People spend their whole lives striving to become rich. They think that if only they have enough money, they can buy their way to a peaceful life filled with happiness. They think that money is power and that power is what will make things easier. They think that money can change their life and the lives of their families for the better.
While it is true that money is something that people use for paying for shelter, food and clothing, it is not true that it can bring happiness. It can pay bills. It can buy the things that you and your family may need. However, it is not what will fill your life with contentment and keep the troubles of the world at bay.
People have often mistaken a verse of the Bible. The condemn individuals that have wealth by their use of this verse. They will tell you that the Bible says that money is the root of all evil. What the verse actually says is that the LOVE of money is a root of many kinds of evil.
It is the love and adoration of money and what it can provide that is the problem. Money, in and of itself, is neutral. God does not condemn money. Being rich is not evil just as being poor is not a blessing in and of itself.
It is the way that you look at your condition that makes the difference. God tells us to be content right where we are. He placed where we are for a reason. Whether we are rich or we are poor, we are to look to God and not to the world to provide contentment and happiness in our spirit.
There are rich people who spend their lives giving to others. There are poor people who give from what little they have. It may be their time or their prayers if there is simply no money to be given. Both ways of giving are pleasing to God. He gave to us and he wants us to give to others.
There are, though, rich people who are working to make even more money as a way to find peace in their souls. They think that with more and more money and more and more power, they will be able to buy or bully their way to the pinnacle that they have chosen. They love money and what it brings them and they more of it. They will do whatever is necessary to achieve their ends.
There are poor people who spend their time trying to figure out get rich quick schemes. They want to buy their way into leisure and happiness. From where they stand, during struggle after struggle, being rich looks pretty good.
I can understand this feeling. I’ve been poor, too, in this life. The funny thing is that I never realized that my family was poor. I knew that we didn’t have the fancy things that others had but it didn’t bother me too much. For the short time my mother was on welfare instead of working (due to health issues), it didn’t trouble me as I knew that that type of short term assistance was a good thing and allowed us to see the doctor when we were ill.
Until high school, that is. At that time, even though she was, by then, working in a fairly well paid job for the time, my mother decided that two shirts, one pair of pants and a pair of flimsy sandals was enough for me. In order to have more clothes, proper shoes, coat and clothes for gym class, I had to work to earn the money to buy them. So I did.
When I was out of school is when this all hit me hard. I started buying more and more clothes and more and more things that I really didn’t require. It became an obsession that lasted for years. I ended up buying way too much for my children.
It took a serious wake up call to bring me to my senses. These days, I don’t spend money at the drop of a hat. I ponder purchases and how I will use them. If the item makes sense, I will buy it. If it is merely a want and not something that I need, I don’t buy it.
I’ve started businesses and used my earnings for discretionary spending. That was a buzzword for spending as much as I wanted on anything that caught my eye. These days, I fight the desire to start businesses as I don’t feel that is what God is calling me to do. That is the world speaking to me. It says that unless I am trying to earn lots of money, I’m fairly worthless.
Good thing I’ve learned not to listen to the world. The world is controlled by a liar and he lies and lies. His first lie was to Eve in the Garden of Eden and he continues to lie to each of us every day.
When God calls us to his service, sometimes he bestows riches. He says that those who are given much are expected to give more.
For some people, this attitude of giving rather than making money is too much to handle. For some, it is a reason why they can’t follow Jesus. They love money too much and giving control of it to God is more than they can accept.
There are also those who say they are Christians, even pastors, who use their position as a way to fill their own coffers. They build fancy churches and even fancier houses. Some are more truthfully called estates or compounds with multiple acres than simply a home.
They are unwilling to share, even in the face of disaster. I’ve heard of one such pastor who said he didn’t share his church sanctuary with people in a disaster because no one asked.
Really? A Christian should not have to be asked. They should be ready immediately to help their neighbor. If my pastor had done something of this nature, I would expect the elders to admonish him and if that didn’t happen, I would leave that church.
Rich or poor, we have something to share with the world. If nothing else, we can share the gospel of Jesus Christ and his unbelievable gift of salvation that was purchased through his sacrifice. When you think about what Jesus gave to the world and what he went through, giving some time or money is a pretty easy request to fulfill.
It’s time we stop loving money and, instead, love God and each other. Money will never give you a good life filled with contentment and happiness. It will certainly never give you a way into heaven.
Luke 18: 18-27
A certain ruler asked him, “Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”
“Why do you call me good?” Jesus answered. “No one is good—except God alone. You know the commandments: ‘You shall not commit adultery, you shall not murder, you shall not steal, you shall not give false testimony, honor your father and mother.’”
“All these I have kept since I was a boy,” he said.
When Jesus heard this, he said to him, “You still lack one thing. Sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”
When he heard this, he became very sad, because he was very wealthy. Jesus looked at him and said, “How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God! Indeed, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.”
Those who heard this asked, “Who then can be saved?”
Jesus replied, “What is impossible with man is possible with God.”