennett (2003).

“Most people just assume this basic life story—that they should study hard to get a degree to get a good job to be able to afford a house and get married and have kids and put money away for retirement…its no wonder people aren’t interested in Jesus—because they don’t see how Jesus helps them progress through their life story…that unexamined life story is shallow and flawed…As Christians we need to have a well-thought through biblical life story that can stand up to the assumed story of our culture. Jesus said, after all, to seek first the kingdom of God and everything else comes after that.”

Geoff Folland serves with Campus Crusade for Christ Australia, and is a former student of mine. This excerpt taken from his October 15, 2012 ministry update.

“Confidence is not based on you having all the resources needed to take care of yourself; confidence is based upon the truth that God is faithful.”

Roy Lessin, co-founder of DaySpring Cards, in booklet entitled, Fret Busters: 30 Reasons Not to Fear or Worry.

Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in them. 1 John 2:15

How Can I Determine If I Am Attached To Something?

“Selfish clingings position us in a spiritual fog hindering our supernatural vision. It then becomes difficult to discern between what is a legitimate desire and what is an inordinate attachment.  The following questions may help us in our honest self-knowledge:

Am I using created things in excess of my real needs? Example:  How many pairs of shoes do I have as opposed to how many I need? We can apply this to any material possession. How many hours do I spend viewing TV?

Do I use things for the purpose for which they were intended? Example: If my employer provides me with a computer for my work, do I spend time in using it for personal e-mail, needless internet surfing or entertainment (assuming there is a policy against such use)?

Do I make persons or things ends in themselves rather than as means to an end? Example: Is my relationship with another the way by which my own needs are provided for more than my concern for the good of the other?

In responding to the above as regards my relationships and my use of things, am I more drawn to God through them and do they cause me to think of Him more frequently?  Am I led to deeper prayer as a result?

Identifying inordinate attachments, recognizing them in oneself, and addressing them through a practical plan of detachment enables one to experience a greater freedom and to be open to the gifts that God wishes to lavish on us.”

Carmen Laudis blogpost on 9 October 2012.

“Our material wealth is not evil, in itself. It is filled with good things for our enjoyment but because of our weak, fallen, human nature, we tend to attach ourselves too closely to things, to link our hopes too tightly to them. Wealth can easily give us the illusion of being self-sufficient and being totally in control of our happiness and our destiny.

But we are, in fact, dependent on God for everything; we are weak, we are fragile, we are unable to achieve total lasting fulfillment by ourselves. Perhaps it is easier to keep this in mind in times of financial crises, when it is hard to make ends meet.”

Seán Brady, Cardinal and Archbishop of Armagh, in homily in the Diocese of Galway, Kilmacduagh & Kilfenora at Mass in Galway Cathedral, Ireland, on 11 October 2009.