Many people work and deliver excellent projects they declare belong to God yet there are some hidden agendas that God may not be happy with. People that deliver Christian projects include missionaries, business people, volunteers, non-governmental organizations, etc. It is good and God often gets the glory and it is encouraged for people to work for God while they live.
I wish to advice the good project owners and managers, readers and believers on three principles that should be kept in mind if God will be happy with a project that is called by His name.
1. Never request for donations in the name of a Christian project and keep some of the money for yourself.
Such practice is tantamount to theft. God owns silver and gold (Haggai 2:8), He provides for His projects and His own but He cannot tolerate cheats. A project God owns He will ensure it comes to completion but people tend to request for more than the project will require and hope to pay themselves with the extra. Never do project managers mention to the sponsors that they will keep some of the money for themselves.
Most often than not, sponsors and donors will never mind giving more for the purpose of paying those that work on the project but they would not give far too much extra, which is why I think the project runners would want to keep it secret so that they can escalate the prices at will. God definitely hates that and He cannot compromise just because of the project. Know this one thing that at death, you will be faced with judgement.
2. Do not have ulterior motives for a project you openly declare belongs to God.
If you give to God, give exactly what you have purposed to give to Him. This is an issue between you and God, such that whatever people say really don’t matter at all but what God says is what matters. Never hide selfish motives of any kind with God’s work. God searches the heart and there is no way you can hide anything from Him (Jeremiah 17:10).
Let me make an example of an artist that sings Gospel music but behind closed doors s/he gets drunk, tells the real reason for singing Gospel music. Most likely the reason would be to earn a living from the music and not to preach. The same goes for bloggers, radio stations, television stations, publishers, authors, pastors, teachers, etc. I fear because I’m a victim too, but I have corrected this as given below.
To correct such a mistake is easy, just talk to God about your real motive. Let Him decide for you if making or earning money this way is okay for you. He might say yes, no, wait or give guidelines to do it His way. Some methods He may forbid and others He may allow, it all up to Him. Accept His answer as is and comply.
3. Contribute to the project as well.
Some people would do God’s projects because they will not have anything of their own to give. Many would say they have already contributed by working on the project, which is true, but let the people see a seed sown by the initiators.
Conclusion
God has blessed people with sharp minds to earn a living through applying themselves, but He cannot tolerate people that live in lie. He cannot tolerate when people use His name to make money without involving or asking for His permission. Simple and straight forward.