Righteousness - Session 15
If our service in our daily lives was a representation of Christ then our offerings presented to our Father are considered holy and declared as righteous. But if we lived for our personal ambitions and purposes then the offerings are declared as unrighteous by God.
Session fifteen presents practical aspects of righteousness, it addresses our existence and representation of God in the earth. In doing so the areas of finance and wealth is dealt with.
Wealth
God did not create money nor the various currencies in the world. Therefore Jesus calls it unrighteous mammon. However, God did create wealth. Wealth includes everything God created to sustain the human life on the earth. God has provided sufficiently for our wholistic sustenance.
Stewardship
God has placed us His sons on the earth as stewards over His created order, which includes resources. Stewardship is the ability to manage these resources without allowing them to consume us.
it is equally important to understand that we were born to live for Christ. Share on X
Exact Representation
The world order promotes the ideology of individualism, expressed in pride, self-centeredness, greed, and ambition. As the sons of God, we are exhorted to die to these values so that Christ is always on the throne of our lives. It is imperative that everything we do should be compliant with the eternal purpose, that humankind was created by the image and likeness of God to creation. It is equally important to understand that we were born to live for Christ – we are the exact representation of our Father on earth.
Vocation: Service Equates to Worship
Every child of God is in full time ministry irrespective of their vocations. We have been born again to live solely for our Father. Our vocations, careers, or whatever we do to sustain our livelihoods are to be unto our Father. From the perspective of the world they essentially and summarily define our value and existence, even though from the Fathers perspective we are priceless. The salaries or income earned is the estimate of our value in this world. Whilst the money earned is not the fruit of righteousness, it may be considered a representation of our worth. The Scriptures equates our worship with our service (vocation/Career).
Therefore whenever a terumah (first-fruit, tithe or offering) is presented to God, it is not merely an offering of our earnings but rather a representation of our service and therefore viewed as our worship. If our service was a representation of Christ in our daily lives then our offerings presented to our Father are considered holy and declared as righteous. But if we lived for our personal ambitions and purposes then the offerings are declared as unrighteous by God. Such an example is that of Cain and Abel. Cain was self absorbed, conceited and built his career on his own abilities, whereas Abel devoted his life to God. Because of his heart condition, Abel’s offering was considered righteous and accepted, but Cain’s offering was rejected.
God looks at our offerings in the same manner. He judges whether it is our image or the image of Christ that is reflected through them. Our offerings are basically a token of our representation and worship before God.
