In the Old Testament, wealth awards sometimes come as a reward for faithfulness. In Genesis chapter twenty-six, verse twelve, Isaac received in the same year a hundredfold. However, he did follow in the footsteps of his father Abraham with righteousness and obedience. Abraham is one of the pioneers in receiving a blessing from God, as we know as “the blessing of Abraham.” Joseph is another who receives power and wealth from God, who saved Egypt from famine and was under Pharoah. Solomon, David’s son, was a wealthy King that had many possessions awarded by God. Finally, Job receives from God after facing tragedies one after the other. These examples from the Old Testament show that God does reward his people even with wealth.
However, in the New Testament, Jesus views wealth as a competitive master and a potential hindrance to spiritual life and commitment to God. In Matthew chapter twenty-one, verse thirteen, Mark chapter eleven, verse seventeen, and Luke chapter nineteen, verse forty-six, respectively, all have the same verse with minor differences. Jesus said that His house is a house of prayer, but the people supposed to be serving God made it a den of thieves. Therefore, the pursuit of wealth gain started early in the church, making God’s house the center of financial business instead of a place of worship. The problem with receiving blessings, like money, could potentially consume the believer’s heart taking the place of God.
Jesus calls blessing wealth to a believer a competitive master. Why? Wealth could consume a person’s heart, mind, and time giving no opportunity for continuous growth spiritually. This condition opens up the flesh to expand and eventually become carnal and opens the way to sinful nature to enter the believer’s life again. Therefore blessing wealth is a threat spiritually to a believer and an open door carnally for the flesh.