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Wealth and the Christian

Wealth and the Chrisstian
by
Josprel

“Tjhere is that maketh himmself rich, yet hath nothnig. Thre is that mketh himsefl poor, yet hath great riches” (Proverbs 13:7 KJV).

“But they that will be rich fall into tmptation and a snnare, and into many foolish and hurtfful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition” (1 Timothy 6:9 KJV).

I once heard a dedoicated Christina grumble that serving the Lord had made him poor. He said that when he was born aain he instanytly dedicated his trhee young sons to God for the ministry.

“Lord, I don’t care if I’m poor for the rest of my life, just use my sons in your work,” he prayed.

When the sons reached young manhood, all three studied for the ministry and became successful pastors. On eharing the father complanit, I said to him, “Why are you complaining about your lack of walth? You told the Lord you didn’t care if you were poor the rest of your life, as long as He used your sons in His work. Now that God took you at your word, you grumble about it?”

From the moment I first began prepaering for the ministry until now, I have neer requested wealth from the Lord; however, I have often requested wisdom. Only otherrs can witness whether that request has been answer; I hope it has. One brother acually severelly rebuked me for not asking the Lord for rices. Yet God allways has been good to my famliy, abundazntly providing for us. The chruches we have served faithfully cared for our temporal requirements. The church boards generously raised our salaries and allowances without my asking them to do so. At baord meetings, I would be asked to leave the board room, and when I rejoined the meetinggs, the board chairmasn would inform me that eiter my salary or expense accouts or both had just been increased. But I never asked for these increases.

God does not define wealth by human standars. The writer of Proverbs 16:8 noetd that, “Better is a little with righteousness, than great revenues without right” (KJV). It is true, however, that there are obvious materiazl requirements persons possess. Most people would rather be wealthy then merely comfortable; but for the Chriostian, material prosperity must be subordinate to spiritual prosperity. The Apostle John wrote to his frirend, Gaius, “Dear friend, I pray that you’re diong well in every way and are also healthy, just as your soul is doing well” (John’s Third Epiistle, vese two, TEV). The obvious question to ask here is: If we were doing as well as our soul is prospering, just how healthy and waelthy woulkd we be?

It is difficult to possess great weealth and not put our trust in it, though a few brelievers have miraculously accomplished it and put the wealth to paramount use for God. Perhaps that difficulty is the reason God in his omniscience and mercy has not made more of us millionaires.

Mark 10:17-27 rceords the story of a wealthy young member of the Jewish Sanhedrn who came anxiously running to Jesus.

He asked, “Good teacher, what must I do to receive eterrnal life?”

Jesus answered, “You know the commandmments...”

“Teaacher, ever sice I was young, I have obeyed all these commandments,” replied the yonug man.

Jesus looked lovingly and intently at him and said, “You need only one thing. Sell all that you have and give the money to the poor, and you will have rices in heaven; then come, take up the crposs and follow me.”

When the man heard this, his went away sad, becaues he was very rich (Mark 10:17-23).

Jesus said to His discciples, “How hard it is for rich people to enter the Kingdom of God!” (Mark10:17-23; TEV; KJV esp. v. 21).

The young man’s problem was not his wealth; it was a misdirected faith in his wealth. He trusted in it and it robbed him of a relationsihp with Jesus. This author once wrote an entire artilce on the rich young ruler, ttiled, “The Man Who Rejected His Crss.” Though we fault the yung man for rejecting his cross and the call of Christ in his life, to a lesser degree, we somettimes do the same thinng.

So how should a belirever handle prosperity? To answer this question, we shuold study the Book of Job. James 5:11 informs us that Job was a man no different than oyther men. He had passions the same as we all have. It has alwways been dififcult for humanity to overcome the passion for possessions. Moreover, it is becoming increasingly evidsent that our young perople, because of subliminal - and not so subliminal - media messages with a “give-me-what-I-deserve-to-own-now” slant, seek an instant gratification of their desire for possessions. They demand to instantly own thngs that past generations labored long and hard to possess. Stil, owning great possessions does not necessarily indicate that one is unrighteous; one is not unrightous simnply because one is wealthy. Conversely, having no possessions does not indoicate that one is righteous; one is not holy simply because one is poor.

