Proverbs 23.4-5
Jesus had a lot to say about money and riches in the Gospels and Revelation as does Solomon in Proverbs.
The main difference was that Jesus, God's Son, was a penniless Prophet and Solomon was the wealthiest man on earth.
Jesus lived out a life of poverty. It was not forced on Him. He chose it. I have often said when we get to heaven and see what He left to come down to this earth we will be amazed and grow immediately in our appreciation and admiration of Him Who gave up His life for us! It will be part of us knowing as we are known.
For you know the grace of our LORD Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sake He became poor, so that you through His poverty might become rich. II Corinthians 8.9
It is hard for a rich person to enter the Kingdom of God, Jesus said.
Riches make a person proud. They have many struggles along these lines. They have a tendency to look down on the poor. They build bigger houses. If you doubt what I am saying when we run into a person who is rich yet pretends to be poor we are impressed. "With all that wealth they are very humble." It is an unusual thing. A rare thing to find a rich person who is humble. That is one of the reasons Jesus said that it is hard for a rich person to enter the Kingdom of Heaven because you have to humble yourself to enter. It is hard for a rich person to forgive because of pride. Jesus said we have to become like little children to enter. My daughter told me about my oldest grandson and a friend. He ran up to him recently and said, "I'm sorry about last year, Tristan." My grandson said, "That's alright." The kid ran off and my daughter asked him what happened. Tristan said, "I don't remember." He understands what forgiveness is. We must become like little children in order to enter the kingdom of heaven! Humble, forgiving, loving, trusting in God.
Jesus said that it easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter Heaven. So many rich people trust in their riches. They think they get things from their riches that only God can give.
You have to wonder the thoughts of those who wanted "In God We Trust" on our coins and currency. It first appeared on coins in 1864. It is a reminder of what Paul said about riches- they are so uncertain, what Solomon said about them quickly flying away.
Paul gave Timothy strong words concerning those who are rich which go right along with these words in Proverbs.
I Timothy 6.17 Command those who are rich in this present age not to be haughty, nor to trust in uncertain riches but in the living God, who gives us richly all things to enjoy. 18 Let them do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to give, willing to share, 19 storing up for themselves a good foundation for the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life
No comments:
Post a Comment