People seem to have two general reactions to “Making Millions By God”. While it’s rare someone is blah, typically the reaction is ’I love it!’ but sometimes ’I hate it’ crops up. Having been poorer than most Americans in my life, then wealthier than most Americans in my life, I have been in the unusual position of living both sides of the wealth coin most Americans have not lived. So, I offer the following from experience about ‘I hate it’ reactions.
People that have a ‘I hate it’ reaction 1) Are often converted people with the Spirit who don’t grasp that people without the Spirit need to be attracted to God from different perspectives, or 2) Are often poor who are simply prejudiced against those of wealth out of jealousy, or 3) occasionally want to feel superior BECAUSE they are poor to convince themselves they are doing ok.
From my experience, all three reactions of that kind are selfish to varying degrees. People naturally assume how each person sees things is how everyone else sees things, a self-oriented perspective. To assume it’s less than Godly to attract people to God’s service by materialistic approach belies the fact that is what Christ did with Abram – before he became Abraham, the Father of the faithful (Gen 12). Why? Because some people simply respond to a ’show me the results’ approach better than to a ‘love God because God is great’ approach.
People that are in the latter mind set don’t see the value of people in the former mind set, because they selfishly think that everyone should think their way. AFTER they possess the Spirit, the unconverted are given the Love of God via the Spirit to think that way, but not BEFORE. “Making Millions By God” is designed to attract people of the ’show me results’ mind set to encourage them give God’s ways a chance! They would not otherwise give the time of day to a messge of ‘just love God’!
Further, Christ saves ALL, rich or poor, of all color, of both sexes. The zealous for God often just don’t realize that God to others seems distant, angry, eager to punish, anti-fun, anti-pleasure, and restrictive. That’s a LOT of resistance to overcome, to get people to give God’s ways a chance! One has to find common ground first!
All people desire wealth and status. God knows this, and attracted Abram with these things. Christ fed people before He taught them, on multiple occasions. There is value to helping people see God via the physical they can more readily comprehend, at first. Later comes the time to raise that level to the spiritual. Note the following illustration:
Below is an unedited letter from a young missionary wife and mother in Russia. Her viewpoint is worth reviewing and discussing in detail, because it may be representative of others in the ‘I hate it’ camp. Her feeling is that “Making Millions By God” is not something helpful to the ministry there, to which I respond in detail. I conclude by noting “Making Millions By God” follows God’s example of how God first worked with Abram, and how Christ worked with the thousands, methods I believe all should be following for outreach.
Dear C.E.,
Thanks for your note and for your encouragement. We do not have a theology that God desires everyone to “make millions.” On the contrary, what we have seen is that man’s quest for material wealth and success is self-feeding and destructive of a healthy walk with Jesus. The Bible says, “seek First the Kingdom of God and His righteousness…” Drawing people in with the promise that God will make people wealthy if they trust in Him is false. I trust in Him and am not wealthy. Living simply puts me closer to the living standards of those whom I serve among and gains me more respect. If I were a millionaire of course everyone who want to hang out with me so they could “seek God” to become a millionaire too. The problem is that soo many Christians are missing the point. God is enough. God is the gospel. He is our salvation and our LIFE. He provides the joy. The search is for HIM. Everything we need is in HIM!!!!
We have learned alot so far from the faith of the russians among whom we serve. Their income is alot less than ours and they live by faith to make ends meet. Their faith in God is alive and fresh and impacts everything they do – including having dinner for the supper table or being able to buy needed medicine. They know God as Jehovah Jirah in a way I might never.
Matthew 19:24, Mark 10:25, & Luke 18:25 says, “Again I tell you, 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.”
James 2:5 “Listen, my dear brothers: Has not God chosen those who are poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom he promised those who love him?”
Many of the very wealthy in Russia are that way because of curruption and oppression of the poor. It is very sad. The gospel we preach is the Bible – Jesus’ sacrifice for the needy – either rich or poor. But we do not support that God should be sought for material gain – He should be sought because He alone is Holy, eternal, Creator, Omnipotent, Omniscient, Loving and Good. And only He can pay our sin debt and provide for us an eternal friendship with Him. To this end we labor, bringing souls to these truths.
God Bless,
RJC
The following is my response in bold to keep things straight, thought by thought:
Greetings!
I appreciate your comments very much, and in the main I agree with many of them. There did seem to be some mis-conceptions however, which I would like to clarify. So, if you will be patient with me, I’d like to go through your letter thought by thought to explain.
Dear C.E.,
Thanks for your note and for your encouragement.
You’re most welcome!
We do not have a theology that God desires everyone to “make millions.”