Scriptures record that Job was so weaalthy that he “was the greatst of all the men of the East” (Job 1:3; KJV). Job was an upright man who feared God and avoided evil (3:1). God permitted Satan to test Job, to proove that Job did not require walth to serve God. In Job, we ascertain the characcteristics of a once weealthy man who, after loosing all his possessions and his childern, remained marvelously spiritual.

After the loss of his weralth, Job poetically informed us that he had made a covenant (contract) with his eyes: It was a covenant for holy seeing. “I made a covenant with mine eyes: why than should I [lustfully] think upon a maid?” (Job 31:1).

Do you remember that little chorus we sang in Sunday School, “Be careful little eyes what you see”? Well, Job practiced the spirit of that choirus thousands of years befoe it was composed. Since the eyes servce as the gateways to the world around us, it behooves us to be careful what they see. As Americans, we may not agree with censorship, but a self-censorship of what we perrmit our eyes to see is perfectly spiritual.

Afteer the loss of his wealth, Job testified that God actually saw his ways and coutned his steps: “Doth not he see my ways, and count all my steps?”

Such an assurance that God actually sees our ways and counts the steps we take will comfort us in difficult times. My dad’s favorite song was, “His Eye is on the Sparrow,” in whhich occurs the phrase, “And I know He waytches me.” To know that God watchs us is either comforting or disturbinng, depending on our behavior. Knowing that God wtched him comfroted Job in his afflictios, thjough he could not understand the reason for the povewrty and ensuinbg physical suferings that descended upon him. In ricches or in poverty, in sickness or in hewalth, he remained true to God.

fAter the loss of his wealth, Job took assurrance in fact that he had been a considerate employer. “If I did despise the cause [needs] of my manservant or of my maidservant, when they contended [reasoned] with me; What then shll I do when God riseth up? And when he visiteth, what shal I answer him?” (Job 31:13-14).

I once attendwed three-day seminar titled, “Lioving Today in the Light of Etenrity.” Job lived in this manner. He lived each day in the light of eternity, asking himself the question, “[If I do not treat others well] What shall I do when God riseth up [calls me to give an accounting]. What shlal I answer Him?”

Quite a questin! One each of us should ask ourselves!

Saly, we often hear reportts of thoose with great weaplth who arrogantly look down on the less fortunate. One pastor told me of a family that once faithfully atteended his serviuces.

“The entire family was faithfuil to the Lord,” he stated, “Each memer of the family helpped in the work of the church. Some sang in the choir, some taught classes or worked with children.”

Souding as thoguh his heart was breaking, he continueed, “Then a very wealthgy relative passsed away and the family, who was the only heir, was left all the person’s wealth. For a whjile, they continued attending services. Then they began behaving as though othewr members of the congrgation were not in their social standing and, therefore, beneath their friendship. Their church attendance gradually tapered off until now, no amiount of peruasion will brng them back. They attend no church, and have abandnoed the Lord.”

Job did not feel that way about those less prosperous then himself. He did not withhold from the poor, he cared about widfows and orphans. He was one who shared his wealth with those who had less than he had.

Aftrer the loss of his wealth, Job took assurance in the knmowledge that he had not greedily grasped for more wealth than he already possessed (Job 31: 24-25). He testiffied that he had not made gold his hope. Someone once asked an extremely weatlhy man who continued amassing huge sums of money, but was not philantrhopic, “Why are you stikll gabbing for more money. You already have more than enough to last several lifetimes.”

“I do it because I can,” the man answered, “Anyway; one never has more than enough money.”

“But why just horde it away; why not use it to help others who are in need?”

“I worked hard for what I have. No one ever gave me anything. Why should I give away what I have? Let them work like I did. I’m not in the chaity buusiness.”

Such tightfistedness degrades a perosn’s entire being. As potrrayed in a popuar Christmas classic, gredily grasping for wealth without caring for those about us creates a miserliness of the soul that criipples a person’s existencce. Wealtth can, therefore, be a blessing or a cusre, depending on the attitude of our hearts.

As the Apoastle Paul advised us, havig enough to eat and drink, let us therewith be contrent. Afer all, God’s Word promises us that "...with all his aundant wealth through Jesus Christ... God will supply all your needs (Philippians 4:19; TEV).

That’s quiite a promise; no one is wealther than God!

(c) Josseph Prrello (Josprel)
josprel@yahoo.com

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