Welcome to the For the Gospel podcast, where we provide sound doctrine for everyday people. I'm your host, Costi Hinn. And as we close this New Year's series, I want to talk to you about wealth and work because it's something that's very practical and it can often be misunderstood and mistaken as not very spiritual, but it absolutely is. For some Christians, wealth actually feels suspicious. I think there's a lot of bad teaching out there on it. And I don't just mean the prosperity gospel, I also mean the poverty gospel too, and that, well, you know, real Christians are poor. Other people say, oh, real Christians are blessed. You know, God wants you healthy, happy, wealthy. And then maybe more than that, there's a lot in this generation who just haven't been taught on wealth or taught biblically about money. So they don't really even know how to view it. Now, work ties into this as well. So I want to talk to you about wealth and work because you can't separate work from your wealth. Work is the source of it. And work has a prominent place in our lives and in our new year goals. And it can also become a barrier to health when it becomes the ultimate thing. So I don't know if you can really have a good, strong, clear new year kickoff series without talking about money and talking about our work. We've got to embrace the tension here. Work, wealth, and ambition to build things and your faith are not at odds. In fact, your faith is what should inform those things. We've got to see how God redeems all of these elements and faith just as the governing anchor over them. And so I want to talk very clearly, very honestly, very bluntly about these things because scripture doesn't shy away from talking about wealth or work. So neither should we. God speaks very often about both. And what is the problem? Why can wealth be a problem? Why can work become a problem? The problem isn't money, the problem isn't ambition, the problem is misalignment. So the question is not whether or not you will pursue success, but what kind? And for what purpose? And under whose authority. So let's start with work. Work is a divine calling. Work did not enter the world after the fall, it existed before sin. And nowhere in the Bible are you going to find that work is bad or was created to be a drag, even though work can be tough. Work itself was actually something good that God gave. In Genesis 2.15, we see Adam is placed in the garden, and the Bible says he was given the garden to keep it and to work it. Work is part of God's good design. It's sin that made work frustrating. It's sin that makes work hard, but never is work itself meaningless or a punishment for sin. So we've got to approach work biblically. And we need to see work as a divine calling and working hard as a divine calling. You think about work as a gift from God, yeah, but the way you work also needs to honor God. Throughout scripture, diligence is praised and laziness is rebuked. One of my favorite passages is Colossians 3.23 says, Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart as working for the Lord and not for man. I took that verse to heart in college, in athletics, and business, with anything I did. And now with ministry. Now work doesn't need to become the be all end all. Our identity is not in work, it's in Christ. But work is a great outlet for bringing God glory. Your work, whether in business, trades, education, leadership, or home, ministry, whatever it is, is not spiritually neutral. All of it can bring glory to God. A mother doing the dishes and a CEO doing a merger are both seen and celebrated by God. Both are doing meaningful, eternal work. Their specific tasks just accomplish different earthly purposes, but both are worship when they're done unto God. And so when we're thinking about work in the new year, maybe for some of you, it's a new year's resolution to see work as worship and as something sacred. And if you've reframe that, I think you're going to go into work on a Monday, or if you work from home, or you're a stay-at-home mother, or you're a teacher, or you're a paramedic, whatever you do, it's going to reframe the way you approach it. You are not working merely to earn income or achieve status on earth. You aren't doing the laundry or cleaning a home just to reduce stress because clutter drives you crazy. You're bringing order, you're advancing a mission, you're stewarding gifts, all things that God has given you. And so a biblical mindset says, I work hard not to prove my worth, but to honor God with my abilities in the role that He has given me. So let that be how you work in 2026. Now let's talk about wealth. And let's talk about building wealth without losing your soul. Scripture never condemns wealth, just like it never condemns work. It warns us about loving wealth or loving money and trusting money and hoarding money. There's a passage in 1 Timothy chapter 6 in verse 10 that says the love of money is the root of all evil, not money itself, but the love of money. And then just a few short verses later, I've got my Bible open to 1 Timothy 6. Paul is instructing Timothy on what to teach the rich, and really just to teach about money in general, that we can all take to heart, says this instruct those who are rich in this present world not to be conceited or to fix their hope on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly supplies us with all things to enjoy. Instruct them to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share, storing up for themselves the treasure of a good foundation for the future, so that they may take so that they may take hold of that which is life indeed. Nowhere in First Timothy six does God say it's a sin to be wealthy or have money. What