Do
you crave for being rich? How good is it worth?
Everybody dreams with this. But, are
the riskiness worthy of our efforts?
Let’s
start with this warning:
· Psalm 62:10
-> “Do not trust in oppression and do not vainly hope in robbery; If riches increase,
do not set your heart upon them.”.
But,
why can’t we fix our heart on the affluence?
First:
because this irritate the Creator:
· Job 31:24-28
-> “If I have put my confidence in gold, And called fine gold my trust, If I
have gloated because my wealth was great, And because my hand had secured so
much; If I have looked at the sun when it shone or the moon going in splendor,
And my heart became secretly enticed, And my hand threw a kiss from my mouth,
That too would have been an iniquity calling for judgment, For I would have
denied God above.”.
In
virtue of this, see what the rich can suffer if they put their confidence in
their wealth:
· Psalm 52:5-7
-> “God will likewise destroy you forever; He shall take you away, and pluck
you out of your tent, and root you out of the land of the living.
Selah. And the righteous shall see, and fear, and shall laugh at him,
saying, Behold, the man who did not make God his strength, but trusted in
the abundance of his riches, he was strong in his wickedness.".
· Proverbs 11:28
-> “He who trusts in his riches will fall, But the righteous will flourish
like the green leaf.”.
· Jeremiah 49:4,5
-> “How boastful you are about the valleys! Your valley is flowing away, O
backsliding daughter who trusts in her treasures, saying, 'Who will come
against me?' Behold, I will bring a fear on you, says the Lord Jehovah of
Hosts, from all those who are around you. And you shall be driven out, each man
straight forward; and there shall be none to gather up the runaways.”.
· 1 Timothy 6:8-10 ->
“If we have food and covering, with these we shall be content. But those who
want to get rich fall into temptation and a snare and many foolish and harmful
desires which plunge men into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a
root of all sorts of evil, and some by longing for it have wandered away from
the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.”.
You can be asking: but why the Creator is so angry
when people focus on richness? One of the reasons can be seen below:
·
Haggai
1:3-5 ->
“Then the word of the LORD came by Haggai the prophet, saying, "Is it time
for you yourselves to dwell in your paneled houses while this house lies
desolate?" Now therefore, thus says the LORD of hosts, "Consider your
ways!”.
See
that people start to occupy themselves with their selfish ambitions.
But
the problem don’t stop there!
Second:
wealth can fill the heart with proud, bitterness:
· Proverbs 18:23 ->
“The poor man utters supplications, But the rich man answers roughly.”.
· Proverbs 28:11->
“The rich man is wise in his own eyes, But the poor who has understanding sees
through him.”.
· Ezekiel 28:5-7
-> “By your great wisdom, by your trade You have increased your riches And your heart is lifted up because of your riches. Therefore so says the Lord Jehovah: Because you have set
your heart as the heart of gods, behold, therefore I will bring awesome
strangers of the nations. And they shall draw their swords against the beauty
of your wisdom, and they shall defile your brightness.”.
Third: wealth
induces people to make acceptance of people:
·
James 2:1-7 -> “My brothers, do not
have the faith of our Lord Christ, the Lord of glory, with respecter of
faces. For if there comes a gold-fingered man in fancy clothing into your
assembly, and if there also comes in a poor man in shabby clothing, and if
you have respect to him who has the fancy clothing and say to him, You sit here
in a good place, and say to the poor, You stand there, or sit here under my
footstool; did you not make a difference among yourselves and became
judges with evil thoughts? Listen, my beloved brothers, has not God
chosen the poor of this world rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom which He
has promised to those who love Him? But you dishonored the poor one. Do
not rich men oppress you and draw you before the judgment seats? Do they
not blaspheme that worthy Name by which you are called?”.
Fourth:
wealth can corrupt someone:
· Isaiah 1:23 -> “Your rulers are rebels And
companions of thieves; Everyone loves a bribe And chases after
rewards. They do not defend the orphan, Nor does the
widow's plea come before them.”
Fifth: wealth abets bad demeanor:
·
Micah
6:12 ->
“For the rich men of the city are full of violence, Her
residents speak lies, And their tongue is deceitful in their mouth.”.
