Who Is Responsible to Create Your Economic Opportunity?

One of the (many) things that frustrates me about the current political discussion in the US has to do with economic opportunity. As is typical in the realm of politics, the debate over how to create economic opportunity is framed in such a way that an underlying presupposition is passed on to everyone as fact.

In this case, the presupposition is this: that government can and should create economic opportunity.

Government cannot create—nor has it ever created—economic opportunity. In fact, the reverse is often true. The original colonists that came to this land from Europe were fleeing from oppressive governments whose tyranny dominated many aspects of their lives, not the least of which was their ability to produce wealth.

But before we get carried away into a purely political discussion (which is not my purpose), I want to ask the real question at the heart of this thought:

Who is responsible to create economic opportunity for you and your family?

Think about that for a moment. When you’re pining away for a larger paycheck (or perhaps any paycheck), who is it you hold responsible for it? Who do you look to to bring that about?

Sadly, many people today look to sources like:

• an employer
• Uncle Sam
• “the economy”
• Wall Street
• Main Street

What about you?

Some will say, “I look to God to create economic opportunity,” and will cite scriptures like Philippians 4:19 (“And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.”). That sounds very noble and very spiritual, but many people who say things like this are in dire need. Something’s missing.

I’ve got more to say about this, but I’m interested in your thoughts. Fire away in the comments below and let’s have a discussion!

For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows. (1 Timothy 6:10 NKJV)

In previous articles here, we’ve talked about the inner struggle that some of us face — particularly those who have been around Christianity for awhile — where business and financial success are concerned. One of the biggest contributors to this struggle is an abundance of erroneous teaching about the Bible and what it really says.

The Root of All Evil?

This screwed-up teaching is so pervasive that even people outside the Church have been infected by it.

For example, here’s a direct quote from a 2008 Newsweek article:

“For one thing, Scripture is full of exhortations against accumulating wealth. The New Testament, especially, repeatedly reminds followers of Christ that earthly wealth means nothing in heaven. ‘It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than a rich man to enter the Kingdom of God,’ says Jesus.”

These few sentences are so full of misunderstanding about Scripture that it’s almost infuriating. (Where does Newsweek get off interpreting Scripture anyway?!) But the tragedy is that many churches have actually taught fallacies like this — arguably with good intentions.

Another big example is the, “root of all evil,” Scripture referred to in the title of today’s message. Not only is it frequently misquoted as, “money is the root of all evil,” but the entire passage that it comes from is (in my experience) usually preached from a fundamental place of misunderstanding.

If you’re hearing from those you look up to (spiritually speaking) that it’s wrong to accumulate wealth, doesn’t that directly work against you?  Isn’t business challenging enough without wondering if God is upset with us for doing well in it?  Is God so cruel as to require that we work to provide for our families and even call us into the business world only to tell us that we are only pleasing to Him when we fail?

It’s time that we take a hard look at some of these teachings and find out what the Scripture really says.

Stay tuned for more on this topic. If you’re ready to dive into some more intense study of this and other topics related to money, business and profit, be sure to check out our 5-part audio teaching series on bulldozing the barriers to your business and financial success.

Throughout the past year or so, an unusual recurring theme has found its way into any number of conversations I’ve been a part of — primarily in a business context.

What kind of economic shake-up is coming? And… how can we be best prepared for it?

On a local level, a group of Kingdom-minded leaders — both from the business and “traditional ecclesiastical ministry” sectors — have been gathering with the intention of forging relationship and creating strategic plans for the region.

On a national and international level, people that I’ve been privileged to connect to — authors, thought leaders, small business owners and others — have all played a role in this odd drama.

What’s unusual is that in some cases, I’ve not even brought the subject up. In other cases, I’ve noticed what people said and have asked more questions to find out more.

To the point, the conversations have several common threads:

• there is some sort of economic shakeup coming, potentially including the failure or replacement of our money system
• investment in relationships now will be the most valuable asset we have on the other side of whatever may occur
• in the Kingdom of God, collaboration isn’t just a good idea, it’s an essential requirement for us to fulfill our God-given purpose
• the role of independent small business is significant

I don’t pay attention to the media looking for validation of what God seems to be speaking. That being said, when I hear a similar sound being made in other contexts, it makes me pay attention.

One of the networks had a guest on yesterday by the name of Gerald Celente. I hadn’t heard of him before and know nothing about him except what I heard and a very little bit that I’ve read. What’s most significant to me is the substance of what he had to say. I located some predictions he made recently that have appeared on the web, which are more complete than the brief segment in which he appeared on televsion.

After reading it, I invite you to come back here so that we can dialogue about what he said using the “comment” functions on this site. Be sure to check the box that says “Notify me of followup comments via e-mail” so you can stay up-to-date on what others are saying. (You can control your preferences yourself on this by coming back here or by using the link in any message you receive.)

You can find Mr. Celente’s predictions here. (You may want to scroll down a bit to get to the bold subheadline that says “Interview” with a photograph of Mr. Celente.)

I’m looking forward to dialoguing with you after you’ve had a chance to check out what he had to say.