is a sin? Fixing your hope on the uncertainty of riches, worshiping riches, bowing before the altar of your riches, forgetting that it's God who richly supplies us with all things to enjoy. You know, enjoying God's good gifts is not sin. Buying something nice, having a nice home, driving a nice car, enjoying your money. There's nothing wrong with any of those things. I remember I've heard Vodhi Bacham say this, I've heard so many others say it. It's so widely used, and it's rightly said that it's not having stuff that's the issue. It's when the stuff has you that's the issue. God gives good gifts. And nothing says you can't enjoy them, but you've got to see money with the right perspective. Money has to stay in its place. Money doesn't use us, we use it. We have to master our money, or else our money will master us. Paul's instructions to Timothy hits our heart. Wealth can fund generosity, or it can fuel pride. Wealth can strengthen ministry, and it can cause us to be useful in the kingdom of God with what he's given us and just be a resource or a tool, or it can replace dependence on God and we become like the one in Proverbs who thinks their wealth is a hedge of protection, but also like Proverbs, wealth has wings and it keeps flying away. The issue is not accumulation, it's orientation. How is your heart? How is my heart? And so ask yourself in 2026 is wealth serving the mission God has given me, or is wealth becoming a mission in itself? A biblical builder plans wisely and saves prudently and gives generously and lives content. We often say around our house, contentment is our superpower. Scripture praises foresight. Scripture praises contentment and preparation and then condemns dishonest gain or fraud, reckless haste and greed and laziness. God's not glorified by sloppy stewardship. He's not glorified by greedy accumulation. And now I want to go somewhere that a lot of Christians are nervous to go unless they're post-millennial in their eschatology. And if you've been with us for a long time on the podcast or you were with us this last year, I did a whole eschatology series. I've got a lot of dear friends and brothers who are post-millennial. It's the view that we're going to essentially take over the world with the gospel. We're going to keep preaching the gospel, and that's going to keep transforming the world, and that'll usher in Christ's return versus the premillennial view, which more or less teaches the world is going to get worse and worse, evil will rise. Christ will still build his church. We are optimistic in that it is going to be strength throughout the world, naming the name of Christ, taking the name of Christ places it's never been, going to prison for it, not backing down, taking the beating for it, not backing down. Persecution will rise, but Jesus will build his church. All that, yes and amen. And there'll be wars and rumors of wars. And then the final stages of the end times ramp up. Things are going darker and darker and darker, leading to Christ's glorious return and all of these things. In other words, the post-millennial view can tend to view wealth as something we build and use for kingdom purposes and future generations, because the post-millennial view would say, we're going to be here, we're taking over, things are going to get better incrementally. And so we got to build wealth. The church needs to go back to cathedrals and strength and having deep pockets, not to drive Bentleys and fly in private planes, but to advance the mission of God and bring his righteousness to the whole world. The premillennial view, if people aren't careful, and you, of course, if you know our ministry, know we do not think this way, can lead to a who cares? We're on the losing team. We're going to get raptured out of here anyways. So rack the credit cards, do whatever. Who cares? Wealth is whatever. And it can lead to a lot of irresponsible living and irresponsible planning, saving, and investing. And now wealth is kind of bah humbug. Well, because we just, you know, we're out of here. Listen, we don't know when the day or the hour is. We need to view wealth with a generational view, regardless of your eschatology, just biblically speaking. Biblical wealth building thinks in generations, not just gains for me, not selfishness, not burn through it. And as long as I'm good, who cares? Because I'm going to get raptured out of here. No, Proverbs 13, 22 says, a good man leaves an inheritance to his children's children. Should we view inheritance in that text as faith and values and integrity and reputation? Absolutely. Proverbs has much to say about all those things. But it's talking about money. What we leave behind is more than money, but it's not less than that. The proverb is referring to wealth. But wealth also with a long-term perspective. This is not like get rich quick. This isn't selfishly thinking about spending everything on ourselves. This isn't living for today and not being prudent about tomorrow. It's steady, faithful, wise financial planning and thinking of the generations to come. And so you start thinking about how that impacts your 2026. And the question is this are you setting up your life in such a way in 2026 that you're thinking about the future, that you're thinking about future generations, that you're thinking beyond yourself. However, you want to frame that up, it basically means it's not about you. The money isn't yours, it's God's. And if you think family inheritance and provision don't matter, you've got to remember the words of Paul in 1 Timothy 5.8, where he says, if anyone does not provide for his relatives, his own family, and especially the members of his household, he's denied the faith and he's worse