人, 總是要親身體驗到某些事情, 才能真正體驗到神的話語的重要性o
有很多道理, 光讀聖經, 是不會體驗到它們的由來o
很多時候, 是要真正的經歷了一些考驗過後, 甚至真的陷入了陷阱過後, 才能了解這些道理在人生的應用性o
所以那些因為在人生中還沒有受到太多考驗所以沒有掉入陷阱的人們並不應該認為自己是比較優越的o
People often have to experience certain difficult events & temptations in their lives before they understand the implications of God’s words in their daily lives. Often times, people don’t realize they have fallen into a trap until they are trapped. Christians who hasn’t fallen into traps simply because they haven’t been tested on such things in their lives should not think they’re superior.
In the past, I didn’t think I was all that interested in money. I felt somewhat superior to some of the “named brand worshippers”, “sharemarket addicts” and “money wasters” I know of. I was obedient & saved up my allowances like my parents had always taught me to. I also planned to simply earn my income through my full time job and save it up in the bank to accumulate a bit of interest. I hardly gave much thought to the issue of money management until right before I started earning an income.
Then, through talking to some friends, reading some books, and going to a free motivational seminar etc, I was introduced to the concept that one can create a passive income and financial freedom ultimately through three main pathways: the sharemarket, internet marketing, and property.
These books/educational materials were extremely motivating, emphasizing the importance of taking action, and the strategies mentioned were applicable in real life. So greed urged me to take action fast, and I ignored many signs from God, and invested more capital than I was “happy” to lose, as no one has told me the concept that “the amount of money you put in an investment should be no more than the amount of money you’re comfortable with losing”. People say good investors should not have emotional attachments to the money they invest. So instead of that realizing I was greedy, I thought I was emotionally detached in being able to invest that amount of money (a deceit from Satan!!)
And obviously, everyone has seen what’s happened to the sharemarket in recent months… I've been obsessively watching the stocks go down, down and down. Ouch! The pain made me realise that I was actually a lot more interested in money than I previously thought I was, and I am actually very attached to money emotionally, even though the amount of income I earn as a doctor is more than enough to keep me in a comfortable lifestyle.
There was a strong temptation to “try and earn back the losses through the market”. However, I know that would be the wrong thing to do, and will ultimately lead to the vicious cycle of a “sharemarket addict”, where one watches the stockmarket obsessively just keeps more losing money and going into debt (hence falling into the trap of Satan again!).
I’ve decided that if I were ever to enter the sharemarket again, I will invest no more than 2% of my annual income per year! And although the path to financial freedom is possible if one’s dedicated enough, I can see that this path will distract me from my true priorities in life (ie serving God, working as a doctor), and it is not the path that God wants me to go. There is nothing intrinsically wrong with money, or having a lot of money. Rather, it is the meaning that people attach to money that could potentially make it evil.
Recently, my attention has been drawn to the topic of the obligation of giving 1/10 of your income as offerings to the church. Refer to the passage below:
6 "I the LORD do not change. So you, O descendants of Jacob, are not destroyed. 7 Ever since the time of your forefathers you have turned away from my decrees and have not kept them. Return to me, and I will return to you," says the LORD Almighty.
Robbing God
"But you ask, 'How are we to return?'
8 "Will a man rob God? Yet you rob me.
"But you ask, 'How do we rob you?'
"In tithes and offerings. 9 You are under a curse—the whole nation of you—because you are robbing me. 10 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. 11 I will prevent pests from devouring your crops, and the vines in your fields will not cast their fruit," says the LORD Almighty. 12 "Then all the nations will call you blessed, for yours will be a delightful land," says the LORD Almighty.
The bible says “do not test God”. This is the only place in the bible where God asks us to test Him. Therefore, I will dutifully give my 1/10 and see what happens. Of course, the blessings referred above could be in any form (ie it doesn’t have to be money!)
To be continued in a few months time….
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