Are We Too Rich??
How much wealth is too much? How much is enough? Is it possible to have too much money? Where does God fit into this picture of riches? Now, you are probably wondering where you fit in this question.
Perhaps you are thinking, “Surely he can’t be talking about me!”
How much wealth is too much? How much is enough? Is it possible to have too much money? Where does God fit into this picture of riches? Now, you are probably wondering where you fit in this question.
Perhaps you are thinking, “Surely he can’t be talking about me!”
Well, I am talking about everyone. This is a question that we all need to ask God as well as ourselves. So join us today as we explore the question; Are we too rich?
I’m sure you’ve heard the old saying, ‘He who dies with the most toys wins.’ Well my friend, I’m here to tell you the he who dies with the most toys is dead!
We measure our success in terms of things and fame. When we gain recognition, we gain a certain amount of prestige, respect and admiration. Perhaps a small amount of power and authority go along with our new position. People look up to us. They use us as a role model. We also gain some enemies along the way. Those that are jealous of our success.
Money, of course, will probably go along with the package. We buy ourselves new cars, houses, computers, fancy vacations, new entertainment systems and the like. Moreover, when we have all these new things, we tend to buy more cars, homes, computers and vacations.
We are fixated on things. Advertising, while having the legitimate purpose of exposing us to new products that may make life a bit better or easier, has a duel purpose. It also serves to make us dissatisfied with what we have and covetous of what we don’t have and others do. The message is that you never have enough. That more is better. We plunge ourselves into debt to keep up with our neighbors, or worse yet to stay ahead of them. A civilian arms race if you will.
Billionaires have been asked the question, “How much is enough?”
Invariably, the same answer comes back, “Just a little more.”
Do you see the pattern here? Satan has managed to distract our attention away from God. We become consumed with money, the pursuit of money and the things that money can get us. We call this wealth. We lust after it. We idolize it. And notice the root word in idolize. That’s right, we latch onto the greed that Satan tempts us with and fall into a form of idolatry. We hold money in higher esteem than God Almighty!
Friend, if a billionaire thinks he or she needs just a little more to be happy, they will never be happy. If you think that just one more new car, one more vacation home, one more bonus will make you happy, you’re not going to be happy. Why? Because your eyes are focused on things rather than Jesus Christ.
Let me ask you this question: If you had everything you would and could ever want on the planet, would you be content? No, you wouldn’t. If you had every luxury that money could provide, would you be happy? No, you wouldn’t. If you have all the wisdom of Solomon, would you be satisfied? No, even that could not make you fulfilled.
How do I know these things? Tradition says that Solomon wrote about these very things in Ecclesiastes. He starts out by saying, Ecc 1:2 “Meaningless! Meaningless!” says the teacher. “Utterly meaningless! Everything is meaningless.”
No notice what he is saying here. He’s not talking about then new chariot he just bought or the scroll he picked up at the scroll store to read tonight. He’s not complaining that he is misunderstood or about that new palace they built in Assyria while he is stuck in this old one. No, he is saying EVERYTHING is meaningless!
Everything is an inclusive term. We are talking about possessions, wealth, pleasures, even wisdom. Solomon found all to be empty no matter how much he had. What was his conclusion? He ends in Ecc 12:13-14 “Now all had been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. For God will bring ever deed into judgment, including every hidden thing, whether it is good or evil.” Solomon recognized that God is the only place that one can find true satisfaction and fulfillment!
Read the entire book of Ecclesiastes. If you are still not convinced then consider the following. Let’s say you had everything you could possibly want. Every possession, every pleasure, all the money you could possible need or want. What possible good will it do you on the day you die? Will you live one second longer than God decrees because you are “rich”? Do you think that God will be swayed by your wealth when you stand before Him? Do you think you can convert your money to travelers checks and take it with you? No, my friend. Death is the great leveler. All leave this life equally. Ashes to ashes and dust to dust.
I’m reminded of the story about a very wealthy man. He was having a discussion with God about his wealth and what to do with it when he died. He implored God to let him take his “riches” with him. God told him this was not allowed and that he would provide anything and everything the man would need in heaven. Still the man was adamant. God finally relented and told the man he could bring one and only one thing with him. So the man thought about all he had and wondered as to what one thing he should bring.
