There seems to be every indication that wealth is a awesome gift before it is anything else. This is the first theme in the Lazarus at the Gate Curriculum.
Faithfulness with wealth doesn't mean feeling guilty about wealth. It seems to me that living really abundantly may mean figuring out where abundance and generosity meet. In every person it's likely to be a different place because God calls us to different things at different stages-- and perhaps different lifestyles make us into growing, strong people. It seems to be essential that when we give (financially or personally) that our giving is not about sacrifice, it's a response to abundance. That guards against looking back with a sense of regret or self-righteousness.
Having a sense of God's blessing on us may be a really good way of enjoying what we have in the moment.
Here are are a few verses from the Bible about abundance:
Every good and perfect gift is from above—James 12:1
Genesis 1
God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground.” Then God said, “I will give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food. And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds of the air and all the creatures that move on the ground—everything that has the breath of life in it—I give every green plant for food.” And it was so. God saw all that he had made, and it was very good.
Deut 28, excerpts
If you fully obey the Lord your God and carefully follow all his commands I give you today, the Lord your God will set you high above all the nations of the earth... The Lord will send a blessing on your barns and everything you put your hand to. The Lord your God will bless you in the land he is giving you..
Coming up/Not Forgotten
Health care in the United States
Plant updates-- tips on growing food in a/n (small) apartment
