{"id":1663,"date":"2020-03-05T21:49:30","date_gmt":"2020-03-05T21:49:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.tyndale.com\/unfoldingfaithblog\/?p=1663"},"modified":"2020-03-05T21:49:30","modified_gmt":"2020-03-05T21:49:30","slug":"living-the-good-life-what-god-has-to-say-about-wealth-and-money","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.tyndale.com\/unfoldingfaithblog\/2020\/03\/05\/living-the-good-life-what-god-has-to-say-about-wealth-and-money\/","title":{"rendered":"Living The Good Life: What God Has To Say About Wealth and Money"},"content":{"rendered":"

Guest post from Randy Alcorn, excerpted and adapted by Unfolding Faith, from his wonderful book, Giving is The Good Life: The Unexpected Path to Purpose and Joy<\/a>.<\/p>\n

—<\/p>\n

Not life, but a good life, is to be chiefly valued.
\nSOCRATES<\/p>\n

The good life is reserved for the person who fears God,
\nwho lives reverently in his presence.
\nECCLESIASTES 8:12, msg<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Are you living the good life?<\/strong> If not, I know you wish you were.<\/p>\n

People define the good life in different ways, but everybody wants to live it. After all, what\u2019s the alternative? Living a bad life? A pointless, guilt-ridden, or miserable life? We\u2019d all choose the good life any day, and yet we often don\u2019t understand how to make it happen.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

A quick online search reveals that most people\u2019s idea of the good life includes happiness. That makes sense\u2014nobody wants to be unhappy. Most of us also want to make other people happy and help them if we can. But when it comes down to it, even Christ followers suspect that spending our lives serving God and others might cost us our happiness.<\/p>\n

Wouldn\u2019t it be great if we could do what pleases God and what\u2019s best for others, while at the same time enjoying happiness and deep satisfaction? But that\u2019s not possible, you may think. Or is it?<\/p>\n

What if we really can live the good life without being selfish? What if God not only wants us to live life more abundantly, as Jesus put it (John 10:10<\/a>), but also provides clear instructions for how to actually experience it? What if it\u2019s possible to discover what to embrace and what to avoid so we can live a meaningful and fulfilling life\u2014the good life\u2014even in this broken world?<\/p>\n

Does that sound too good to be true? Actually, it\u2019s both \u201ctoo good\u201d and true.<\/p>\n

The Good Life Is Counter Cultural<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

We live in a world that screams, \u201cMake lots of money and spend it on yourself, and you\u2019ll be happy. That\u2019s the good life!\u201d There\u2019s just one problem. It\u2019s a lie.<\/p>\n

Throughout his ministry, Jesus repeatedly turned our definition of the good life on its head. For instance, he said, \u201cThere is more happiness in giving than in receiving\u201d (Acts 20:35, gnt). Jesus told us that parting with money to help others will bring us more joy than hanging on to that money. Counter intuitive as it
\nmay seem, our greatest good, and the happiness that accompanies it, is found in giving, not receiving. In other words, generosity is the good life.<\/p>\n

This idea that giving away money and possessions equals happiness is a paradox. Human reasoning says that spending money on ourselves is in our best interest\u2014and to a degree, that\u2019s true. We all need food to eat, a place to live, clothes to wear. But once our basic needs are met, money can easily stop helping us and start hurting us. According to CreditCards.com, the average American has nearly $16,000 in credit card debt. The average college student graduates with $40,000 in student loans, and some with far more. Almost 40 percent of Americans carry credit card debt month to month, continuing to spend more than they have and remaining in financial bondage. Debt is routinely incurred in pursuing the good life, yet psychologists attest that the debt-funded lifestyle leads to depression, anxiety, resentment, stress, denial, anger, frustration, regret, shame, embarrassment, and fear.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

