Sunday: Richly Blessed
As fallen human beings, we are subject to jealousy, especially toward those who have more money than we do (regardless of how much money we ourselves might, already, have). The Bible, however, does not unconditionally disparage wealth or the wealthy. As with so much else in life, problems arise not from things themselves but from the way in which we relate to them.
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What counsel regarding wealth does Scripture offer? Deut. 8:17-18; Gen. 13:5-6; 41:41-43; Job 1:1-3; Dan. 4:28-31. Why was it so important for Israel not to forget where its blessings came from?
There is no question that people like Abraham, Joseph, Mordecai, Esther, Hezekiah, Josiah, and Jehoshaphat were wealthy, and spiritually minded, as well. Nebuchadnezzar’s example, however, shows the danger that comes from making wealth an idol, which is so easy for anyone to do. Conversely, for ancient Israel, acknowledging God’s generosity in this supplying of wealth brought spiritual and material blessings. They were specifically warned not to forget from where those blessings came (a good lesson for all of us, is it not?).
In short, riches themselves do not indicate spiritual poverty or indifference. There have been some very pious and faithful rich people and some pretty nasty and evil ones, as well. Either way, we should not turn a desire for money into an obsession, nor should we despise those who are wealthy. They need salvation as much as does everyone else.
What are your own attitudes toward the rich? It’s easy to be jealous, is it not? How can you learn to move beyond those feelings and to see wealthy individuals as we all are, souls in need of a saving knowledge of Jesus?
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Indeed, we ought 2be pray 2GOD 2help us da riches do not corrupt our minds, en we ought 2 witness un2 the rich, the famous en those in power 4 Christ died 4them, He who speaks 2souls is able 2convert theirs in being His disciple also.
being rich or possessing wealth does not matter b t hw u use such wealth to groryfy the most high remember God says that gold n silver is his u see hw rich is our father He encourages us to put what we own up where there will b no moths or nthing that can destroy .
It stands to say that worldly wealth does not make one to be immune to the cause of salvation. Before the cross, the playground is leveled. In any state that we find ourselves, let's work out our salvation and those of others with fear and trembling.
Its clear tht we were never created for these things but for internal kingdom.the day we will forgert abt materialism and sick Jesus thts the day all these things will follow and at that time we won't care much abt them.we will worship the one who brings those bleesings thn to idolise blessings
Lord help us use the blessings you have given grolify You!
Being rich is not a sin.....BUT taking much of one's time going after and bowing to the wealth is not acceptable in the Lord's face.People are always too busy counting and bossying about rich when ,in actual fact, they are supposed to be thanking the Lord for those blessings and they dont even give the 10% which the Lord is asking for.Lets all learn to understand that everything that we own under this world belongs to The Lord of Hosts....Amen
It's good to be rich and wealthy, however, we must not exchange our services to God for it by using all our time to work for money.
There is nothing wrong about being rich but what you do with your wealth is what matters. Another point to remember is that: the love of money is the root of all evils. Some have joined devil's ways of acquiring riches and ended up sacrificing their souls.
I have a slight problem of which I would like you to help me.
How would I know that am spiritually rich?
I guess when you don't envy the rich, contented with your wages and present life and contented knowing Jesus is all you need to love and to serve, then that can be said you are spiritually rich.
When one understand that living means living to bless others as Jesus did then I will construe that being spiritually rich.
[Moderator's note: Please use your full name.]
In my opinion its difficult for one to say now i'm spiritually rich. The bible tells us that our righteousness is as filthy rags before the Lord so even though one may feel holy and righteous that still filthy rags before the Lord. I feel that the moment one starts feeling that they are spiritually rich they may lose their focus; that is total dependence upon Christ and that's what the bible warns us about in Rev. 3:17-18.
I think that spiritual richness is one of those things that we can be a bit ambivalent about. We can indeed rejoice in the spiritual richness that God give us but we cannot accumulate it. We can only keep it by sharing it with others. When you keep it to yourself it quickly loses value.
Let us use our wealth to give glory to God. But remember the story of camel and the needle related to the rich.
Once we moved into a house that needed renovation but they had not bee compleated and we spent a few weeks when we had to flush the toilet with buckets of water. My daughter said to me that she was so glad to have had that experience as she had no idea what it felt like not to have proper sanitation facilities. Some rich people never get the chance to really know what it is to be poor and that robs them of a deep understanding of the millions of poor people on the planet it robs them of compassion and that is what is so sad about being rich. Being blessed with ebundant wealth should always be an oportunity to share it with the less fortunate and many people have done that in our country. There are many many people setting up private homes to look after orphans that is a big problem in our country as well. So wealth is not wrong but we need to always recognise from whence it came and know what God wants us to do with it.
yes to be rich its okay even in bible they are people who were rich, but what matters most is how you became that rich, does God have a hand on your riches
Let the riches not take our hearts from GOD but bring us closer to him. Lets use our wealth to bring others close to GOD
The bible stated it is Gods will to allow the poor to dwell with the rich. Riches is a good thing if given by God. Some are so rich the do not have time to consider no one much less their creator. As I read in one of the judgment scenes, it made me stop and ask "where do I stand before a Holy God". One line stated, when we work and gain, sometime the Lord gave us the strength and means not for us but to be use for his glory by helping others. It is not all about us, but others.
I don't hate the rich, I respect the rich but there are times too that I envy some rich wife or rich mothers. They do not need to go to work everyday but have time to focus on other important things at home, at the same time I'm conscious too that they can have other problems if not money..... We are all in need of saving grace peace and comfort that only God can satisfy.
Each person is blessed (with wealth) according to their capability- to some God has entrusted large sums of money & to some, not so much. To those He has entrusted much, He has seen the limit of their strength, & has placed an open door of escape to any temptation that can come as a result of possessing great wealth (1 Cor 10v13). Job was one of the richest men at his time & yet walked Faithfully before the Lord... Let's pray for our brothers & sisters who are struggling with temptations of money!!!
Is it possible that the rich or "perceived rich" are not understood? In order to reach and maintain their level of wealth, a great deal of work is required. Some receive an inheritance but even at that, a great deal of work was likely done somewhere down the line in order for the heirs to prosper from it.
being rich in itself is not wrong but how we use our wealth and how we acquire it are what matters a lot. in my area a young man had to kill his mother in order to use the body for money rituals. people can go do a lot of evil things to make money. let us be mindful, for the bible says that the love of money is the root of all evils. let us seek first the kingdom of God and every other thing shall be added unto us including material things.