A Tuesday VIEW FROM A PEW: “God Don’t Need Your Guilt — He Wants Your Heart.”

This conversation is for somebody who’s been wrestling with what it means to be blessed and still be biblical. Because in church circles, we love to debate what Christians should drive, where we should live, what brands we should wear — as if holiness came with a dress code or a price tag. Life is too short too worry about feeling guilty about what the Lord has blessed you with.

But hear me clearly: Jesus gave us commands about how to love people… not checklists about what to do with our possessions.

You won’t find a verse that says: “Thou shalt not drive luxury.” “Thou shalt not live in abundance.” “Thou shalt avoid the gated community.”

But you will find instructions — very specific instructions — to believers who have been blessed with wealth.

Paul told Timothy in 1 Timothy 6:17–18 to address the rich. And notice… he didn’t tell them to stop being rich. He didn’t tell them to shrink their living. He didn’t tell them to dim their blessings.

What he said was this:

1. Don’t be arrogant. If God elevated you, don’t let your attitude rise higher than your character. Your house may be big, but your head doesn’t have to be.

2. Don’t put your hope in money. Money will fail you. Riches shift. Markets crumble. Opportunities dry up. But the God who blessed you? He does not run out.

3. Put your hope in God. Money is a resource. God is the source. One works for you — the other covers you.

4. Enjoy what God gave you. Stop apologizing for the blessings He placed in your hands. You didn’t steal them — God trusted you with them. Enjoying a blessing is not a sin. Worshipping it is.

5. Be rich in good deeds. If God enlarged your life, enlarge your giving. If you live big — serve big.

6. Be generous and willing to share. Wealth without generosity is just well-decorated greed. God doesn’t bless us to hoard — He blesses us so we can pour.

So let’s go ahead and address the question folks whisper but never say out loud:

Is it wrong for Christians to live lavishly? Absolutely not. It’s only wrong when the lavish life becomes your Lord.

You can have a mansion — just don’t let it be your identity. You can have a Bentley — just don’t let it bend your spirit.
You can fly private — just make sure your humility still has both feet on the ground.

God isn’t intimidated by your blessings. He’s concerned about your stewardship. Your spirit. Your heart posture.

Because the truth is this: It’s not about what’s in your garage… it’s about what’s in your soul. It’s not about the size of your house… it’s about the size of your heart. It’s not about the wealth you hold… but the generosity you release.

So, no — it’s not wrong for a Christian to live well. But it is wrong to live well and love poorly. It is wrong to prosper and not pour. It is wrong to be blessed and not be a blessing.

If God trusted you with much, then let much flow through you. Let your generosity preach louder than your possessions.
And let your life be the kind of testimony that makes people say:

“God didn’t just bless them — God uses them.” That’s the real wealth. That’s the real witness. And that’s the view… from this pew.