After much thought he had a brainstorm! “I’ll convert everything I own to gold! I can trade gold for anything!” So he sold all his possessions and converted his money to gold. On the day he died, he came walking up to Saint Peter. Peter checked him in and was about to allow him to pass through the gates when he noticed the man pulling something along behind him.
“Excuse me,” Peter said, “but you can’t bring anything with you.”
“It’s okay.” the man said, “God told me I could bring one thing with me.”
Peter left for a moment to check on this. When he came back he said, “Okay, I checked with God and He said He told you that you could bring one thing with you.”
As the man began to enter the Gates of Pearl, Peter had one final question.
“Tell me, what did you decide to bring with you?”
The man, proud of his smart decision replied, “Gold!”
Peter was perplexed. “Son”, he said. “The streets of Heaven are paved with gold. Why are you bringing pavement?”
This story gives me pause. The bible tells us that our ways are not God’s ways and how well we see that here. We place great value in gold. And yet God considers it only good enough to walk on! This was one of the presents the wise men brought to Jesus along with frankincense and myrrh. Can you imagine bringing pavement as a gift to the Son of God??! Think about how some great king would probably react.
“My lord, I bring gifts of great value to honor you. I humbly offer them in hopes I might find favor in your eyes.”
“WHAT THE HECK IS THIS???!!!”, cries the king. “You’re giving me blacktop and concrete as a gift?? Is this some kind of joke??!”
Yet God did not react this way to the wise men. He accepted their gifts because the true wealth they were offering was their hearts. How often have we offered God this valuable gift? How many times have we made an offering of our hearts to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ?
I’m not talking about money right now, I’m talking about you! Your heart, your life. What do you have that is more valuable than you? God already owns all the gold, silver and jewels. How can you offer a gift of something He already owns?
In truth, we can’t expect gifts will “square us” with God on Sundays (or whatever day you attend church) and then we go about our business for the next six days forgetting the source of all our “wealth”!
We constantly struggle, fight and maybe even cheat and steal in order to get more “pavement”. Our “wealth” makes us complacent . We trust in our houses and cars. We have cable television and super-supermarkets to bring us entertainment and exotic foods from around the world. We think nothing can harm us because we have so much. Many people think they don’t even need God. They think they are the ones that provide everything.
Let’s see how God answers this attitude of wealth: Luke 12:16-21 “And he told them this parable: "The ground of a certain rich man produced a good crop. 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 all my grain and my goods. And I'll say to myself, "You have plenty of good things 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 anyone who stores up things for himself but is not rich toward God."“
This is Jesus speaking here telling the Parable of the Rich Fool. Notice the last line: Luke 12:21 "This is how it will be with anyone who stores up things for himself but is not rich toward God." What Jesus is saying here is that anyone that puts their faith and trust in “things” is wasting their time and effort.
What does Jesus say about greed and an insatiable desire for more? Luke 12:15 “Then he said to them, "Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions."“
Let’s see how other translations render Luke 12:15 :
NASB - “Then He said to them, "Beware, and be on your guard against every form of greed; for not even when one has an abundance does his life consist of his possessions."“
NLT - “Then he said, "Beware! Don't be greedy for what you don't have. Real life is not measured by how much we own."“
KJV - “And he said unto them, Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man's life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth.”
NKJV - “And He said to them, “Take heed and beware of covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses.””
Notice that every version and translation is saying the same thing - Don’t let things rule you! God isn’t saying you can’t enjoy what He provides for you. I would even hope that you would generously use some of His bounty for the benefit of others be it churches or charities that do God’s work. What He doesn’t want is you worshiping the stuff He provides you rather than Him!
Your wealth will not protect you from the day you stand before the Lord to answer for your actions and deeds. It cannot even protect you from disasters. The victims in Biloxi, Gulfport, New Orleans and Slidell among many other towns and cities found this out the hard way. Homes and businesses gone in the blink of an eye. If you were rich, you get to start over. If you were poor, you get to start over too, and from the same place I might add!