This is the very opposite of the good life. It\u2019s the terrible life!<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s a truth that can set us free: \u201cliving large\u201d actually makes us smaller. Living \u201cthe good life\u201d (as our culture defines it) results in missing the best life. Deep down, we all know it\u2019s true: you can spend every last cent you own on yourself\u2014and, through credit, far more\u2014and still end up miserable. In fact, if you want to be miserable, greed and stinginess are the perfect recipe. Those who hoard their money, like those who spend it all on themselves, are the unhappiest people on the planet. Jesus calls us to do something radical: love others by giving away our money and time. That sounds like loss, not gain. Yet in God\u2019s economy, that\u2019s exactly how we can expand and enhance our own lives.<\/p>\n

Generosity Pays Off<\/strong><\/p>\n

You may wonder if I\u2019m trying to make the generous Christian life sound easier and happier than it really is. First, I\u2019m not suggesting that giving always comes easily or without sacrifice. What I am saying is that in God\u2019s providence, the payoff far outweighs the sacrifice. Generosity is God\u2019s best, designed just for us. This is always true in the long run, and usually it\u2019s true in the short run too.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Suppose I give up some vanilla lattes and two lunches out each month in order to support a child in Haiti. There\u2019s nothing wrong with lattes or meals out, and I may miss them, but thoughts of how the money helps a needy child flood me with happiness greater and far more enduring than twenty minutes of pleasure from a drink or eating out. My life has a purpose beyond myself, and as I say no to that small thing, my day is put in perspective. That gladness and perspective don\u2019t disappear when I finish the meal or toss the coffee cup in the recycle bin.<\/p>\n

I’m talking about that kind of joy-filled, openhanded adventure of following Jesus, which brings us lasting pleasure and reaches far beyond this life to the next.<\/p>\n

Jesus said, \u201cI have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly\u201d ( John 10:10, nkjv). The first step to finding life is clear: we need to place our trust in Christ. That\u2019s where eternal life\u2014the ultimate good life\u2014begins. Jesus said, \u201cAnyone who is thirsty may come to me!<\/span>\u00a0Anyone who believes in me may come and drink! For the Scriptures declare, \u2018Rivers of living water will flow from his heart.\u2019\u201d<\/span>(John 7:37-38 NLT<\/a>).<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Once we believe in Christ, what can we do to experience the abundant life\u2014a life overflowing with vibrancy, satisfaction, and contentment? Though we\u2019ve been granted eternal life, many Christians don\u2019t fully experience what Jesus came to give us. The stresses and pressures of life weigh us down and leave us feeling like we\u2019re missing something. We lose both joy and purpose. Life becomes a drudgery, not an adventure. It\u2019s a shrunken life, not a flourishing one.<\/p>\n

If that\u2019s where you find yourself, take heart. True, it\u2019s not possible to eliminate difficulties and challenges until we\u2019re living at last in the world we were made for (the New Earth when Jesus returns, not this one). But we certainly don\u2019t have to wait until we die to experience the abundant life Jesus promised.<\/p>\n

We should also consider the bad news and the very good news about money, as described in 1 Timothy 6. The bad news is that loving and serving money will destroy us and rob us of life and happiness. The good news is that if we recognize God\u2019s ownership of everything, we\u2019ll steward our resources to help meet physical and spiritual needs. Our reward will be both future rewards and present contentment, purpose, and what Scripture calls \u201cthe life that is truly life\u201d (1 Timothy 6:19, niv).<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Giving Is an Eternal Investment<\/strong><\/p>\n

Okay, you might be thinking, I understand that giving to others can bring me happiness. But is there really any benefit beyond that initial good feeling I get when I help someone? One of the biggest misconceptions about giving is that the money we part with to help the needy or to spread the gospel just disappears and is gone forever. While we hope others will benefit from it, we\u2019re quite sure we won\u2019t. We even buy into the devil\u2019s lie that giving will rob us of the good life.
\nWe couldn\u2019t be more wrong.<\/p>\n