Recently, we began talking about A Believer’s Response to Bad Economic News. There’s so much more to talk about along these lines, but today let’s focus on the question we asked:

Does what we believe have the ability to produce what we need?

The starting point for this is that we do believe that God Himself has the ability to supply what we need. This isn’t in question.

Are you in crisis?

But… will He produce and supply it for us?

This can be the harder question. Again, it isn’t just “in Whom” I believe — it’s what I believe about Him that will affect the results that I get…

In the book of Ezra, there’s a moment in Israel’s history that I’ve gone back to again and again these last few months. It’s not the most popular book of the Bible for sermons, so a little background may be useful if you haven’t read it recently.

Ezra was a priest during Israel’s captivity under the Persian empire. He began to search out God’s Word and eventually went to King Artaxerxes and, with great favor upon him, requested — and got — permission and funding to go back to Jerusalem and re-establish the temple and the sacrifices.

He hit a snag, however, when he and the several hundred he recruited to make the journey to Jerusalem with him set out. They had a very dangerous road in front of them, and the trip would ultimately take several months.

In other words, he had a dream. He had discovered his God-given purpose. He had some of what he needed to succeed, but he had a major area of lack — security and protection in his case.

Here was his response:

“Then I proclaimed a fast there, at the river Ahava, that we might humble ourselves before our God to seek from Him a straight and right way for us, our little ones, and all our possessions. For I was ashamed to request of the king a band of soldiers and horsemen to protect us against the enemy along the way, because we had told the king, The hand of our God is upon all them for good who seek Him, but His power and His wrath are against all those who forsake Him.”
(Ezra 8:21-22 AMP)

This passage strikes such a strong chord within me. Where do we turn?

Notice that he and the others needed to know how to proceed because their lives, their little ones, everything they owned, and their God-given purpose was all at stake. This wasn’t a time when a nice-sounding prayer and a religious platitude would help.

Their faith had to manifest a result. Period. End of story. We quite literally wouldn’t be reading this story if they hadn’t received their answer. The risk was real — enemies on the road, uncertainty, failure.

Are you in that kind of situation today? Does your relationship with God have to manifest what you need?

To be continued…

It always happens in an election year — some kind of upheaval. But this year it really seems to have teeth. Banks failing, huge drops (and gains) in the stock market, businesses closing, layoffs, etc.

As believers, how do we respond?

I’ve spent a lot of time studying this subject this year. With ups and downs in my own business and perhaps more personal financial pressure than ever, a serious question emerges:

Does what we believe have the ability to produce what we need?

Notice the question does not address the One in Whom we believe. His character, His love, His ability and His goodness aren’t even remotely in question.

But what I’ve learned is that it matters what we believe about Him.

If, for example, I don’t believe that His help is available — whether it’s because I’m unaware of it or because I haven’t built up trust in Him through relationship and experiential knowledge — then I won’t seek it out. If I do seek it out, I might choose not to do what He leads me to do.

And guess what? That means that I don’t get the result that He promised. It’s that simple.

In today’s Proverb is this verse that caught my eye:

“Every word of God is tried and purified; He is a shield to those who trust and take refuge in Him.”
(Proverbs 30:5 AMP)

With the storms of economic bad news raging around us, it’s time to “trust and take refuge in Him.” You may be surrounded with wreckage in the midst of this economic storm. You may have even taken some personal blows in your business or your family. But now’s not the time to leave the battlefield. It’s time to surround yourself with the shield and take refuge in it.

It occurs to me that shields are unnecessary if you’re not getting fired upon or attacked.

More on this in the days ahead.

Your thoughts?

I remember clearly the day I sat across from my good friend over a cup of coffee in a local restaurant. We had met early in the morning to talk about some of the challenges we faced in profitability in our businesses. He, the CEO of a software company servicing clients on multiple continents, and I, operating a marketing consultancy.

While we had been good friends for years, something developed out of that conversation that brought our friendship to an entirely new level of intimacy. I knew, for example, that he had been born overseas — the son of missionaries to some of the darkest parts of the world. I also knew — having met his father and mother — the level of devotion to Christ that had caused them to risk their very lives in service to the Call of God.

He knew that I had been born into a devoted Christian family here in the States — that my father had been a pastor when I was younger, and that my mother’s father had been in the ministry since shortly after World War II. He knew that our family was in church every time the doors were open.

What neither of us knew until that day, however, was that both of us dealt with an inner struggle with success. It seemed that we both had always reached a place where that “big breakthrough” had eluded us just when it seemed to be in our grasp. We learned that both of us were fighting against inner programming — instilled in us from childhood — that somehow there was something “wrong” with hitting a big win financially and in business. Both of us had come to understand that we were serving God in the marketplace in response to His call on our lives… and yet we both had run up against seemingly impenetrable barriers.

We began meeting on a regular basis to explore the roots and the nature of the battle between heart and head — between Biblical understanding and the traditions that seemed to be infused in our thinking. What we discovered and what God has shown us — individually and jointly — has been nothing short of amazing.

What about you? Do you struggle with whether God could really want you to accomplish what you’re working so hard to achieve?