Wealth: It’s a Choice

January 28, 2022

There is wealth, and then there is wealth. Am I just writing singsong double speak? No. Emphatically, no. There are riches in the here and now, and there are riches in the here and hereafter.

Mankind pursues monetary wealth for self-satisfaction and perhaps also self-preservation. Usually, as a person’s wealth grows, their security wanes and satisfaction eludes them. Oh, yes, they are happy for a time, but happiness is not a satisfying emotion but a demanding one, as most emotions are only a fleeting sensation. Emotions are desperately and continually in need of refreshing.

So, the pursuit of material wealth is never ending. I am not talking about greed, but there may arise a tendency to cling to what a person has as more or less an act of self-preservation. If a person was once generous, that unselfish attitude may become weaker and weaker.

Let me quote a Bible story from the life of Jesus:

While Jesus was in the Temple, he watched the rich people dropping their gifts in the collection box. Then a poor widow came by and dropped in two small copper coins. “I tell you the truth,” Jesus said, “this poor widow has given more than all the rest of them. For they have given a tiny part of their surplus, but she, poor as she is, has given everything she has.” Luke 21:1–4.

Following shortly thereafter, Jesus said, “Yes, a person is a fool to store up earthly wealth but not have a rich relationship with God.” Then, turning to his disciples, Jesus said, “That is why I tell you not to worry about everyday life — whether you have enough food to eat or enough clothes to wear. For life is more than food, and your body more than clothing.” Luke 12:21–23.

What riches does God have that is better than money? A lot of false teachers and preachers today have a skewed perspective and promote a “name it and claim it” doctrine” that opposes everything Jesus taught. It goes something like “put money in the collection plate, and God will increase your wealth many times over.” That is an evil teaching that comes from a harmful and poisoned inner malice. It does not come from a loving mindset coming from the the Spirit of God, that is His lovingkindness and instructions to love one another as Jesus loves us.

Jesus taught instead, and it plainly lays out the contrast between the popular, but false, prosperity doctrine: “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are healthy, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eyes are unhealthy, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness! 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.” Matthew 6:19–24.

Those treacherous religious leaders will twist these words of Jesus every which way, turning over backwards to turn the straight truths of Jesus into a pretzel-like knot. Many will get entangled in it. So it is all the more important to read the Bible and not get suckered by those perverse grifters and frauds.

Here are the true treasures written about in the Bible: “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.” Galatians 5:22–23. “Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life.” 1 Timothy 6:17–19.

No one can see the realm of God’s Heaven until they are born by God’s Spirit. Being born into this world by their mother, is of course, necessary for a person to see this worldly realm and all of Nature’s beauty, but the need remains to be born again to see all the beauty of God’s new Heaven and Earth. and most importantly, to receive all the inner beauty and generosity He has in store for you. “For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit…” Romans 14:17.