Sixth:
wealth eggs on many people retain the good from those who have right to it (for
instance, their employees):
· Leviticus 19:13
-> “You shall not oppress your neighbor, nor rob him. The wages of a hired
man are not to remain with you all night until morning.”.
· Job 20:17-20
-> “He does not look at the streams, The rivers flowing with honey and
curds. He returns what he has attained And cannot
swallow it; As to the riches of his trading, He cannot even enjoy them. For he
has oppressed and forsaken the poor; He has seized a house which he has not
built. Because he knew no quiet within him, He does not retain anything he
desires.”.
· Jeremiah 22:13
-> “Woe to him who builds his house without righteousness And
his upper rooms without justice, Who uses his neighbor's services without pay
And does not give him his wages,”.
· Malachi 3:5
-> “Then I will draw near to you for judgment; and I will be a swift witness
against the sorcerers and against the adulterers and against those who swear
falsely, and against those who oppress the wage earner in his wages, the widow
and the orphan, and those who turn aside the alien and do not fear Me,"
says the LORD of hosts.”.
· James 5:1-6
-> “Now listen, you rich people, weep and wail because of the misery that is
coming on you. Your wealth has rotted, and moths have eaten your clothes. Your
gold and silver are corroded. Their corrosion will testify against you and eat
your flesh like fire. You have hoarded wealth in the last days. Look! The wages
you failed to pay the workers who mowed your fields are crying out against you.
The cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord Almighty. You
have lived on earth in luxury and self-indulgence. You have fattened yourselves
in the day of slaughter. You have condemned and murdered the innocent one, who
was not opposing you.”.
Seventh:
The individuals above arrive to the point of demanding that people pay their
debts, even if they go to bankrupt and, perhaps, they need to beg for food or
become a homeless (of course, in this case, they attract the judgment to
themselves):
· Deuteronomy
24:12-15 -> “If he is a poor man, you shall not sleep with his pledge. When the sun goes down you shall surely
return the pledge to him, that he may sleep in his cloak and bless you; and it
will be righteousness for you before the LORD your God. You shall not oppress a
hired servant who is poor and needy, whether he is one of your countrymen or
one of your aliens who is in your land in your towns.”.
· Proverbs 22:16
-> “He who oppresses the poor to make more for himself or who gives to the
rich, will only come to poverty.”.
Eighth: wealth engrosses
people’s attention so much that they end up dallying on selfish activities:
· Matthew 13:22 -> “And
the one on whom seed was sown among the thorns, this is the man who hears the
word, and the worry of the world and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the
word, and it becomes unfruitful.”.
· Mark 4:19 -> “but
the worries of the world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the desires for
other things enter in and choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful.”.
· Luke 8:14 -> “The
seed which fell among the thorns, these are the ones who have heard, and as
they go on their way they are choked with worries and riches and pleasures of
this life, and bring no fruit to maturity.”.
· Luke 16:19-21,25 ->
“Now there was a rich man, and he habitually dressed in purple and fine linen,
joyously living in splendor every day. And a poor man named Lazarus
was laid at his gate, covered with sores, and longing to be fed with the crumbs
which were falling from the rich man's table; besides, even the dogs were
coming and licking his sores … But Abraham replied, ‘Son, remember that in
your lifetime you received your good things, while Lazarus received bad things,
but now he is comforted here and you are in agony”.
Ninth:
wealth precludes people of being free to run after Jesus
and His Kingdom:
· Matthew 19:21-22 -> “Jesus
said to him, "If you wish to be complete, go and sell your possessions and
give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow
Me." But when the young man heard this statement, he went away grieving;
for he was one who owned much property.”.
· Mark 10:21-22
-> “Looking at him, Jesus felt a love for him and said to him,
"One thing you lack: go and sell all you possess and give to the poor, and
you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me." But at these words
he was saddened, and he went away grieving, for he was one who owned much
property.”.
· Luke 18:22-23 ->
“When Jesus heard this, He said to him, "One thing you still lack; sell
all that you possess and distribute it to the poor, and you shall have treasure
in heaven; and come, follow Me." But when he had heard these things, he
became very sad, for he was extremely rich.”.
