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Filthy Rich Like Me!
My Friend, I wish you could be filthy rich like I am.
Perhaps you are.
Let me tell you about one of the richest families I have ever known.
I have seen people who were poor in worldly goods in other countries. One time in Tehuantepec, Mexico, I was invited to the home of a Christian farmer to share a meal with him and his family.
When I went to his home, I was a clueless American. I was raised in a hard-working family in New Mexico. Our government and probably the community would have classified us as poor. At that time in my life, I may have felt poor.
However, my idea of poverty changed after eating with this small family. Their home was about 10’ by 10” with walls of interwoven sticks, a roof of grass, and a dirt floor. One corner was used to store their corn crop, and their son slept on the corn.
There was a board out from one wall used as a table, and they had two homemade chairs. The mother cooked the meal on what might be called a front porch. Her stove was a gallon can that she placed over a wood fire.
I hope that you can see this home in your mind. They were good people and were proud to have a guest, even though only the father and I ate. I believe what was served to me was the mother’s and the child’s share of the food.
Why do I say this is one of the richest families I have ever known?
They were full of the love of Jesus and the joy of sharing what God gave them.
The way people look at riches is wrong!
America has become obsessed with worldly belongings.
People often believe that happiness comes from how much you can accumulate. This idea has even infiltrated the Christian community. Some of our preachers have even fallen into this trap, accumulating fortunes instead of helping others.
Understand that wealth is not a sin. God blesses us with what we need to equip us to fulfill the ministry He calls us to. It is up to us to be good stewards of the resources He gives us.
We all want to be able to care for ourselves and our families. If we are responsible, we try to prepare our children so they can care for themselves and their future families.
This is as it should be Biblically. However, we often fail to teach them that more is not always better. While caring for our families physically is important, their spiritual well-being is more important.
If all they have is money, they will never be rich, nor will they be happy. Wealth produces happiness only when used to serve God. Real joy always comes from the Lord, and it is a gift that we cannot earn.
As in the story I related above, richness is in the heart of the believer. Money is just a resource to take care of our basic needs and to use to help others.
Jesus teaches us a vital truth about money!
In Luke 16:13 NIV, Jesus says, 13 “No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.”
A large part of our lives is spent thinking about money, even though we live in a bountiful land. When we look at our poorest, we see people who are richer than the middle class of most nations.
Yet, there always seems to be a desire for more, or newer, or better. People often even go into debt to buy things they don’t need.
We don’t like the idea of having a master. As we acquire goods, we are willing to work for someone, but we hold on to the idea of gaining enough to be free of our master in the workplace.
The problem is that we don’t recognize that we have made money our master. When we focus our lives on things we want instead of our walk with God, we have defined our master.
It drives us in ways we do not want to go, and yet we still pursue it relentlessly.
We all need to keep this truth in mind: “You cannot serve both God and money.”
Jesus recognized that the pursuit of money was in direct competition with giving our lives to serving God.
Paul, the Apostle, also addresses the issue of money!
In 1 Timothy 6:10 NKJV, Paul writes, “For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.”
First, note that this Scripture does not say, “money is the root of evil.” There is nothing wrong with money if we remember it belongs to God, and we are only stewards of His resources.
Without money, we could not feed the hungry or send missionaries to distant lands to preach the gospel. Without sharing, we could not fulfill Jesus’ Commission to go into all the world and teach others all His commands.
Money is like any other tool. It can be misused or used for evil, or it can be used for good.
However, “the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil.”
The desire for things leads us to love money and pursue it as if it were an answer to all our problems. When, in fact, money is the cause of many of our problems in the world today.
Christians can become bound by the pursuit of riches.
Do you remember the story of the rich young ruler? He was a fine, upright man who always tried to obey the Law of God.
Like many Christians, he was going through all the motions of being obedient to God. Yet, he knew something was lacking, and he wanted to be righteous before God and man.
So he did the right thing; he asked Jesus, but he didn’t like the answer.
In Matthew 19:21 NKJV, Jesus said to him, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.”
Jesus loved this young man just as He loves us today. He knew that the young man loved his wealth and was not willing to give it up to follow Him.
He asked the young ruler to give it all up because He knew that he loved the wrong thing.
Are you in danger of loving the wrong thing?
He wanted to do what was right, unless it cost him his first love.
Jesus says in Luke 12:34 NKJV, “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
You can be filthy rich!
Money is not the solution to being rich! The family that shared their meager food with me those long years ago taught me what it means to be rich.
Yes, I have, over the years, got caught up in the pursuit of wealth. I am so thankful God pulled me back when I lost focus on what was really valuable.
No, I am not yet the perfect steward of what God gives to my wife and me.
Carol and I are “filthy rich,” and so very thankful. However, you would probably consider us poor, as we live on small social security checks. Our combined income puts us just a few dollars above the poverty line in this country.
God has provided everything we need or want. We pay our tithes to our local church, and God has guided us to provide full support to 10 orphan children in Tanzania. We can do this because we only spend on what we need.
You can be filthy rich, too. All you need is to seek God’s guidance to be good stewards of the resources He puts in your hands.
Stop wasting God’s money on foolish things and ask Him what He wants you to do before you spend on anything. Always pray before you buy!
You must decide what God requires of you as His steward. Carol and I have committed ourselves to live as frugally as possible so we can use what He gives us to help others.
We pray you will become rich in God’s salvation on earth and “lay up treasures in heaven.” It will bring joy here as well.
Thank You, Lord, for allowing us to be rich by Your grace.