than an unbeliever. Paul's point is that faithful men and workers are thinking about family, their relatives, and the next generation. That's not detached from kingdom living. It is kingdom living. So, whatever your eschatology, we work, we build wealth, we give generously, we build the church. And I don't mean we're Jesus. Jesus builds the church, but you know what I'm saying, the same way that I'm wearing a hoodie right now that says to send us to survive. It's from my friends over at Missionary, Brooks Buzer, Chad Vegas, Stephen McCaskill, they're doing great work that to send us to survive. Nobody's saying God is sovereign, he'll build his church, so don't worry about sending missionaries. No, there's wealthy people funding missions work, rich people throwing down on gospel work, writing checks. Why? Because they understand God is sovereign, he's given us the means, and we've got to use our wealth to advance the gospel and the kingdom of God. That is a biblical way to view all of this. And so plan wisely for future generations. Have a financial plan to give generously. Have a financial plan to advance the gospel. Where has the name of Christ pressed forward and you are attached to it? Not meaning it's all about you, not meaning your pride is now all puffed up, but you can say, Hey, I invested in that. I was wind in those sails. I was obedient to what God had given me. Bottom line is we've got to view wealth as something spiritual. The kingdom of heaven is what we're living for. And if you think this way, you're gonna raise up a generation of godly builders, children who resist shortcuts, work hard, invest wisely, save prudently. They'll use their wealth, they'll value integrity and discipline over speed and waste. We won't have a culture of, we'll just call them Christian brats who grew up with everything or the parents set them up and they don't even know how to use it. You will raise a generation who plays the long game and takes it even further than mom and dad or grandpa and grandma did because they've been given the generational wealth, but they've also been given the kingdom mindset. I just hope that some of you who have come out of the prosperity gospel or just small-minded thinking, where Christians sit around ho-hom singing kumbaya, waiting for Jesus to take them out of this whole world, are starting to think, you know what? Yeah, God is sovereign, but we have been given the privilege of getting after it for his glory today. And so now ambition is redeemed, not removed. Ambition is redeemed, not removed. Some Christians feel guilty for wanting to succeed or being ambitious. There's almost this holier than thou self-righteous attitude that says, you know, I don't want to be ambitious, I don't want to be too driven, as though that's more spiritual. But scripture never rebukes ambition. You won't find a rebuke for ambition. You will find rebukes for selfish ambition. The drive to work hard, the drive to earn wealth, the drive to get after it and use your life and leverage it all for the gospel and godly purposes is never discouraged. Look at Paul the Apostle. He wanted to get after it and do everything he could to advance the gospel, to build the church, to strengthen people, and to save souls. Now you need to check your motives. We got to talk openly about this. We got to look under the hood. But God is not calling you to lay aside drive and ambition. It just needs to be redeemed. Paul speaks about the ambition to preach Christ where he was not known. Did people say, oh, Paul, you're just trying to be famous. You're just trying to make a name for yourself. Oh, you're just too ambitious. You're too driven, Paul. No, if they did, he didn't care. He was living for an audience of one, all out for Christ and his kingdom. Ambition, when ordered toward the glory of God, becomes fuel for kingdom impact. And so the question is not how big your goals are or how much money you have. The question is why do you have your goals and what are you doing with your money? If success makes you prayerless and isolated and pompous and arrogant, well, that's not success. That's spiritual erosion. You're the problem, your heart's the problem, the money is not the problem. But if you're all in on Christ and you're obeying his commands, huh, you're going to be so full of joy. You're going to receive blessings from God and have open hands to give the blessings of God and continue to live content. And in the end, you'll simply be able to say, it was all the Lord. I was just a faithful tool, an instrument in his hands. Money makes a great servant, but it makes a terrible savior. Money promises security, but it can't give peace. It promises control, but it can't even stop death. And so in 2026, go hard at work, but hold wealth with open hands and make sure you're winning where it matters most, spiritually. If you're winning in every way the world measures success, but you're losing where Christ has called you to be faithful. Friend, it's never worth it. One day, the Lord will call your soul home. And all that will matter is what you did for his name. So this year, wealth and work for the glory of God. Thanks for listening. Thanks for watching. Thanks for sharing. Thank you also for all your support for the gospel. Our year ended in strength because of so many of you. And I'm grateful for your support and look forward to running with you hard in 2026. I hope that all of the resources that we're able to produce strengthen you this year. And I'm looking forward to being back with you next Monday. I've got a new series. We're going to get into gambling, drinking, recreation, and more. We're talking Christian liberty. Can't wait. Until then, keep on living for the gospel.