Are we too rich? Well, it seems to me that this so called wealth is taking our nation’s eyes off our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. If that’s the case, I’d have to say yes we are too rich! Are you too rich? I really don’t know you so I can’t say. Maybe the question we all need to ask is, “Just how much “pavement” do I need???”
In His Name…
© 2006 Church of Hope, Inc.
I’m sure you’ve heard the old saying, ‘He who dies with the most toys wins.’ Well my friend, I’m here to tell you the he who dies with the most toys is dead!
We measure our success in terms of things and fame. When we gain recognition, we gain a certain amount of prestige, respect and admiration. Perhaps a small amount of power and authority go along with our new position. People look up to us. They use us as a role model. We also gain some enemies along the way. Those that are jealous of our success.
Money, of course, will probably go along with the package. We buy ourselves new cars, houses, computers, fancy vacations, new entertainment systems and the like. Moreover, when we have all these new things, we tend to buy more cars, homes, computers and vacations.
We are fixated on things. Advertising, while having the legitimate purpose of exposing us to new products that may make life a bit better or easier, has a duel purpose. It also serves to make us dissatisfied with what we have and covetous of what we don’t have and others do. The message is that you never have enough. That more is better. We plunge ourselves into debt to keep up with our neighbors, or worse yet to stay ahead of them. A civilian arms race if you will.
Billionaires have been asked the question, “How much is enough?”
Invariably, the same answer comes back, “Just a little more.”
Do you see the pattern here? Satan has managed to distract our attention away from God. We become consumed with money, the pursuit of money and the things that money can get us. We call this wealth. We lust after it. We idolize it. And notice the root word in idolize. That’s right, we latch onto the greed that Satan tempts us with and fall into a form of idolatry. We hold money in higher esteem than God Almighty!
Friend, if a billionaire thinks he or she needs just a little more to be happy, they will never be happy. If you think that just one more new car, one more vacation home, one more bonus will make you happy, you’re not going to be happy. Why? Because your eyes are focused on things rather than Jesus Christ.
Let me ask you this question: If you had everything you would and could ever want on the planet, would you be content? No, you wouldn’t. If you had every luxury that money could provide, would you be happy? No, you wouldn’t. If you have all the wisdom of Solomon, would you be satisfied? No, even that could not make you fulfilled.
How do I know these things? Tradition says that Solomon wrote about these very things in Ecclesiastes. He starts out by saying, Ecc 1:2 “Meaningless! Meaningless!” says the teacher. “Utterly meaningless! Everything is meaningless.”
No notice what he is saying here. He’s not talking about then new chariot he just bought or the scroll he picked up at the scroll store to read tonight. He’s not complaining that he is misunderstood or about that new palace they built in Assyria while he is stuck in this old one. No, he is saying EVERYTHING is meaningless!
Everything is an inclusive term. We are talking about possessions, wealth, pleasures, even wisdom. Solomon found all to be empty no matter how much he had. What was his conclusion? He ends in Ecc 12:13-14 “Now all had been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. For God will bring ever deed into judgment, including every hidden thing, whether it is good or evil.” Solomon recognized that God is the only place that one can find true satisfaction and fulfillment!
Read the entire book of Ecclesiastes. If you are still not convinced then consider the following. Let’s say you had everything you could possibly want. Every possession, every pleasure, all the money you could possible need or want. What possible good will it do you on the day you die? Will you live one second longer than God decrees because you are “rich”? Do you think that God will be swayed by your wealth when you stand before Him? Do you think you can convert your money to travelers checks and take it with you? No, my friend. Death is the great leveler. All leave this life equally. Ashes to ashes and dust to dust.
I’m reminded of the story about a very wealthy man. He was having a discussion with God about his wealth and what to do with it when he died. He implored God to let him take his “riches” with him. God told him this was not allowed and that he would provide anything and everything the man would need in heaven. Still the man was adamant. God finally relented and told the man he could bring one and only one thing with him. So the man thought about all he had and wondered as to what one thing he should bring.
After much thought he had a brainstorm! “I’ll convert everything I own to gold! I can trade gold for anything!” So he sold all his possessions and converted his money to gold. On the day he died, he came walking up to Saint Peter. Peter checked him in and was about to allow him to pass through the gates when he noticed the man pulling something along behind him.
