When we look at today's industries and business sectors, it's obvious that God is blessing a lot of people with wealth and influence. However, one would be lying if he or she says that there is a clear distinction between honest and dishonest people in terms of the money they make.
Truth be told, there are a lot of dishonest businessmen and executives who are making a lot of money today.
And that leads us to think that morals and ethics don't really add up and that sometimes, honesty doesn't pay off. We see businessmen who cheat on taxes, withhold payroll and refuse to return the tithe being blessed mightily by the Lord financially. So does this mean that God isn't just? Not necessarily.
The Bible speaks of a facet of God's grace called common grace, which teaches that God shows goodness and mercy irregardless of the fact that people deserve it or not. Here are some scriptures that speak of God's common grace.
Psalm 145:9 | "The Lord is good to all, and his mercy is over all that he has made."
Luke 6:35 | "But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return, and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, for he is kind to the ungrateful and the evil."
Matthew 5:45 | "so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust."
God loves both the just and the unjust, but that doesn't mean He isn't just himself. Sometimes we think that liars and cheats shouldn't be blessed and that God should bring judgment for their sins.
One thing we forget is that Jesus has already paid the price for sin, and that we have no right to judge who deserves God's blessing and who doesn't. In fact, if God's blessing was really meant for those who qualify as godly, then no one will be blessed.
God's Word makes it clear that all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. No one deserves to be blessed, but God blesses us anyways.
So instead of looking at your cheating co-worker who takes a kickback out of every sale, focus on these three ideas instead:
1. God's grace is sufficient for all, but so is His loving discipline that everyone will experience at one point or another. 2. Being financially blessed doesn't necessarily mean living life to the full. So there's a high chance that that cheating workmate might not all be that satisfied. 3. True satisfaction lies not on the reward of doing good, but rather on knowing that we are already blessed beyond measure and our good works are only a response to the grace of God.
