Seek ye first the Kingdom of God
"Enterprise First" was the corporate tagline coined by Jeroen Van der Veer when his team took over management of Royal Dutch Shell Group in response to the eroding shareholders' confidence when Shell declared that her reserves are overstated by 20% a couple of years ago. Enterprise First is to drive the future culture of Shell group of companies to ensure that all management staffs are driven by a common goal contributing to the greater good of the company, above individual departments and agenda.
In his sharing "Making Space for God", I was intrigued how Pastor Rennie Tan likened our "contract" with God : Our deal is to keep His house in order, and it is His deal to bless our lives. Also drawing the anology from Shell's Enterprise First behaviour, it gives a refreshing perspective on how we ought to live our lives as born-again Christians - that is to seek first His Kingdom Enterprise.
Consider Matthew 6:32-34 - For the pagans run after all these things, and your Heavenly Father knows you need them. But seek first His Kingdom and His Righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you.
Sometimes, we are too smart for our own good. This is evident when we find ourselves striking a negotiation with God on how we want to run our lives. Many times, we use God as a means to our ends. The "I will serve you, if you bless me" syndrome is all too common and there is a fundamental flaw in that. It is a flaw because the "if you bless me" part effectively relegates God to No.2. Sometimes, we are too smart for our own good, effectively rendering us foolish. Which is why there is Proverbs 3:5-7 as a reminder. What we need is a childlike obedience and humility (Matt 18:3).
Seeking first the Kingdom of God doesn't readily means that we should all quit our day jobs and dive into full-time ministry. As Pastor Rennie Tan rightly points out, it is minding about God's business is the outmost priority. How we run our lives hinges heavily of how we truly understand the meaning of how to love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and how to love your neighbour as yourself. When we truly understand that, we no longer work to serve our lust to prosper materially, but to honour and glorify God is whatever vocation that we are pursuing. We set apart quality time to understand His word and to discern His voice. We are concern with the affairs of the church and care for the welfare of His people.
We all have our desires in life. As finite human beings, we may not know or comprehend that some of these desires may have a detrimental effects to us. Our Father in Heaven knows the beginning from the end. He has the hair on your head numbered. He knows you before you were born. He knows that we have needs in our lives. Hence, He knows what is beneficial for us. Knowing this, the golden key to unlock a life of abundance is to commit every desire, every thought and every emotion into His hands.
We are all employed into His Kingdom Enterprise now on earth. The portfolio (i.e. our live) which we are entrusted to needs to be streamlined to meet the objectives of the Enterprise. No more wayward "pet projects" that takes precedence over the Enterprise. Only when we have a mindset of "God First", only when we say "Thy will be done", then it will be revealed to us the riches of His Kingdom.
Christ in you, the hope of glory
It was timely, by divine appointment, that Fabian shared about knowing our identity in Christ last Wednesday's prayer meeting through Romans 5:17 - For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reighed through that one man, how much more will those who receive God's abundant provision og grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man Jesus Christ. Thanks bro. And thanks Pat for letting me have your envelope to scribble on.
We are in constant need to be reminded our identity in Christ, no matter how young or (old??) Christians we are. As young adults who are embarking on this exciting journey of adulthood (I know some of us are quite senior, and thanks for being there as a senior figure for the rest of us), which constitute largely career, church (I certainly do hope so), family, social life and for some of us, starting to build a family of our own. As we journey through life spinning our wheels, each of these elements have demands that can exert significant pressure on us. As finite human beings, we sometimes can't help feeling lost, helpless or even pushes us to the edge of bitterness and resentment. Sometimes, we also question our own salvation.
This reminds me of the event where Jesus calms the storm in Matthew 8:23-27. Drawing the anology of the storm as challenges (or problems, whatever you may want to call it) in life, I do not at all blame the disciples for panicking. And notice how Jesus replies : You of little faith, why are you so afraid? I thought it was harsh rebuke...I mean who could possible stay calm when you're in a boat that is on the verge of capsizing. But His rebuke was valid. Here He is the Son of God amongst them, and they are striken paralyzed by fear due to the circumstances around them. Of course He would be displeased, because without faith, it is impossible to please God (Hebrews 11:6). But God never gave up on them. Even up to the point of His cruxifiction, the disciples were a disappointment. Peter even denied Jesus. But eventually, they were the frontrunners of the Great Commission in proclaiming gospel.
