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Right Instinct,
Wrong Currency
by Doug Perry, www.WhatHaveWeDone.org
(Based on Matt. 6;
I Peter 1; Rev. 3:17-21; Rev. 18; I Corin. 3; Matt. 23:17; Eph.
2:6-8; Col. 1:27; Matt. 24:9-14; Matt. 25)
I Peter 1:18-19
For you know
that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that
you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from
your forefathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb
without blemish or defect.
Matthew 6:19-24
"Do not
store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust
destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for
yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy,
and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure
is, there your heart will be also. "The eye is the lamp of the
body. If your eyes are good, your whole body will be full of light.
But if your eyes are bad, your whole body will be full of darkness.
If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that
darkness! "No one can serve two masters. Either he will
hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and
despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money.
Matthew 6:31-34
So do not
worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or
'What shall we wear?' For the pagans run after all these things, and
your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his
kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to
you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will
worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
What a blessing it
is to be an American! If your hope is for a comfortable life, health,
opportunities to accumulate assets - what a blessing. If your
hope is for spiritual purity and being like Christ - what a curse it
is to live here! The "American Dream" trumpeted
around the world that urges the poor, downtrodden, huddled masses to
come to us is the vision that they could work hard, make a million
dollars, get a big car, a big house and a pretty blonde wife in a
bikini. If not them, then maybe their kids.
Do you see that
God has blessed this nation from the very beginning with relative
peace, with an entrepreneurial spirit, with a great work ethic, with
capital and energy enough to accomplish nearly any task? The
problem is our continuous misunderstanding of the nature of the
economy of the universe. Without a great revival movement every
fifty years in this country (since 1750), there might be no signs of
Christian love left. We would have long since been absorbed by the
consumer mentality. Even now we are in grave danger as the church
unrepentantly becomes more and more like the world.
We've been blessed
by God with the right instincts - massive accumulation of treasure
through hard work and entrepreneurial thinking. But we've
ignored the specific instructions in the Bible about what money is
FOR. We've arrogantly chosen the easy parts of the Bible and
dismissed those that draw us into conflict with worldy culture.
(We are not being persecuted because we are not trying to be like
Christ. As soon as a movement of Christians decides to throw
off this culture and live as Christ commanded, persecution will start
in America. Enough of them might even be seen as a threat to
our economic safety and national security.)
The Bible says
we're to store up treasure in Heaven where it won't rust and thieves
can't steal. If we are to covet anything, it is this. The eternal
treasure is the thing. Don't you get it? That's what dollars are for!
If God has blessed you with more than your basic needs, every single
extra dollar should be used to purchase Heavenly treasure. Any
other use of them is selfishness, apostasy and ultimately, idolatry.
Not my words - I'm not happy about it either. I stand condemned the
same as anyone else. But you can't leave the verses cited above out
of the Scriptures and still honestly say your desire is to be like Christ.
Imagine someone
offered you Microsoft stock or Hewlett-Packard stock when those guys
were still working in their garages. Better yet, imagine if you
absolutely, positively knew what that stock would be worth someday.
You knew it was a winner. Would you buy into them? Would you
sacrifice some current luxury to help them grow - in exchange for the
long-term payoff?
When God finally
got through to me and helped me see this, all of my American business
instincts kicked into overdrive. If every dollar is entrusted
to me SO THAT I can use it to buy treasure in Heaven, then I want
maximum return on investment for every single dollar. See?
Makes perfect sense. So I went on a search to first see how my
money was currently being used and then find who might be a better
investment. As it turns out, the "stocks" I'd been
buying through denominational structures and "Big Church"
programs have a TERRIBLE yield in Heaven. I can't say they're all
losers, but they were definitely under-performing their potential.
I want to find
those mighty warriors, those servants of the Cross, those who are
truly being obedient and living like Christ; those who when they pray
you just know God hears them; those who have eternal Fruit flying off
of them like crazy; those who are caring for the poor and sick and
lost; those who are storing up treasure in heaven faster than anybody
else - then I want in on it. I want to buy a share in their
pile. (Matt. 10:41-42) I want to support them, urge them on and get
out of their way. I want a stake in that eternal reward. And if
I have a hot tip that's going to make me a fortune, I want to tell my
friends and my family and my employees and even strangers on the bus!
