Ultimate Security: Finding a Refuge in Difficult Times (14 page)

We are being reminded of a great truth—that we have an alternative to what can be shaken. Rather than investing in the kingdoms of this world, we can invest in the kingdom of God. Why is that better? Because all that is invested in the kingdoms of this world will ultimately be insecure.

Isaiah gave us a vivid picture of what will happen in the earth when God shakes all the kingdoms of this world:

In that day men will throw away to the rodents and bats their idols of silver and idols of gold, which they made to worship. They will flee to caverns in the rocks and to the overhanging crags from dread of the Lord and the splendor of his majesty, when He rises to shake the earth. (Isaiah 2:20–21)

In that moment—when everything that can be shaken is shaken—people will realize they have invested in the wrong place. They will take all their gold and silver, in which they have trusted for their security, and, in contempt and disgust, they will throw it away to the rodents and the bats, because it will have no power to save them.

Therefore, if we follow the wisdom of God, we will invest in God’s kingdom—not in something that is ultimately insecure. When we do what God recommends, God accepts responsibility for us in return. He guarantees that our investments will never perish. There will never be a time when the system we have been investing in will collapse, causing us to lose our assets.
Our investment is guaranteed.

Would you like to take a moment right now to commit your finances to what is unshakable? If you have never turned your finances and your investments completely over to the Lord, now would be an appropriate time to do so.

If that is your desire, simply let the Lord know with this brief declaration:

Lord, all that I have—all that I own in the way of possessions, resources, and investments—I now commit fully to You. I move all my assets into the kingdom of God, which cannot be shaken. They now
belong
to You, Lord. Amen.

22

GOD’S SOCIAL SECURITY

Now that you have made that very important transaction of transferring your resources into God’s hands, let us deal with another aspect of financial and material security—one that I call “God’s social security.” As I wrote in the introduction to this book, a program of social security provided by a government for its citizens has become an accepted feature of most social systems in the Western world. In fact, people today talk about “cradle-to-grave” security. The basic concept is that you pay taxes to your government—often considerable sums of money—out of what you have earned. In turn, the government accepts responsibility for you in your time of need. Perhaps you become sick, lose your job, or come to a place in life where you are unable to work. At these points, the government takes care of you. That’s called “social security.”

Unfortunately, social security as we know it has been steadily eroded by inflation and other factors. Already, there are senior citizens who have invested in the government but who are not getting an adequate return on their investment—not enough to support them in comfort and honor in their old age. This is just one example of the
insecurity
of investing in a human system. I am not expressing an opposition to social security. I am simply pointing out that its “security” is strictly limited.

A Different Basis for Security

Let’s face it—the need for financial and material security is real. But God offers us this security on a different basis. The basis on which He offers it is very simple: It is spiritual, and
it is
established on faith
.
It is founded on faith that works by love. (See Galatians 5:6 kjv.) That is the real and true basis of security in financial and material things. It is through faith in God and His Word that is expressed by acts of love toward God and toward those whom God puts in our pathway to help.

Psalm 112 gives us a picture of the person who is righteous by God’s standards. I have selected some verses from this psalm to highlight, and I want to point out that the emphasis here is really on doing good to the poor and helping those in need. This is an essential part of the biblical picture of righteousness. Unfortunately, I think it has dropped out of the thinking of many contemporary Christians and churches—but it has never dropped out of the Bible.

Blessed is the man who fears the Lord, who finds great delight in his commands. His children will be mighty in the land; the generation of the upright will be blessed. Wealth and riches are in his house, and his righteousness endures forever. (Psalm 112:1–3)

Good will come to him who is generous and lends freely, who conducts his affairs with justice. Surely he will never be shaken. (Psalm 112:5–6)

His heart is secure, he will have no fear; in the end he will look in triumph on his foes. He has scattered abroad his gifts to the poor, his righteousness endures forever. (Psalm 112:8–9)

Notice the direct connection between righteousness and giving to the poor. Because this man has
“scattered abroad his gifts to the poor,”
his righteousness will endure forever—and God will take total responsibility for that man’s well-being. The emphasis is on generosity, on lending and giving. God promises that the person who practices this kind of generosity will not be shaken. His heart will be secure, and he will have no fear. That is true security!

The basis on which God offers financial and
material security is very simple: It is spiritual,
and it is established on faith.

“Lending” to the Lord

The very basic principle of “lending” to the Lord is emphasized throughout the Scriptures. Consider this verse from Proverbs:

He who has pity on the poor lends to the Lord, and He will pay back what he has given. (Proverbs 19:17 nkjv)

This truth is so important. When we give to the poor with right motives—with faith that works by love—we may be giving to the poor, but we are
lending to the Lord
. Clearly, the Bible guarantees that what we have lent to the Lord, He will pay back to us. I can truly testify, on the basis of both observation and personal experience, that the Lord pays very high interest rates on what we lend to Him when we give to the poor. So, always bear this in mind: Helping the poor is lending to the Lord.

“Cast Your Bread upon the Waters”

Then, in Ecclesiastes, we have this advice:

Cast your bread upon the waters, for after many days you will find it again. Give portions to seven, yes to eight, for you do not know what disaster may come upon the land. (Ecclesiastes 11:1–2)

“Casting our bread upon the waters” is a way ordained in Scripture for us to prepare for possible disaster in the future. It is not the way most people in this world would think of preparing for adversity—but it works. I have seen this principle proven true in my life over and over again. I have done an act of mercy or helped somebody, and then forgotten all about it. Then, ten or twenty years later, God has allowed that bread to come back to me on the waters, and I have received the benefit of what I have given to others.

