Why You Need a Larger View of Your Money (And So Do I)!

This past weekend at my church, my pastor, Steve Dewitt,  passed on some spiritual lessons he learned while on a recent trip to China.

He shared a story of a conversation he had with a pastor of an underground Christian church.

Steve asked this man about the persecution for being caught as a Christian in China – the pastor responded with joy as he mentioned it’s not as bad as it used to be.  He said:

Not long ago, you would’ve been sent to prison for the rest of your life, but now it’s only for a year or two!

Sent to prison for being a Christian for a year or two?  It’s not as bad as it used to be?

As a Christian living in America – the land of the free – I cannot fathom what worshipping in secret for fear of being caught would be like.

I’m thankful for all the freedoms we have here in America; but there is one major thing to note about these Chinese Christians – they have real, authentic passion for Jesus Christ that is lacking in many of us here in North America.

You can’t worship God without passion if there is the realistic possibility that you’ll be thrown in prison for your faith!  

What This Has to Do With Money

Chinese Christians are generally poor – yet they are passionate, generous and faithful.

In fact, Steve mentioned one person he met there whose annual salary is about what you or I would pay for our cell phones in a year! 

All too often we (I) get consumed with our (my) own personal finances that I forget about the grander scheme of things :

– there are others who are getting thrown into prison because they are Christians.

– there are others in the world and even in my community who are without proper food, clothing and shelter.

– there are others, who despite having only some – or even none – of the luxuries that I have, are passionate for Jesus and who find their greatest joy in Him and not in material possessions.

I know what I need – and perhaps you do too – I need a shift in perspective!

I need to realize that my village is small, God is big and He’s doing mighty works for the gospel.

I need to realize that I am the one who is poor, not the Chinese Christians.

It’s not all about me – it’s all about Him!

I pray that God would transform our hearts so that we have a larger view of our money and can therefore be more generous, more faithful, more passionate, receive more joy and ultimately bring greater glory to Him!