Consider Paul's statement in Ephesians 1:11-14 : In him we were also chose, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will, in order that we, who were the first to hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory. And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God's possession-to the praise of his glory.
Nothing is too far out of reach from the grace of God. Even your life is miserably stained with scarlet sin, it will be as white as snow by the grace of God (Isaiah 1:18). Very often, life's disappointments are God's appointments. Knowing that we have a heavenly Father we can always turn to, the change of mindset will trigger us to gradually move from being victims of circumstances to capitalizing on challenges to eventually emerge as a victor in life. From the moment we believe, we have an eternal identity in Christ. That is the hope of glory.
Prosperity Message?
Chinese New Year auspicion is often splashed with prosperity messages all over. Apart from all other well wishes towards health, relationship etc, material prosperity seem to have the weighted emphasis. The measure of success in life is directly proportional to the money one makes. Materialism is the order of the day. People go to obsessive length to "secure" their prosperity. It is intriguing that people actually place their trust in the art of odd furniture arrangement of porcelain and plasticwares to reflect moonrays, thanks to advice of some "prosperous" lady on TV (I am referring to the physical attribute of course).
On the other hand, there are people amongst us who denounce prosperity messages. It is as though money-making is some form of a disease. Many are quick to pour cold water when another friend he/she expresses their desire to reach a certain sosio-economic status. To denouce it quickly to the extend that it boast self-righteousness is just as bad.
Both the views above are sub-biblical. Perhaps, consider the 3 myths about money that is sub-biblibcal pointed out by Dr. Tan Khian Seng in his book "Keys to Financial Breakthroughs" :
Myth
Money is the root of all evils
To be poor is to be spiritual
You are worth the money you possess
Truth
The love of money is the root of all evil (1Tim 6:10)
Not true. This is a pagan thinking of Diocetism
Money does not equal to worth
It is important that we obtain a biblical view of money and seek the wisdom for secular application. While the world judges us by the amount of money we have, God judges us by the quality of our stewardship. There is a 3-structure framework in God's system of financial stewardship :1) God is our Provider...and your heavenly Father knows that you need them (Matthew 6:32)...put your hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment (1Tim 6:17)2) God bless us, in turn, we can bless others Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. (Malachi 3:10)You will be made rich in every way, so that you can be generous on every occasion. (2Corinthians 9:11)3) God to be glorifiedSo whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God. (1Corinthians 10:31)The Lord loves a cheerful giver (2Corinthians 9:7)
Financial bondage manifest itself as get-rich-quick scheme, keeping up with the Jones and indebtness. When 25-Dec-2005 approaches, half the Londoners were still paying their 2004 Christmas bills. National credit card debts is pilling up faster than you can finish reading 2 John. Easy credit means that people have more access to the many things than entices them, be it fancy cars, lifestyle penthouse, exquisite dining and travel packages. This gives rise to a new generation of people who, subconciously, subscribe to the idea on pseudo-prosperity. How sad.....
You are the CFO of YourLife Enterprise. And if Jesus, the CEO, walks into your office today asking for a quick account of your financial management, your readiness level speaks volume of your stewardship. And if you're not ready, not too worry. He won't fire you. If your financial report lacks lustre, re-evaluate all the financial elements. Cut unneccessary OPEX (operational expenditure). V-Power doesn't make significant difference in city driving than Regular Super. If debts exceeds 30% (or whatever is comfortable with you) of net income, downsize/divest your problematic assets. If it requires you to trade in your BMW for a cheaper Proton, or your penthouse for an apartment, to free up cash and improve cashflow, do it. Use credit cards like a debit card, pay all statement balances within the interest-free period. Pay your dues on time. Invest wisely. Write cheques to the orphanages. Give away money for Chrismas productions. Sponsor part of someone's education. When God choses to materially prosper us, He does so not primarily to raise our standards of living, but our standards of giving.
Of course, there is no guilt that God imposes on us if we wish to earn more money. So go ahead. Work hard and aim for that red Ferrari and a golf-holiday at St. Andrew's. God delights in that. But be very certain of whom you are serving, because God does tolerate any of His subjects shifting their worship to mammon. Christian living is a radical lifestyle. Hence certain elements in financial stewardship has to be radical as well. We need to move from just merely existing and earning a living to serving a purpose, and sky-rocket from success to significance.