Jesus told his disciples that when they gave money away, their hearts would follow the treasures they were storing in Heaven (Matthew 6:19-21<\/a>). He also said that at the Resurrection, God would reward them for helping the needy (Luke 14:14<\/a>). Somehow we\u2019re forever connected to what we give and the people we give it to.\u00a0 Martin Luther has been credited with saying, \u201cI have held many things in my hands and I have lost them all. But whatever I have placed in God\u2019s hands, that I still possess.\u201d The Bible shows that anything we put in God\u2019s hands is an investment in eternity. But that doesn\u2019t just mean that someday our giving will bring us good. It will actually do us good here and now\u2014at the same time it does good for others.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s why the good life is inseparable from generosity.<\/em><\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Generosity Is Good for Everyone, Not Just Christians<\/strong><\/p>\n

Even outside the Christian world, there\u2019s a great deal of emphasis on philanthropy. Bill Gates, Warren Buffett, and various actors, musicians, and athletes have championed giving to various causes. It\u2019s not uncommon for people who don\u2019t profess Christ to believe in helping the poor and advocating for the oppressed.
\nIn fact, modern research has much to say about the benefits of generosity. In their book The Paradox of Generosity: Giving We Receive, Grasping We Lose, sociologists Christian Smith and Hilary Davidson write about Smith\u2019s findings on giving, which are based on years of careful studies. His conclusions may seem unexpected, but they shouldn\u2019t be at all surprising to those who understand we\u2019re created in the image of a generous God. They write, \u201cThose who give, receive back in turn. By spending ourselves for others\u2019 well-being, we enhance our own standing. . . . This is not only a philosophical or religious teaching; it is a sociological fact.\u201d<\/p>\n

Smith\u2019s extensive research, which included more than two thousand surveys of American adults and many personal interviews, reveals this: Giving money, volunteering, being relationally generous, being a generous neighbor and friend, and personally valuing the importance of being a generous person are all
\nsignificantly, positively correlated with greater personal happiness, physical health, a stronger sense of purpose in life, avoidance of symptoms of depression, and a greater interest in personal growth.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

In her book The Giving Way to Happiness: Stories and Science behind the Life-Changing Power of Giving, Jenny Santi shares the results of a 2008 study by Professor Elizabeth Dunn of the University of British Columbia. Participants received an envelope with either five dollars or twenty dollars. Some were instructed to spend the money by the end of the day; others were told to give it away. \u201cParticipants who were instructed to spend the money on a gift for someone else or for a charitable donation reported greater happiness than those who were instructed to spend the money on themselves.\u201d<\/p>\n

These are not isolated examples. Scientific studies back up what God\u2019s Word has been saying for thousands of years: generosity pays immeasurable dividends. God rewards people for generosity in this life as well as in the life to come. He does this because he is a God of grace and a lavish giver himself.<\/p>\n

—<\/p>\n

Want to know more about ‘living the good life’? \"Front<\/a><\/p>\n

Read Randy Alcorn’s Giving is the Good Life; The Unexpected Path to Purpose and Joy.<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Guest post from Randy Alcorn, excerpted and adapted by Unfolding Faith, from his wonderful book, Giving is The Good Life: The Unexpected Path to Purpose and Joy. — Not life, but a good life, is to be chiefly valued. SOCRATES The good life is reserved for the person who fears God, who lives reverently in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":1669,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.tyndale.com\/unfoldingfaithblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1663"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.tyndale.com\/unfoldingfaithblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.tyndale.com\/unfoldingfaithblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.tyndale.com\/unfoldingfaithblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/12"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.tyndale.com\/unfoldingfaithblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1663"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/sites.tyndale.com\/unfoldingfaithblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1663\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1689,"href":"https:\/\/sites.tyndale.com\/unfoldingfaithblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1663\/revisions\/1689"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.tyndale.com\/unfoldingfaithblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1669"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.tyndale.com\/unfoldingfaithblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1663"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.tyndale.com\/unfoldingfaithblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1663"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.tyndale.com\/unfoldingfaithblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1663"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}