DANGER OF WEALTH. In 1 Kings 3 Solomon, the king of Israel after David, has a dream. In the dream God comes to him and says" "...Ask what shall I give you." Solomon shows that he already has some earthly wisdom because he asks God to give him - "...an understanding mind and a hearing heart to judge Your people, that I may discern between good and bad." (I Kings 3:9) - And God is very pleased with his request. Because he does not ask for riches for himself, but wisdom to govern the Israelites, God gives him both things. And therein lies the rub. Solomon's wisdom and God's added wealth, becomes his great undoing. He becomes so rich, so powerful, so acclaimed by men, he forgets the precepts of God. He aligns himself with some of the most powerful nations around Israel, and marries their women. This is in direct disobedience to God's laws, and, the saddest of all things happens to this man of God with great promise - these pagan women lead him astray, and he forsakes Almighty God.

I have seen the danger and deceit that comes from wealth. (Not personally, but by observation.) Many wonderful Christians I know feel that God is leading them into a place of great provision, for themselves, and for the body of Christ in the future. My general observation is this: you had better practice giving even in the lean years BEFORE there is plenty, and you had better give WHATEVER GOD SAYS, when He says to, because when plenty comes, a snare comes with it! The first part of this snare is very sneaky. How do you know when you have ENOUGH to start giving? As you go along, accumulating money and stuff, THE LINE OF PLENTY MOVES AWAY FROM YOU. So you start to think, 'I'll give more next year, when we have gotten, or done, this or that.' The bible says that riches are deceitful, and Jesus Himself said, "It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God." (Mark 10:25) Our problem as humans comes in when we think 'stuff like that won't affect me, I am listening to God carefully and following His instructions.'

Let me make myself clear, you cannot trust in YOURSELF in the spiritual arena. satan will make dog's dinner out of you, and you will not know what has hit you. You will be lying on the ground, wondering what the number of the bus was, so to speak. The second observation is this: do not give to get. There has been a popular catch cry around the tracks that says, "you cannot outgive God." That's truth, its scriptural, but, God does not always give money or goods or prosperity back! In 3 John there is verse widely quoted nowadays: "Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in every way and (that your body) may keep well, even as (I know) your soul keeps well and prospers." Let me paraphrase this verse so that you see my point clearly. "I pray that your prosperity in material things, and health, will be directly related to the way your soul prospers!" So John is saying it is very important that your soul/spirit is healthy, first, because money, wealth, position and power corrupt! After a while, you start to believe the "press" about yourself, (your reputation), and that can lead to thinking you and God are really close, because I have all this money etc., and He MUST approve of me!

God made Solomon wealthy. But it was up to Solomon to keep his soul prosperous, according to the rules he already knew. There would be no new rules, just for him! He had to behave like everyone else. That is why God was so hard on his father, David. David may have been the king, and a special friend of God, but he still had to follow the rules! Lastly, I want to say that wealth is a snare because it separates. That is not my thought, James chides the church for treating a poor man differently to a rich one. (James 2) When you have wealth, you are different to those around you, and people befriend you for their own gain. You then need to view almost everyone with suspicion. That doesn't make for easy agape (love)! I agree that the body of Christ will see a great influx of funds in the future, but I pray, with everything that is in me, that it goes to those who have had their hearts already prepared by the Spirit of God. Otherwise, some of the church's greatest corruption lies ahead. I exhort you, see money, goods, power etc., as resources to further the kingdom of God. And don't store your wealth up down here, give it into the kingdom so you can store it up in heaven! God Bless you.

PS One of the reasons we can't believe to see a return on all our kingdom investments down here is that God stores some of the return up there in heaven! Besides, He is not BHP or Telstra, He does not answer to the shareholders.