Have you noted the scriptures, “The silver is mine, and the gold is mine, saith the LORD of hosts.” (Hag 2:8) and “Knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance: for ye serve the Lord Christ.” (Col 3:24) When one inherits the Kingdom, one shares in the inheritance of Christ, yes? That includes all the gold and silver, yes? That is worth millions, and more, yes? So, while all who seek Christ and the Kingdom may first focus on Eternal Life as the reward of the saved, what comes along with that IS wealth even beyond millions. The only difference is timing – some are given these things in this life as well as in the next. So, perhaps you have not realized that your theology will of necessity include that aspect?
On the contrary, what we have seen is that man’s quest for material wealth and success is self-feeding and destructive of a healthy walk with Jesus. The Bible says, “seek First the Kingdom of God and His righteousness…”
Yes, and the scripture you quoted should also be completed! ”But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.” (Matt 6:33). What things? Physical things of this life, which includes money!
Yes, it is written, “For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.” (1 Tim 6:10) Note however it is the LOVE of money and COVETOUSNESS which is the issue of the heart, not the money itself. Anything can become a false god – a mate, one’s children, one’s job, whatever. However, just because a mate can be a false god, does one forgo marriage? Just because the needs of one’s children might wear us out from serving god, do we decide never to have children? Does one not seek a job? In other words, it all depends on WHY one is seeking what one is seeking. The purpose is paramount. In “Making Millions By God” I point out that one seeks wealth for GOD’s glory, for GOD’s honor, doing it GOD’s way, and NOT for one’s own! Further, one has the responsibility once one has it to give much of it away to help others!
Drawing people in with the promise that God will make people wealthy if they trust in Him is false.
Of course, which is why there is no ‘promise’ in “Making Millions By God” that people will become wealthy in this life. However, the Apostle John said, “Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth.” (3 John 1:2). And the Apostle Paul wrote, “For there is no respect of persons with God.” (Rom 2:11). What I point out in “Making Millions By God” is how God taught me, a person SO poor I donated blood for food money, into million making status, repeatedly. I believe God is good enough and great enough that God can do the same for anyone else, too. God has done so before me, with me, and will after me, rewarding each person according to what each person does in faith. It is through Love, Hope, and Faith that one grows in grace and knowledge – and that can lead to millions depending on the seeker and why it is sought. I never ‘promise’ it does in this life, but God promises it does in the next!
However, many who do not know God are not able to come to Him without physical care first. Christ FIRST fed the thousands, and THEN spoke to them of the Kingdom. There are those who will not come to hear about ‘the Kingdom’ of itself, because it’s just words to them, meaningless in the face of caring for the expenses of feeding a family and the rest. For people in that situation, giving them a vision of hope which God will help them – caring for them physically and more – helps them to give Love, Hope, and Faith messages a chance. You cannot preach to anyone unless they are first willing to come to listen! “Making Millions By God” does at least tell people of that mind set it’s possibly worth their time on a practical level, where your purely spiritual message alone will not draw them. These people have just as much a need to be attracted to Christ as anyone else! How DO you better reach those who wont come to listen to you otherwise? Or have you not thought about your responsibility to them?
Paul came to the Jews as a Jew, to the weak as weak, to those without law as one without law. In other words, Paul went to where people were in their hearts, and gave them what they needed to draw them to Christ from their perspectives first. (Note 1 Cor 9) In my case, I simply learned from that, and went to where the heart and mind of people who seek wealth are, and I tell them that through God what they desire is far more possible than through Satan, in so many words. Hence a presentation to attract them to you.
Sorry to say, my part is the easy part. It is then up to YOU to show them the Love of Christ, the Hope of Christ, and the Faith of Christ so they know you ARE of Christ. Maybe then they will learn to trust you to stay after a presentation, to listen to you.
I trust in Him and am not wealthy.
Excellent! Abraham trusted in Him and became wealthy, as well well as the Father of the Faithful. Isaac was wealthy. So was Jacob, and King David. Christ wore a garment so expensive guards rolled dice as it were to see who would possess it. Wealthy Joseph of Aremetha owned a seplchure, and donated it for Christ’s purposes. Wealthy of the Bible listened to Paul, and trusted in Christ. I trust in Him, and was once poorer than you, and now am not. The wealth of an person is irrelevant to Christ, really, but the why and how one comes about obtaining it, and what one does with it once obtained, simply reflects level of trust too. Keep on trusting in Him, but please do not assume that poor in spirit requires poor of pocket to be Christian.
Living simply puts me closer to the living standards of those whom I serve among and gains me more respect.
I grant you believe that, but have you lived on both sides of the wealth coin to really compare? I have. I have MORE respect now, than before, not less. If anything, it’s an issue for me because I am personally no more worthy of respect now than I was when I was poor, so it bothers me when people treat me with deference. Or with contempt because now I am one of those ‘rich folks who don’t understand’, and worse. It’s humbling, and patience building, first dealing with prejudice against being poor and later prejudice against being wealthy. Once cannot win with men, but all win with God.
If I were a millionaire of course everyone who want to hang out with me so they could “seek God” to become a millionaire too.
