God Gives Us The Ability To Create Wealth

Far too often we become too sure of ourselves, and we like to believe that we're self-made successes, that we are able to do just about anything we set our mind to - and do it all on our own.

But are we forgetting something when we allow ourselves to become too proud of our own abilities?

"But remember the Lord your God, for it is He who gives you the ability to produce wealth." Deuteronomy 8:18 NIV

We always need to remember that the Lord is the one who gives us the ability and skill to be able to create wealth. When things are going well, it is often easy to take all the credit for the wealth we've accumulated and just as easy to blame God when things go wrong.

Praise Him In All Circumstances

We need to praise him in any and all circumstances and remember to give him the credit in all that we do.  

We also need to remember that we aren't being allowed to create wealth for our own power or glory.  We are put here on earth to glorify Him, and to point to his holiness and wonder.

We Need To Be Good Stewards

God has allowed us to have what we have, and we need to be humble stewards of what he has given us.  Let's all pray that we are able to do well by Him with what we're entrusted with.

“But who am I, and who are my people, that we should be able to give as generously as this? Everything comes from you, and we have given you only what comes from your hand. 1 Chronicles 29:14

God has created everything, owns it all and has given us everything that we can ever hope to have. Knowing that, and seeing everything from that point of view can help us to make decisions based on an eternal mindset, instead of a temporal self-focused one.

So the question we need to be focused on is not how we can create wealth to get that next big house, or a fancy car or other self-focused things, but instead to ask how we can create wealth in order to further His kingdom.

Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. 1 Timothy 6:17-18

We Need To Be Diligent In All We Do

We need to be humbled and thankful for God giving us our talents and ability to create wealth, and we need to be good stewards of what he has given us.  Not only that, but we need to be diligent and work hard with the talents he's given us.

He who works his land will have abundant food, but the one who chases fantasies will have his fill of poverty. Proverbs 28:19

What are your thoughts on wealth, and where it comes from and how we use the talents and resources he has given us?

This article first appeared on BibleMoneyMatters.com and is reprinted with permission. Copyright 1/24/2008