Ecclesiastes 11:2 says,
“Give portions to seven, yes to eight, for you do not know what disaster may come upon the land.”
Seven
indicates the fulfillment of all your duties. But
eight
denotes going just a little bit further than duty. In other words, giving to the poor and to others in need is, as it were, paying God’s “social security tax.”

When you pay your social security to God, that payment is not subject to the depreciation caused by inflation, because there is no inflation in the kingdom of heaven. Furthermore, you will get back what you need, when you need it. For example, if you should become sick or be unable to work due to physical frailty, or if any other situation of need should arise, you can lift your heart to heaven and pray, “Lord, I have given to the poor. I’ve cast my bread upon the waters. Now I’m in need, and I just remind You of the promises of Your Word.”
This is God’s social security.

A Puzzling Parable with a Deep Truth

The benefits of God’s social security (investing the way God instructs by giving to the poor and helping others) extend out of time and into eternity. This truth is illustrated by a rather unusual parable that Jesus told His disciples about a manager who cheated his master in order to take care of his own future:

There was a rich man whose manager was accused of wasting his possessions. So he called him in and asked him, “What is this I hear about you? Give an account of your management, because you cannot be manager any longer.” The manager said to himself, “What shall I do now? My master is taking away my job. I’m not strong enough to dig, and I’m ashamed to beg—I know what I’ll do so that, when I lose my job here, people will welcome me into their houses.” So he called in each one of his master’s debtors. He asked the first, “How much do you owe my master?” “Eight hundred gallons of olive oil,” he replied. The manager told him, “Take your bill, sit down quickly, and make it four hundred.” Then he asked the second, “And how much do you owe?” “A thousand bushels of wheat,” he replied. He told him, “Take your bill and make it eight hundred.” The master commended the dishonest manager because he had acted shrewdly. For the people of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their own kind than are the people of the light. (Luke 16:1–8)

Isn’t that a strange story? The manager gave away money that was not his own. Why? He did so in order to gain acceptance with people who would welcome him when he no longer had a job. Jesus did not condemn the manager for his dishonesty. On the contrary, He commended him for his shrewdness and told His disciples that they needed to learn the lesson of this parable.

What is its lesson?
That we need to give away money that will make us “friends.”
(See Luke 16:9.) Jesus said that if we do so, when we are no longer able to take care of ourselves, the friends we have made with our money will welcome us into eternal homes.

This is a beautiful truth, if only we can grasp it. First, if you are a child of God, your money is not really your own. You are just a steward of it—a manager of God’s money. Jesus declared that it is acceptable in God’s kingdom to give God’s money away to people by investing in the kingdom. Then, when you have come to the end of your life, the people you have invested in—the missionaries you have supported, the souls who have been saved through your giving to various Christian causes, and so on—will be there in eternity, waiting for you. They will be saying things such as this: “Thank you for the hundred dollars you sent to that missionary. As a result of that money you gave, I was saved. I have an eternal home in heaven. I want to invite you to come into my home.”

If you are a child of God, your money is
not really your own. You are just a steward of it—
a manager of God’s money.

Although the above is a strange parable, it has such deep meaning. I look back with great satisfaction on the money I have been able to invest over the years, by the grace of God, in different ministries that have brought souls into the kingdom of heaven. One day, when I myself have come to the end of my life, and I step out of time into eternity, the people to whom I have given God’s money will welcome me into eternal homes.

This truth is just one additional aspect of what we have termed “God’s social security.” In the next chapter, we will look at another aspect of security from God that comes from doing His will.

23

SECURITY THROUGH DOING GOD’S WILL

Let us now focus on a very special kind of security that covers every area of our lives. It is the security that comes from doing God’s will. We read about this type of security at the end of the following passage:

For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world. The world is passing away, and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God lives forever. (1 John 2:16–17 nasb)

United with God’s Will

Throughout this study on security, the Bible has consistently been reminding us that there are two different realms of life. The Scriptures contrast the temporal realm (the realm of the earthly, temporary, impermanent, and insecure) with the eternal realm (the realm of God and His permanent, unending kingdom). We see that contrast clearly in the above passage.

Speaking about
“all that is in the world,”
John listed three kinds of motivations that drive people:
“the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life.”
John wrote that these kinds of motivations are
“not from the Father, but…from the world.”
Furthermore, he declared that
“the world is passing away.”
The world is temporary; it will not last. Accordingly, it does not and cannot offer permanent security.

Contrasted with the impermanence of this world is another type of security that John expressed in this way:
“The one who does the will of God lives forever.”
What a tremendous statement! If you are doing the will of God, you will live forever. That means that you will never ultimately be overthrown; your security will never be taken from you, and nothing will ever be able to overcome or hinder you.

When you set your heart, mind, and will to do the will of God, you unite with His will. In the final analysis, the will of God is going to prevail over all other forces in the universe. And, if you are united with the will of God by your decision and commitment, then you are going to prevail along with His will. God’s strength is going to become yours, because you are doing His will.

Jesus Shows the Way

Jesus is our pattern in His motivation to do the will of God. He said,
“I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me”
(John 6:38). Jesus’ entire motivation was to do the will of God the Father. There is an interesting instance in the ministry of Jesus that demonstrates how this worked in His life. In John 4, Jesus was resting by the well of Jacob in Samaria. His disciples had gone to the nearest town to buy food, which they evidently needed for their journey. While they were gone, a Samaritan woman came along. To sum up what happened: Jesus spoke to her about the water of eternal life, and the woman came to some kind of faith in Jesus.