“No servant 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.” Luke 16:13

Understanding the times is not only crucial to our survival but for us to use the times of crises to take action. Unless we have been prepared of the things that will happen ahead, who will warn the others? Just as a loud serene warns of an impending war, disaster or bombing in a city, the trumpet call of God is being sounded over all the earth to prepare our lives for His coming. Since the mark of the beast is rooted on the love of money and on how people “buy, sell and trade,” we will expect the economic systems of this world to become more and more hostile towards Christianity. However, no sober believer will make friendship with the world just to gain money or influence.

Compromises are not only tragic but sows discord and hurt others too. Most people today worship money because of the good things that they can possess and their achievements. They boast that they can buy anything they want and they can influence anyone they want through their money. This deception deludes many into thinking that security is found in hoarding money, insurance or properties. Because the world, in its rebellion against God will not acknowledge and honor God, they will be pushed into thinking that their money could actually save them. Therefore, we can expect the economic systems of this earth to become more and more depraved and demand more and more allegiance to their religion of humanism.

Given the great difficulties that the saints will face concerning “buying, selling and trading” in the dreadful days, they will be living on another economic system. The Kingdom of God shall be built on earth and we are part of the team to prepare for the coming of the great King who shall rule this world for a thousand years and forever. Because the love of money determines who we truly worship and follow, our motivation in becoming a part of what God is building should be out of obedience to God and to know His ways. For this reason, we must put all attention into knowing the systems of this world and its economy, as well as how to build the Kingdom of God on earth, first in our lives, families, neighborhoods and into our cities and nations. We must give attention into what God is building now, always seeking to know His kingdom and righteousness.

God does not want to complicate matters and just as the way to worship God has not changed throughout history, in which He requires a sacrifice from our part, when He comes, we will still do the same. We will still offer sacrifices to the Lord. In the times of Abel and the Israelites, they would need to offer an unblemished lamb or the blood of animals for God to forget His wrath on them. But since the age of Grace and Truth were realized through Jesus Christ, for whose complete sacrifice on the cross did all things for us that the animals were used before, today we worship God not with the blood of lambs and oxens but by heart sacrifices.

Yes we offer these thanksgiving and worship through singing, praise and worship but this is not complete until we give our offerings. It is the offerings that become a sweet smelling aroma before God as typified before by Abel and Abraham who offered a ram before the Lord. King David best summed up what true worship is when he said, I will not offer anything that will not cost me nothing.  

But the king replied to Araunah, “No, I insist on paying you for it. I will not sacrifice to the Lord my God burnt offerings that cost me nothing.”
So David bought the threshing floor and the oxen and paid fifty shekels of silver for them. David built an altar to the Lord there and sacrificed burnt offerings and fellowship offerings. II Samuel 24:24-25

From here, we find that although we live in a modern world, we still do the same to entreat and worship the Lord, we offer to God what we have. But our giving the tithes and the offering is just an acknowledgement that we are under His protectorate and His Kingdom. It is a recognition that He is the source of our wealth, wisdom, health and everything that we own. Picture this, just as the kingdoms of this world have a king and a dominion where the king is obliged to protect and provide for his citizens, so the Lord is our King and He has a Kingdom. In a kingdom, the king is the executive, legislative and the judge so he is also a lawgiver, protector and peacemaker. He acts on behalf of his people as their protector and leader in times of war and judge during times of peace for those with problems and transgressions.

Therefore, we cannot afford to not give the tithes and offerings because the King more than gives abundantly what we need every day. By not understanding this, many Christians remain broke and find harassing troubles that blight their economy. Just as people pay taxes to their government in recognition of their citizenship and allegiance to their country, we give the tithes (minimum) and offerings (above) because we believe that our country can take care of us during times of war, and times of peace. God is the greatest, most compassionate, benevolent King, He more than anybody else knows how to take good care of us. How can we not then afford to give to the King what is due Him and His Kingdom?

We have to be faithful in this because only those who are faithful in giving are given the promise of divine protection in times of draught, disasters. To serve the Lord as we are called to do, requires that each of us have the following basic economic plan for our life: give to God more than the tithes and to be debt free. Though it looks simple, this is the quickest way to become prosperous on earth, free from malady, harassments, pestilences, droughts and famines.

As the Prophet wrote, we rob God when we do not tithe and the whole factory, the whole business and economy is cursed because we don’t give to God properly. If we want God’s divine protection from the devourer, robber and stealer, give to God.

“Will a man rob God? Yet you rob me. “But you ask, 'How do we rob you?’ “In tithes and offerings. You are under a curse — the whole nation of you — because you are robbing me. Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this, “says the Lord Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it. Malachi 3:8-10

In the succeeding verses God’s divine protection is stipulated to those who will pay their tithes to God and curses are broken in their lives, “I will prevent pests from devouring your crops, and the vines in your fields will not cast their fruit,” says the Lord Almighty. “Then all the nations will call you blessed, for yours will be a delightful land,” says the Lord Almighty (Malachi 3:11-12).  Does God need money? Is He desperate for it? No, for He owns the whole earth and everything in it. But it is important to God that we grow and learn how to handle resources well starting from the unrighteous mammon because the way we handle this resource is the same way we will do with the heavenly treasures that He has.

“Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much.
So if you have not been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will trust you with true riches?

And if you have not been trustworthy with someone else's property, who will give you property of your own? “No servant 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.” Luke 16:10-13

We have to strive to make our goal to be as independent as possible from the influence of money and answer God’s call. Our decisions should never be controlled by our bank account but whether  God wills it. Our lives should be experiencing His abundance and goodness far more than the most prosperous wicked of this world. We must build our lives every day on His economy by seeking the King and His Kingdom daily. Then there will be abundance for every good deed (II Corinthians 9:8).