“Excuse me,” Peter said, “but you can’t bring anything with you.”
“It’s okay.” the man said, “God told me I could bring one thing with me.”
Peter left for a moment to check on this. When he came back he said, “Okay, I checked with God and He said He told you that you could bring one thing with you.”
As the man began to enter the Gates of Pearl, Peter had one final question.
“Tell me, what did you decide to bring with you?”
The man, proud of his smart decision replied, “Gold!”
Peter was perplexed. “Son”, he said. “The streets of Heaven are paved with gold. Why are you bringing pavement?”
This story gives me pause. The bible tells us that our ways are not God’s ways and how well we see that here. We place great value in gold. And yet God considers it only good enough to walk on! This was one of the presents the wise men brought to Jesus along with frankincense and myrrh. Can you imagine bringing pavement as a gift to the Son of God??! Think about how some great king would probably react.
“My lord, I bring gifts of great value to honor you. I humbly offer them in hopes I might find favor in your eyes.”
“WHAT THE HECK IS THIS???!!!”, cries the king. “You’re giving me blacktop and concrete as a gift?? Is this some kind of joke??!”
Yet God did not react this way to the wise men. He accepted their gifts because the true wealth they were offering was their hearts. How often have we offered God this valuable gift? How many times have we made an offering of our hearts to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ?
I’m not talking about money right now, I’m talking about you! Your heart, your life. What do you have that is more valuable than you? God already owns all the gold, silver and jewels. How can you offer a gift of something He already owns?
In truth, we can’t expect gifts will “square us” with God on Sundays (or whatever day you attend church) and then we go about our business for the next six days forgetting the source of all our “wealth”!
We constantly struggle, fight and maybe even cheat and steal in order to get more “pavement”. Our “wealth” makes us complacent . We trust in our houses and cars. We have cable television and super-supermarkets to bring us entertainment and exotic foods from around the world. We think nothing can harm us because we have so much. Many people think they don’t even need God. They think they are the ones that provide everything.
Let’s see how God answers this attitude of wealth: Luke 12:16-21 “And he told them this parable: "The ground of a certain rich man produced a good crop. 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 all my grain and my goods. And I'll say to myself, "You have plenty of good things 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 anyone who stores up things for himself but is not rich toward God."“
This is Jesus speaking here telling the Parable of the Rich Fool. Notice the last line: Luke 12:21 "This is how it will be with anyone who stores up things for himself but is not rich toward God." What Jesus is saying here is that anyone that puts their faith and trust in “things” is wasting their time and effort.
What does Jesus say about greed and an insatiable desire for more? Luke 12:15 “Then he said to them, "Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions."“
Let’s see how other translations render Luke 12:15 :
NASB - “Then He said to them, "Beware, and be on your guard against every form of greed; for not even when one has an abundance does his life consist of his possessions."“
NLT - “Then he said, "Beware! Don't be greedy for what you don't have. Real life is not measured by how much we own."“
KJV - “And he said unto them, Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man's life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth.”
NKJV - “And He said to them, “Take heed and beware of covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses.””
Notice that every version and translation is saying the same thing - Don’t let things rule you! God isn’t saying you can’t enjoy what He provides for you. I would even hope that you would generously use some of His bounty for the benefit of others be it churches or charities that do God’s work. What He doesn’t want is you worshiping the stuff He provides you rather than Him!
Your wealth will not protect you from the day you stand before the Lord to answer for your actions and deeds. It cannot even protect you from disasters. The victims in Biloxi, Gulfport, New Orleans and Slidell among many other towns and cities found this out the hard way. Homes and businesses gone in the blink of an eye. If you were rich, you get to start over. If you were poor, you get to start over too, and from the same place I might add!
Are we too rich? Well, it seems to me that this so called wealth is taking our nation’s eyes off our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. If that’s the case, I’d have to say yes we are too rich! Are you too rich? I really don’t know you so I can’t say. Maybe the question we all need to ask is, “Just how much “pavement” do I need???”
In His Name…
© 2006 Church of Hope, Inc.