“Pastor, I feel my pursuit for money has negatively influenced my spiritual life. Now I can afford anything money can buy, but I really cannot feel my spirit man. How do I get my spiritual life back?”

I’m happy you really want to do this. Jesus wasn’t joking when he said it would be difficult for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. Not necessarily because he has money, but because of what money can do to a man who isn’t spiritual. Let’s see how scriptures put it;

Matthew 19:
16 And, behold, one came and said unto him, Good Master, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life?
17 And he said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God: but if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments.
18 He saith unto him, Which? Jesus said, Thou shalt do no murder, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness
19 Honour thy father and thy mother: and, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
20 The young man saith unto him, All these things have I kept from my youth up: what lack I yet?
21 Jesus said unto him, If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me.
22 But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful: for he had great possessions.
23 Then said Jesus unto his disciples, Verily I say unto you, That a rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven.
24 And again I say unto you, It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.

Did you see that? The rich man was clearly a religious man who abided by the laws of God, however, he neglected the greatest law, the very law that validates our position with God, and that’s the law of love. If that rich man had love for people, he wouldn’t have hesitated to obey what Jesus commanded. We all know that we can’t claim we love God if we don’t love the people of God. If you love God, then you must love the brethren.

It’s already impossible for a Carmel to go through the eye of a needle, now imagine how difficult it would be for a rich man who isn’t spiritual to enter the kingdom of heaven.

Love is the greatest test of spirituality. God is love, and He shed His love in our hearts by His Spirit. He also showed us how to demonstrate our love when He gave His only begotten Son to die for us, even while we were still sinners. Now you’d understand why Jesus told that rich man to sell all he had and give to the poor. If the man had done that, his heart would have experienced a renewal. Unfortunately, he went away sorrowful.

You’d recall that Zacchaeus had a similar experience. Although a religious man, but he was a tax master with a propensity of robbing innocent traders. While Jesus was on that visit in his house, Zacchaeus made a statement that immediately restored his salvation. Let’s read from scriptures:

Luke 19:
8 And Zacchaeus stood, and said unto the Lord; Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor; and if I have taken any thing from any man by false accusation, I restore him fourfold.
9 And Jesus said unto him, This day is salvation come to this house, forsomuch as he also is a son of Abraham.

Did you see that? Asides that he was willing to path with half of his goods to the poor, he was also ready to ammend his ways towards those he may have cheated. The very next verse confirms that salvation entered his house because of that change of heart.

Just because you are born again doesn’t mean you’d be spiritual as a rich man. And the reason is obvious, you may have had faith in God when things were tough, but when money comes, your faith may shift to your money. That’s actually what happened to many rich people. The things they used to fast and pray about was suddenly no longer a prayer point. And instead of advancing their faith by showing love to others, they unknowingly allow the money to rule over them. The presence of money killed their faith, instead of using that money to show God’s love to people.

When I say show love, I don’t necessarily mean to give people money. Ofcourse that’s part of it, but the focus should be to invest in people to become a better version of themselves, so that they can become useful both to the kingdom and society. We don’t have too many rich Christians who are doing this. Unfortunately, that’s what the people of the world are leveraging on.

Faith works by love, that’s what Galatians 5:6 tells us. The moment your love for God and the brethren dies, your faith will cease from working. And once your faith ceases, spirituality also ceases. Fast and pray all you want, you won’t feel a thing, except you decide to walk in this truth.

Oh, you thought I was going to advise you to go and fast and pray? Ofcourse, you’d need some level of prayer and fasting to subject your flesh to the Holy Spirit, but if you really want to sustain spirituality, then you have to walk in love.

As I conclude, you may need to begin by rededicating your life to Christ. Possibly, take a three day retreat to map out strategies to maintain your spiritual life, which should include, studying, praying, and the likes. But most of all, create a strategy that will keep your love for God ever burning. If you lose this last one, you will lose everything else. God is love!

I hope this has brought enlightenment to someone.

Remain ever blessed, in Jesus precious name!

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