We Are Blessed But Not Covetous

Would you like to be blessed so that you could be a blessing to the body of Christ and to others?  Of course you would.  Abraham was commanded to be a blessing to the entire world.  Today, as Abraham’s seed, we are commanded to be a blessing.  God wants to bless His people. He wants to be able to trust us with His blessing. 

The problem comes in when people do not know how to separate the blessing from a heart with wrong motives. We know that the Bible says the love of money is the root of all evil. Yet, many believe it says money is the root of all evil.  No, we must have money to be a blessing with finances.  It is when people cheat to get it, manipulate or steal to get it, or fall in love with it and covet it, that the problem occurs.  

God wants to bless us.  The Bible says He gives us all things richly, to enjoy.  It says that we can eat of the good of the land.  It says that He gives us power to create wealth so that His covenant may be established.  It says that above all things, He desires for us to prosper and be in health, as our soul prospers.  Jesus became poor so that we might become rich.  You would have to tear out multiple pages of your Bible if you were to believe that God does not want you blessed.

However, He warns us over and over again about the dangers of covetousness, greed, jealousy, and loving money. We are not to worship it, become attached to it, or do anything wrong to get it.  The heart is the deciding factor in pleasing God.

God always looks at the heart.  You cannot fool Him.  The Bible tells us to guard our hearts with all diligence, for out of it flows the issues of life.  I heard another minister say something that is so true.  “The heart of the giver determines the acceptability of the gift”.  The heart motive, even in giving, is important to God.  He watches offerings.  

In the story of Cain and Abel, in Gen. 4, we see two very different hearts. Abel gave his best and he gave it in faith.  He did it because he truly loved God. The Lord was pleased with Abel’s offering and with his faith.  The Lord blessed Abel. The blessing was made obvious.  It also made Cain jealous, covetous, and murderous.  He became depressed and angry. God asked him why he was mad. Later he killed his brother.  

When we become envious of someone else’s blessing, we need to ask ourselves why their blessing makes us mad or depressed.  Then we need to repent and change, or sin is at the door of our heart.  

People still get like that way, today, when they see blessings upon others, whether that be financially, with the anointing, or healing.  They become envious.  Where do you think that comes from?  The devil was the one who became envious of God.  He wanted his throne to be exalted above God’s.  He wanted to be like God.  He hates us because we have what he wanted.  We are seated in heavenly places and the devil is under our feet.  He enjoys planting the seed of envy in the hearts of God’s people.  He managed to do that in the hearts of Joseph’s brothers. They hated Joseph because of the blessing and favor of his father.  They became envious of him.  They wanted to kill him.   We see this time and time again in the Bible.  

Let’s make sure that we keep envy far from us.  Let’s give God our best, and believe that His blessing will rest upon us.  Then realize that the blessing may cause envy in others and we must be prepared to pay the price.