In his booming voice, Lester Collins recounted his Pastor/Father’s sage advice to him as a young pastor: make sure you are doing the right thing with money and relationships. Good advice for all of us! It reminded me of Richard Foster’s book, “Money, Sex and Power.” In recent years, Pastors have been disqualified for mistakes in all three of these areas.
How can we discern whether our salvation really took? Are there any tell-tale signs of redemption? When Sam Houston received Christ, he was baptized at Washington on the Brazos not far from Chapell Hill and Brenham. The story is told that he forgot to remove his wallet when he was baptized, so its contents were soaking wet. In good humor, he chuckled and said, “I guess my wallet needed to be baptized, too.”
When Abram won a great victory over Kederlaomer and his compadres, not only did the king of Salem bring him bread and wine, but the king of Sodom wanted to recompense him for his effort. He was glad to have his family and the other people back. So he offered for Abram to keep the remaining 90% of the money and goods. What a deal! With great integrity, Abram refused the offer because he had sworn an oath to the Lord not to accept any possessions from the king. Abram refused to become beholden to or indebted to any earthly king because he owed everything to the Lord, God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth.
Remember Abram had already tithed to Melchizedek. Somehow, Abram did not believe his oath bound his companions. Some of them had eaten the food which had been recovered. He wanted his companions to receive their share. Abram’s concern for others revealed something about his relationship with God.
So how are we doing? When we were baptized, did our wallets get wet? Right relationship with God likely means we will see money differently than non-Christians do. We will honor God with our acquisition and expenditure of money. We will also see our possessions as ways to glorify God and bless others.
