I have been reading this am about the Apostle Paul’s thoughts on wealth and eternity along with the psalmists. It was very enlightening for me to read in Deut. That God prohibited one who was chosen King to accumulate houses, land, money and wives. He was to write it down and study it and keep it ever before him. King David when he had gotten all he wanted and was very blessed looked over into another man’s housetop and saw a goodly woman bathing and took her into his bedchamber and caused the judgment of God to fall upon his family. The child born to this union was born to die as a result of David’s shameful act that was directly against what God commanded in the Law of Moses. We again see the same action in Solomon when he was given the throne of David. He too accumulated many wives which was prohibited by the word of God and fell into idolatry because of all their practices. Many times these men are counted for their greatness but the lessons of their failure are loud and plain for all who desire to please God and the wise can learn by these mistakes rather than repeat them. The bible speaks in the New Testament of the rich man and
Lazarus. The rich man had all he wanted in this life yet kept passing Lazarus at the gate and not noticing his needs. He found himself in hell looking up at Lazarus tucked away safely in eternity and his riches were no longer any good to him then. In fact there was nothing Lazarus could do to help him in the state he found himself. He then looked to begging mercy for his family but the word again finds him helpless. It would have been better for him to have reached for the poor and needy when he had the opportunity instead of living an unrighteous life of self serving. It was too late when his soul was required of him. That brings me to the next thought. I feel that money was created as a tool for our use. We can use that tool for evil or for good. The bible says the love of money is the root of all evil. The old nursery rhyme that says the King was in his counting room counting all his money still rings true. We can lose many valuable things in life while holding onto the temporal and the facade. Take money for example. It is not worth much on its own except its mineral value if its gold or silver. It its paper form money its only a promissory note that the bearer would be entitled to thus amount of goods in exchange for it. That brings us to the truth that it is not the money that is valued but the investment that was exchanged for it. That investment can be gone in one day resulting in a complete loss of all we have. Then where do we stand? Do we lie in hell with the rich man desiring for water to quench our thirst or do we lie in an eternal secure place in Jesus Christ knowing that what ever may come He will take care of us and provide for our needs? It was not the money that the rich man is accused of for wealth in itself is not a sin but that he did not regard his fellowman in his needful state. The man who builds his own kingdom of barns and bigger barns is not wrong for having wealth but wrong for trusting in wealth when he should have been thinking of his eternal future with much more diligence than he gave to accumulating more things that he could not take into the future with him. The man who regards the future daily and walks circumspectly redeeming the time is the man after God’s own heart. King David did repent of his wrong doing but not until he had lost a valuable asset to it. He lost a dear son. What are we gambling today when we regard wealth and the accumulation of it more than we regard our families? We can often use the excuse that we are doing it for them but in the long run are we? Are we considering their spiritual welfare and future as well in the example we are setting before them. These words are not easy to type as I have been such a hard worker and dedicated allot of years to seeing that my children have all they need in this life but I have also dedicated a lot of years seeing that they know the truth of salvation at the cost of my own personal loss on many occasions. So do you go out today and quit your job and give all you have to the poor? You might if God asks you to do just that. The rich young ruler did such. You might also just look at whether you are balancing or going over board in the pursuit of material possessions in such a manner that you are selling your soul in exchange for it.
Matthew 16:26 for what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul? I wonder when I look around me in the beautiful city of St.Francisville and consider that the name it bears is of a Saint who gave up possessions to live a life of poverty and charity relying on faith that Jesus would provide for him. Are we living up to the name? We are blessed to live in one of the most beautiful areas in the South but are the ideals we live with worthy ideals? Just some thoughts this early am.
In Jesus,
Dana Klein
