Economic Obligations
When you have eaten and are satisfied, you shall bless the LORD your God for the good land which He has given you. Deuteronomy 8:10
Land – The best way for the enemy to undermine the power of God’s redemptive people in an affluent society is to prevent something good from accomplishing God’s purpose by diverting it from Kingdom work. For America, the strategy is obvious: the land is so blessed that the enemy has determined to keep us so busy enjoying the blessings that we have no time to use the resources for the Kingdom. The fundamental flaw in the American view of the Kingdom is a failure to understand the relationship between profit and purpose. Today, we operate on the assumption that the resources we have in hand (the land) are ours and, therefore, the profits produced from those resources are ours. Sure, God gets His share (the tithe), but the real bottom-line is that what I earn is mine to do with as I see fit. Consequently, the determining factor in distribution is my desires for the use of my resources. We may decide to use great amounts for the Kingdom (a good thing) but it is we who decide, and that implies that the assets belong to me. Wrong!
We have forgotten that the land is not ours, never was ours and never will be ours. All profit belongs to the land owner. All the assets are His and He determines who will have them and how they should be used. We are the stewards, not the owners. So, if I decide that I will use the Master’s resources to accomplish good purposes, but these purposes are not the purposes of the Master, then I might as well give the profits to idols. My charity has no value in the Kingdom. You see, God is not interested in the effort or the amount. He is interested in the motive and the only motive He looks for is obedience to His desires. Any other use of the resources is a failure in economic obligation.
The world spends God’s resources on idolatry because it chooses to use the land of the King for its own pleasures and pursuits. It is a very sad fact that many believers do exactly the same thing. No, they don’t spend money on worldly pursuits (most of the time), but they insist on making the decisions. They choose “good” things without knowing what is the God-thing. They have forgotten to ask the owner of ‘erets (the land – the whole of creation) what He wants to do with the resources. They just assume that they know. A worthy cause is not always God’s cause. Israel made that mistake. It cost her dearly.
America is a land where we can be more than satisfied. It is a blessed land. And when we have eaten our fill, what will we do with all the extra, the profit? The idols of the age will always have something more to possess. But the Lord of creation has another purpose in mind for your profits. Have you asked Him what it is, or did you think you already knew the mind of God?
