Presenting ...
... a weekly letter of encouragement.
Singapore
September 27, 1995
Good Morning!
NOT EVERYONE HANDLES WEALTH SUCCESSFULLY
According to Proverbs 10:22, God does entrust some people with
wealth: "It is the blessing of the Lord that makes rich,
and He adds no sorrow to it."
Yet the Scriptures warn us against the perils of wealth. For
example, the more you have:
1. The more people will show up to drain off your resources:
"When goods increase, they are increased that eat them: and what good is there to the owners thereof, saving the beholding of them with their eyes" (Ecclesiastes 5:11)
2. The greater the potential for strife among family members:
"And there was a strife between the herdmen
of Abram's cattle and the herdmen of Lot's cattle." (Genesis
13:7)
3. The greater the temptation to hoard and to take life
easy:
And he thought within himself, saying, What shall I do, because
I have no room where to bestow my fruits? And he said, This will
I do: I will pull down my barns, and build greater; and there
will I bestow all my fruits and my goods. And I will say to my
soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years;
take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry." (Luke
12:17 - 19)
4. The greater the tendency to put your hope in material possessions , rather than in God:
"Charge them that are rich in this world, [not to]
trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God..."
(I Timothy 6:17)
5. The greater the tendency to become conceited:
"Charge them that are rich in this world, that they
be not high-minded..." (I Timothy 6:17)
Perhaps that is why Solomon struck a balance between wealth and
poverty in praying,
"...Give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with the
food that is my portion, lest I be full and deny Thee and say,
'Who is the Lord?' Or lest I be in want and steal, and profane
the name of my God." (Proverbs 30:18, 19)
Clearly, God's word instructs us to not love or desire wealth
(I Timothy 6:6-10). However, should God entrust us with riches,
we are to then carefully follow Scriptural guidelines on its stewardship,
such as those outlined in I Timothy 6:17 - 19.
My prayer is that you are having a great week!
Dwight Hill
© Copyright 1996 Dwight Hill. Unlimited permission to copy or use is hereby granted subject to inclusion of this copyright notice.
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