Senegalese-American singer, Akon, recently said that he once tried to own a private jet. He indeed got one but it stayed with him for only six months. After that he sold it, stating that it was rather too exorbitant to maintain. From there he went on to give a curious financial advice: “If you want to stay rich stay stingy. Don’t blow off your money”. If he meant that waste should be avoided when he said “don’t blow off your money’’, he cannot be faulted. However, to say that the only way to stay rich is to be stingy, he contradicted the Scriptures. Those who come to Christ need to know that they have entered a new kingdom with new rules.

The first crop of disciples that Jesus recruited went through such reorientation. Initially, they were busy hustling for positions, wanting to know who would be the greatest among them. Jesus had to explain that things are now different. In the world, the big men take their seats and have everybody at their beck and call. He taught them that things are different in the Kingdom. He then used Himself as an example. They called Him Lord and Master, but He was the one serving them. This and many other things point to different rules for different kingdoms. In God’s kingdom, we don’t become rich through stinginess as Akon advocated but through being liberal. The scripture does not oppose a savings culture but puts a limit. Withholding more than necessary will bring poverty, either in substance, character or both.