Exactly! And because of the greater respect you would have, the more likely they would accept it when you point out to them it’s by Love, Hope, and Faith one gains Eternity in the next life, and increase in this life while waiting! But since you haven’t made millions by God, you need my presentation to bridge this gap in your outreach. People tell me they need money all the time, but I keep telling them the Big Three: Love, Hope, and Faith is where it’s at!
The problem is that soo many Christians are missing the point. God is enough. God is the gospel. He is our salvation and our LIFE. He provides the joy. The search is for HIM. Everything we need is in HIM!!!!
I understand your point, and agree with most of it. However, what other Christans are missing or getting is between Christ and them, as only He is their judge. In contrast, “Making Millions By God” is directed primarilary at NON-Christians, so they can take baby steps toward God, and perhaps put the seeking of wealth into a more faith oriented balance. That’s not to say Christians cannot learn something too, but outreach is the primary purpose.
We have learned alot so far from the faith of the russians among whom we serve. Their income is alot less than ours and they live by faith to make ends meet. Their faith in God is alive and fresh and impacts everything they do – including having dinner for the supper table or being able to buy needed medicine. They know God as Jehovah Jirah in a way I might never.
When people are that downtrodden in life, as I have been, they look to any source which will give them a trustworthy hope of betterment for their daily lives, and for those of their children. The Russian people are a wonderful people, full of heart, of desire for good, and of sacrifice. They have been denied opportunity in the past via Czars and others who take from the people, instead of empowering them with the knowledge of success and means to honorably attain it. If you have been praying for their lives to be better physically, perhaps the information in this presentation is the answer you have been seeking, but perhaps you are not seeing it? While you are teaching Grace, please include the Knowledge, for God prefers to teach fishing rather than simply handing out fish!
Matthew 19:24, Mark 10:25, & Luke 18:25 says, “Again I tell you, 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.”
Yes, but complete the lesson!
26 And they were astonished out of measure, saying among themselves, Who then can be saved?
27And Jesus looking upon them saith, With men it is impossible, but not with God: for with God all things are possible.
28 Then Peter began to say unto him, Lo, we have left all, and have followed thee.
29 And Jesus answered and said, Verily I say unto you, There is no man that hath left house, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my sake, and the gospel’s,
30 But he shall receive an hundredfold now in this time, houses, and brethren, and sisters, and mothers, and children, and lands, with persecutions; and in the world to come eternal life.
With God, wealth does not affect the ability to be saved one way or another, as salvation is of the heart and not the pocketbook! Further, those who forsake for Christ ARE rewarded 100 TIMES, and IN THIS LIFE, as well as Eternal Life in the future. One hundred times the value of a house is 100 houses! That’s wealth, with God the source of such gain, so the rest of the lesson should be fully considered as well.
James 2:5 “Listen, my dear brothers: Has not God chosen those who are poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom he promised those who love him?”
Note too though, 2 Peter 3:9 “The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.” That same ALL includes the wealthy, not just the poor!
Many of the very wealthy in Russia are that way because of curruption and oppression of the poor. It is very sad.
Yes, and “Making Millions By God” explains to people how to do it a Godly way, so they come to know the wrong from the right, and can choose the good.
The gospel we preach is the Bible – Jesus’ sacrifice for the needy – either rich or poor. But we do not support that God should be sought for material gain -
Ok, then why did God tell Abram this?
Genesis 12
1 Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto a land that I will shew thee:
2 And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing:
3 And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.
Nowhere in this passage did God tell Abram anything about Eternal Life! God promised Abram a national lineage, a physical heritage, and fame for seeking God! That’s ALL about wealth and status, and NOTHING about Eternity!
God asked Abram to seek Him for material gain, yes?
Shouldn’t everyone be learning from God’s approaches, and duplicating His methods?
He should be sought because He alone is Holy, eternal, Creator, Omnipotent, Omniscient, Loving and Good. And only He can pay our sin debt and provide for us an eternal friendship with Him. To this end we labor, bringing souls to these truths.
And so also do I labor, by drawing people in with the honey of money, as God did with Abram. And I follow Christ by first focusing on people’s physical desires and needs, so then they will listen to the spiritual.
After the trusting relationship is formed, only then does the relationship have opportunity to proceed into the spiritual levels you so rightly aspire to reach and teach. You can start with the cart, as do many, and succeed. But when I follow God’s way to add the horse before the cart, a better load is pulled.
God Bless,
RJC
With Prayers To The Kingdom,
C. E.
I understand how those that have little feel negativity towards wealth sometimes, because I was there and did that too at one time. Eventually, I realized that people who have zillions are no more respected by Christ than those who have none! Christ looks on the heart, not the wallet! People that think they have a lot just don’t get it that Christ is wealthier than ALL the wealthy of this planet ADDED TOGETHER!