Our search for who
is the hottest stock led us first to Gospel For Asia (http://www.GFA.org),
although we are now finding others and will seek to highlight them
at every opportunity. For example, the native missionaries that
GFA supports are amazing warriors of the faith, going out to hostile
regions on a one way ticket with grim determination to win souls for
Christ or die trying. They sleep on stone floors, live on one or two
dollars a day, pray for hours, preach fearlessly and raise up mighty
churches of fearless disciples - and when God thinks it will help,
mighty miracles make their way easier. All for a total ministry
cost of $1000 to $1500 per year in most cases.
Western
missionaries sent through our denominational structures often cost
$100,000 per year. Average investment in one missionary family can
exceed $500,000 with an average time on the field of just three
years. Many prepare and never go at all. Private schools
or tutors for their kids, healthcare, retirement funds, furloughs,
maids, chauffers, security guards, language training, internet access
and others - may all be required costs for these. Not to
mention the lost potential in ministry momentum of having to come
back to fund-raise periodically. (I don't question the motives
of the missionaries. I speak from experience here, having grown up in
that life.) Even with all of this, foreign missions is less
than 5% of total church spending. The rest we spend on our local
programs, buildings and staffs.
Our website is
just an expression of that yearning for stewardship and has become a
place to educate about the HORRIBLE job we're doing in the American
church of spending our dollars wisely to get maximum yield in
Heaven. I urge you, test yourself, your company, your church,
your denomination, your charities. What is their true yield in
Heavenly treasure? Seek maximum profit in the eternal currency.
I want my family,
my employees, you and your family and a thousand thousand other
Brothers and Sisters to be in a giant receiving line where we get to
kiss and hug the souls brought into heaven by the labor of those on
the field that we supported from the blessing of our wealth. If
Heaven is forever, I want that line to stretch farther than I can
see. I want that line to last for YEARS.
The
"Prosperity Gospel" ministries are right, they're living in
their reward. This is it. Enjoy it while you can. What are those
HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS of dollar per year their ministries are bringing
in going to buy them in Heaven? What kind of accountability are we
getting? How much is going to ministry and not their own pockets?
What treasure in Heaven is being accumulated? Really needed that
private jet and multi-million dollar house did they? Let's see what
Jesus has to say about it when we all come to account. I pray
urgently for them to have the heart of Zacchaeus before it's too
late. Repent and make restitution.
As for me and my
house, we'll invest in those who are living like Christ. GFA sends
100% of missions donations to evangelism on the field to the most
unreached. Even the receptionist and the shipping guy have to raise
their own salaries from personal supporters or else volunteer.
MILLIONS of souls a year are being reached. Ten new churches planted
every day. .
Which one do YOU
want a piece of?
Research the
ministries. Be smart. Invest wisely. Demand accountability and
efficiency. Visit www.ECFA.org
and www.MinistryWatch.org.
If they can't be trusted with the little things, they can't be
trusted with the big things. Would Jesus of Nazareth drive a
Bentley or a Rolls Royce? There are some serious wolves out there
amongst the sheep.
Whether entrusted
with a little or a lot, we'll all be called to account for our
stewardship of God's blessings.
Doug Perry
whwd@whathavewedone.org
www.WhatHaveWeDone.org
Revelations 3:17-21
You say, 'I am
rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.' But you do not
realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked. I
counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire, so you can
become rich; and white clothes to wear, so you can cover your
shameful nakedness; and salve to put on your eyes, so you can see.
Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest, and repent.
Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice
and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me.
To him who overcomes, I will give the right to sit with me on my
throne, just as I overcame and sat down with my Father on his throne.
Copyright Doug
Perry 2004. Use freely
- but without charge and without changes. Link to: www.whwd.org |
