Well, of course, they can. However, wealth is a touchy subject among Christians. Because of basic misunderstandings and assumptions, many Christians can’t be wealthy.
In fact the only things holding Christians back from true wealth are self-imposed limitations.
Here are my top three.
Christians Can’t be Wealthy When…
1. They Mistake Wealth for Riches
Throughout the First World, Christians and non-Christians alike find themselves in a state of constant financial struggle. Not poor – but forced to work long hours in jobs they hate just to make rent and pay their monthly bills.
Many Christians long to escape from this cycle but feel unable to. What if someone told you that you could find true wealth without becoming rich? You can!
It is our First-World mentality, not the Bible, that tells us the only way to true wealth is by becoming rich. For Christians this is a stumbling block because we understand that there lies the love of money and the road to ruin.
Riches are the measure of a bank balance. Wealth is the measure of freedom and choice.
Rich Abba, Holy Abba
Too many Christians believe the world’s lie that freedom and choice requires infinite riches. This is one reason why many Christians can’t be wealthy.
When we begin to understand wealth outside the context of riches, the stumbling block is removed. The truth is that many Christians could achieve true wealth with little or no more money than they have now.
Think of it this way; what would you do for God and his kingdom – how would you spend your time – if you could maintain your current income but were able to choose your hours and work from anywhere in the world?
You would be no richer than you are now but possibly infinitely wealthier.
2. They Bow to Materialism
Here is an unpalatable truth. Materialism is simply the Love of Money in a different guise.
Like a master-illusionist, Satan focuses all our attention on Acquisition of Riches Love of Money, while quietly hiding the Materialism Love of Money that takes root our hearts…. and we, his victims, continue to believe we are immune because we still feel poor!
Materialism is not only the Love of Money; it is the very thing that keeps us in a place of financial struggle.
Understanding Godliness with Contentment, can free us from materialism and the love of money. As our spending patterns change, we are able to create true wealth with opportunities for freedom and choice.
Not by becoming richer but rather by becoming better stewards of God’s blessing in our lives.
3. They Focus on Bread Instead of Seed
Many Christians think of any investment as the pursuit of riches and, by extension, the love of money. This, coupled with a natural human fear of anything we don’t understand, prevents many Christians from ever investing their earnings in assets that grow in value.
Instead, they spend it on their “Daily Bread” (i.e. the things they need to support themselves and their family month by month). When Christians view everything they earn as bread rather than seed, they automatically see it as something to be consumed rather than planted.
This is a reason why many Christians can’t be wealthy.
This is not a question of pursuing riches but, rather, one of stewardship. As Christians we should first acknowledge that all we have belongs to God. When we consume all the resources God places in our trust as bread, this is not good stewardship.
Some of those resources are bread, to be sure. Christians can and should use this bread to support themselves and their families. They should also be generous with the bread they have and share it with others in need or as tithes and offerings to further God’s kingdom.
However, as good stewards of the blessings with which God has entrusted us, Christians should reserve a portion of their earnings as seed to be planted for future harvest.
If unsure of how to do this or where and how to invest, then I would submit that Christians have a duty to understand this, like the good and faithful servant in Matthew 25:14-30 who wisely used what his master gave him to produce an increase.
By becoming good stewards of God’s resources, we can break the cycle and find true freedom – or true wealth! We can do this not by becoming richer but by becoming good stewards of that which God has already given us.