Tenth:
wealth leads people to think that they can be independent of the Creator and
follow their ways:
· Deuteronomy 32:15 -> “Jeshurun
grew fat and kicked; filled with food, they became heavy and sleek. They
abandoned the God who made them and rejected the Rock their Savior.”.
· Nehemiah 9:25-26 -> “They
captured fortified cities and a fertile land They took possession of houses
full of every good thing, Hewn cisterns, vineyards, olive groves, Fruit trees
in abundance So they ate, were filled and grew fat, And
reveled in Your great goodness. "But they became disobedient and rebelled
against You, And cast Your law behind their backs And
killed Your prophets who had admonished them So that they might return to You,
And they committed great blasphemies.”
· Hosea 13:6 -> “As
they had their pasture, they became satisfied, And
being satisfied, their heart became proud; Therefore they forgot Me.”.
Eleventh:
the worst is that many people end up serving the
money instead of domineering it.
· Matthew 6:24 -> “No
one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other,
or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and
wealth.”.
· Luke 16:13 -> “No
servant can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the
other, or else he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot
serve God and wealth.”.
Twelfth: not to mention that
many people sell, unduly, their soul to Ha-Satan:
· Matthew 4:9-10 -> ”and he said to Him, "All these things I will give
You, if You fall down and worship me." Then Jesus said to him, "Go,
Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God and serve Him
only’”.
And no wonder! The
trust of the rich is his wealth:
· Proverbs 18:11 -> “A
rich man’s wealth is his strong city, And like a high wall in his own imagination.”.
Now it’s easy to figure out the verse
below:
· Proverbs 15:6 -> “Great wealth is in the house of the righteous, But trouble is in the income of the wicked.”
Can
you believe: It's better to be poor with Christ than rich with Ha-Satan:
· Luke 6:20-26 -> “Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the
kingdom of God. Blessed are you who hunger now, for you will be
satisfied. Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh. Blessed are you when people hate you, when they
exclude you and insult you and reject your name as evil, because of
the Son of Man. Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, because great is
your reward in heaven. For that is how their ancestors treated the
prophets. But woe to you who are rich, for you have already received your
comfort. Woe to you who are well fed now, for you will go hungry. Woe to
you who laugh now, for you will mourn and weep. Woe to you when everyone
speaks well of you, for that is how their ancestors treated the false prophets.”.
Hence
Agur asked:
· Proverbs 30:8-9 -> “Keep
deception and lies far from me, give me neither poverty nor riches; Feed me
with the food that is my portion, That I not be full and deny You and say,
"Who is the LORD?" Or that I not be in want and steal, And profane the name of my God.”.
It is not in vain that one of the
characteristics of the good bishop is to be unstinting:
· 1Timothy 3:3 -> “not addicted to wine or pugnacious, but gentle, peaceable,
free from the love of money.”.
In
virtue of all of this:
· Proverbs 23:4 -> “Do
not weary yourself to gain wealth, Cease from your consideration of it.”.
Don’t forget that you can be called by
Jesus to account for yourself at any moment:
· Luke 12:13-21 -> “Someone in the crowd
said to him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.” Jesus
replied, “Man, who appointed me a judge or an arbiter between you?” Then
he said to them, “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life
does not consist in an abundance of possessions.” And he told them this
parable: “The ground of a certain rich man yielded an abundant harvest. He
thought to himself, ‘What shall I do? I have no place to store my
crops.’ “Then he said, ‘This is what I’ll do. I will tear down my barns
and build bigger ones, and there I will store my surplus grain. And I’ll
say to myself, “You have plenty of grain laid up for many years. Take life
easy; eat, drink and be merry.”’ “But God said to him, ‘You fool! This
very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have
prepared for yourself?’ “This is how it will be with
whoever stores up things for themselves but is not rich toward God.””
Focus
on making the Creator joyful and for you will be conceded to enjoy of all your
work (see Nehemiah 8:10; Ecc 5:19):
· 1 Timothy 6:17 -> “Instruct those who are rich in this present world not to be
conceited or to fix their hope on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly
supplies us with all things to enjoy.”.
