I have been given a gift in photography, design and illustration but not for me to get rich and famous, yet here I am, a few weeks away from launching my photography website where which I will charge customers to download and use my images, not only that, but I am in the process of building a business around my t-shirt designs. Is it right to gain a profit for my work through large companies or from my close friends and fellow believers? There are several answers to that question and I would like to share one with a story.
There once were two men who were both equally gifted in healing, they could heal those who were sick or injured within three days of their prayers. As time passed, they both got married, they needed work, so they both set up hospitals where they would go around the building praying for their patients. They charged for their services, just enough to provide for their families and a few comforts. They both tithed excessively, giving thousands of dollars each year to various ministries and missionaries.
Clothe Me with Immortality by Tyler van der Hoeven
As the two men got older, the richer they got and the more they craved, they went to church less, and began charging more for their services of healing. They were celebrities, invited to all the major parties and social gatherings. One night, they both had the same dream, they saw a boy, torn, dirty and ragged, with little clothes and even fewer teeth, he was standing on a dirty street. He was walking towards them slowly, when all of a sudden he fell, coughing, wheezing and dying. At that instant both men awoke, sweaty but relieved that it had only been a dream.
The vividness of the dream did not diminish on iota for the rest of the week, and Saturday night it came again, more real and horrific than the first time. Sunday morning they both arose, both got dressed, one for church, and the other for a party with the mayor. The first man rededicated his life to Christ that morning at church; the other got drunk and forgot all his troubles. The next day they both went back to work, the prices remained the same for their work, yet for the first man, in joy and cheerfulness he gave it all away, he kept back for himself not one single penny, the other man stopped giving, holding it all back in his vain pursuit for more.
The first man soon gave up his practice as a doctor and in great joy left everything. He left for Africa with with his wife where they might be able to be of some use for the Kingdom of Christ. The other man became exceedingly wealthy, he cared nothing for God but his gift of healing remained, so he continued to stockpile wealth and fame. Many years later when both men were old and nearing the end of their lives, the first man was working alone, having lost his wife a few years before to cancer, yet still offering up prayers for the healing for the lost people of Africa. The other had many friends and the best care.
The second man had long since given up his doctoring to pursue the more enjoyable pursuits of retirement; cruising, golfing, touring and the like. He too had lost his wife many years ago to depression but had since remarried several times. Then, quite suddenly, both became very ill and died. Both left this earth with just as much as they came with, nothing, yet they did not arrive at heaven’s gates empty handed for both had a record on their souls of how they had lived their lives.
The first man was received into heavens joys with trumpet sound and much great rejoicing to rule the heavens and the earth along with His glorious Master and Redeemer, having stood firm. The other too was received, but not into the joys or glories of heaven, for that same Lord who had greeted with love and overwhelming affection the first man, looked with disgust and even hatred upon the other. “Sir,” said the man, “did I not heal millions in prayer to you? Why will you not now grant me access to this excellent place as my deeds deserve?” The Lord replied, “I never knew you, I’ve never heard your voice, your feet have never touched my throne room, indeed your head has never rested upon my bosom, and your sins where never paid for, until today, depart from me you worker of iniquity for today your actions have spoken to the condition of your heart, that you were never saved.” In great anger and hatred the man rushed upon the Master in order to force his way into heaven but the Master rose quickly and with lightning speed thrust his great sword into his belly and that wicked man fell, deep into the abyss.
Great truths require radical change. For those of us who are truly saved we will never be satisfied until we have done all to please and glorify our Lord and Savior. We will be deep in prayer, deep in our evaluations and constantly repenting of the times we fail. God does not seek for perfection, He does not look for talent or ability, and He seeks for worship.
We all worship something, we all have a god, whether it be money, ourselves, our friends, our talents, our equipment or the One true God, the Creator of heaven and earth. Yet only God is big enough to bear the weight of our worship, any other thing will bend and break under the weight of our worship. Worship money and you will never be satisfied, you will always want more, worship yourself and you will perish, unsatisfied and bitterly disappointed, worship friends and they will disappoint, die, or betray you. Worship your talents and they will never be sufficient and you will spend your days trying to be the best, be better, and will die having come up short, worship your equipment and you will never have enough, always seeking to upgrade you will find yourself always looking and longing for the new best toy but worship the One true God and you will find Him to be a strong and mighty tower, worthy and strong, able to bear it and return your greatest joy and satisfaction, more than you ever could have dreamed of.
So then, we must worship God, and if we do we will find our greatest joy. Money is not evil, lots of money is not evil, and it is the heart of the person who has money that can choose to use it for evil or good. I can choose to use my last twenty dollars to buy a pack of cigarettes, or I can relinquish my claim on a fortune of $5 million dollars by seeking through prayer on whom to give it to. Money in the hands of a believer who is seeking to honor God in all things can be a tremendously useful and blessed thing. I want to be the person who is able to be the conduit through which God can bless those whom he desires to bless. I don’t want to lay claim to anything as “mine”, but “His”, under His control and use, realizing that nothing on this earth is rightfully mine, for I came here with nothing and will leave with only a record of how I lived in the light of the reality of who God is.
Let’s revisit the question. How is it right to gain a profit for my work through large companies or from my close friends and fellow believers? Well, the answer for me is that I would like to use my talents and abilities to glorify God. To create art and sell it that I might have money that has been used for unrighteousness, the wealth of the world, and redeem it to be used for righteousness, to give it away to be used by God to multiply a hundred fold that many might come to know the Savior by appropriate use of these resources. I want to be a wise steward who took what was entrusted to me and have it multiplied to the honor and glory of the Master. At the same time however not holding back my talents or gifts merely because someone cannot pay for them. Freely I have been given too, freely should I give. What about friends, family and brothers and sisters in Christ?
How can I demand a profit from a believer and expect that to glorify God? It’s hard to run a successful business this way, but I’d rather fail at business and be a success in the eyes of my Father than gain all riches of the Kings and have the frown on the blessed face of my Redeemer.
Well this has been long, yet I have much more to say so I will try and split it up over a few more posts. Again, not too many folks will get to the bottom of this post but if you have, then thanks for taking the time to listen to the ramblings of a young guy trying to seek to do all things to glorify his Master.
5 thoughts on “Christians and Money – The Struggle Within”
I’m not really sure why you have written this story. I really appreciate what you are trying to do with this blog, I think it’s great that as another young person you feel compelled to share your faith. But, the Bible is already full of stories of this kind but the best thing is they’re also the inspired word of God. Why not quote something like Matthew 6:26 and then tell us how that relates to your life. That would certainly be more inspiring than a made up story.
Having said that, thank you for your witness to God by way of having made this blog!
Carl, I think if we took the story from the beginning of the blog post to the end you would get the full meaning of what Tyler is saying, it is quite obvious that all His needs are met already, so Mathew 6:26 would not apply fully to him.
He obviously is having some struggles with making a profit from his artwork, hence the story he told, truly applies to his struggles. The story is not from the Bible, but it still does not stray away from Biblical teachings of caring for the poor and sharing what God has given to us instead of storing up riches for ourselves here on earth! I like what Tyler said here is very powerful:
“I’d rather fail at business and be a success in the eyes of my Father than gain all riches of the Kings and have the frown on the blessed face of my Redeemer.”
That quote shows much maturity in his thinking.
I agree Dave, I think Tyler has the gift of story telling and as Christians we should encourage those gifts in our brothers and sisters and not quench them with our words.
Does God look upon souls with hatred often?
No, absolutely not. Hatred is not part of the nature of God. He looks upon our souls with a never ending love, that is why He sent His only Son to die for our sins, so that we in turn do not have to pay the penalty of death.