Eye of the needle

As I did my today’s meditation, I pondered upon how Jesus said to His disciples, “Truly, I say to you, only with difficulty will a rich person enter the kingdom of heaven;” (MATTHEW 19:23, NIV), I examined how a young rich man confided in Jesus saying, “What do I still lack?” then Jesus replied, “go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me” (MATTHEW 19:20-21, NIV), truly, to be perfect means to achieve one’s God-given purpose in life. However, worldly wealth was more important to him than heavenly treasure and he walked away from Jesus sadly (MATTHEW 19:22, NIV).

Yet, Jesus said that whatever you leave behind in this world, you’ll get a hundred times more in the next. On top of that, you’ll inherit eternal life (MATTHEW 19:28-29, NIV). And, God doesn’t need your money. He wants your heart. We cannot serve God and money. Mammon is a power that seeks to dominate us… a rival god that seeks allegiance (RICHARD FOSTER). This encourages me to surrender my life, my all to Jesus, being my Master as I resist the devil. And, I reject the worldly mantra that money is everything. Indeed, Money can buy medicine, but not health. Money can buy a house, but not a home. Money can buy companionship, but not friends. Money can buy entertainment, but not happiness. Money can buy food, but not an appetite. Money can buy a bed, but not sleep… Money can buy the good life, but not eternal life (CHARLES SWINDOLL). Truly, money can rebuild Notre Dame Cathedral, but not the church itself. Today, I pray for God will set those free from sin – those who are serving Mammon.

It’s reported how Singapore is home to 183,737 millionaires. Wealth per adult has increased more than 146% since the year 2000. Globally, we rank number nine in terms of highest average wealth per adult (THE STRAITS TIMES, 18 OCTOBER 2018).

I give thanks to God for Singaporean Christians who are well represented in the arena of wealth creation and business enterprise, as the power to create wealth is a gift from God (DEUTERONOMY 8:18, NIV). Yet, business is never just business. The business profession has a moral role in society, bringing goods and services for the betterment of all (RICHARD FOSTER) as he highlighted this point inside the 40 Days (2019) devotional text. And, I pray for God that He would ‘raise’ up a critical mass of God-fearing disciples in the business world to steward His wealth in His way, for His purposes, and for His glory.

It’s also reported that while some are getting richer, others are getting poorer. The number of Singaporean families depending on long-term financial aid has increased (THE STRAITS TIMES, 4 OCTOBER 2018). Hence, Jesus said, “To whom much is given, much is required” (LUKE 12:48, NIV), and this also encouraging me to have a greater social responsibility to steward a greater wealth that God entrusted me today.

Are you hoarding wealth for fear of lack? Are you self-indulgent, flaunting your wealth or success? With this, I seek God for His investment strategy and for my project life stories team members to work with Government authorities to help reduce income inequality in the special needs community.

How does the global church spend its money? 

Truly, 87% is spent on the church, 12% on ministry among the reached, and just 1% on unreached peoples, among whom are the poorest of the poor (GLOBAL STATISTICS). Today, some 250 million people have no access to any Scripture in their heart language (WYCLIFFE GLOBAL ALLIANCE) as they mentioned their points inside the 40 Days (2019) devotional text.

Let’s not hold back our wealth for a good cause and redistribute our wealth + channeling them to God’s mission to the unreached world today!

Profile Background: 
Jeremy Koh is a disabled graduate from Cerebral Palsy Alliance Singapore – formerly known as Spastic Children Association (1987–1997). He graduated with Certificates in Microsoft Office Skills & a HR Administrator Graduate (CHRA) under Human Capital Singapore–SGEnable Collaboration of Partnership – HCS HR PowerBank (7th Dec 2021 to 3rd June 2022) | Former Project Assistant/Email Marketing Consultant |A Connecter in ServeHope Pte Ltd & GrowthBeans Team in Savior-Asia Consulting Pte Ltd | A KeyGuard Specialist @(these)abilites Pte Ltd handling all KeyGuard Operations for 10 months in World United College South East Asia (Tampines Branch) | an Executive Assistant with Vision Strategy Storytelling (3 months, Aug to Oct 2017); A Founder in the ground up initiative project called – Project Stories for LIFE (Affiliated with Youth Corps Singapore, a former member of the Special Needs Cluster) |A PwD Advocate – a representing voice of the Disabled Community to the public today.

Prayer Response to this featured article:
Jesus, we repent for holding back our wealth for a good cause and pray for a redistribution of wealth that comes from our churches in Antioch of Asia to God’s mission to the unreached.

(Written by Jeremy Koh, 17th July 2019)