By: H. Dayton
Are you rich? Sometime I feel rich and sometimes I don’t. It usually
depends on whom I am around. Most of us define a rich person as a person who
has more money than we do. But if we compare our living standards to all the
people who have lived throughout history or even with the rest of the billions
of people living on the earth today, the majority of us who live in this nation
are rich.
The Lord knew the rich would face serious spiritual danger. So
Scripture offers three instructions for “those who are rich in this present
world” (1 Timothy 6:17).
“Instruct those who are rich in this present world not to be conceited”
(1 Timothy 6:17). Wealth tends to produce pride. For several years, I drove two
vehicles. The first was an old pickup truck … When I drove that truck to the
bank drive-in window to cash a check, I was humble. I knew the cashier was
going to double-check my account to make certain that the driver of that truck
had sufficient funds to cover the withdrawal. I waited patiently while she
checked. When I received the money, I was so grateful. I drove away with a song
in my heart and praises on my lips.
My other vehicle was a well-preserved, second-hand automobile that was
expensive when it was new. When I drove that car to the bank, I appeared to be
a different person. I deserved a certain amount of respect. I was not quite as
patient when the cashier examined my account, and when I received the money, I
was not as grateful … Wealth stimulates conceit.
James 1:9-10 addresses this issue: “But let the brother of humble
circumstances glory in his high position; and let the rich man glory in his
humiliation, because like flowering grass he will pass away.” The poor should
be encouraged as children of the King of kings, while the rich are to remain
humble because life is short. If you are rich, you need the constant reminder
to be humble before the Lord and other people.
- Put no confidence in your assets.
“Instruct those who are rich in this present world not … to fix their
hope on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly supplies us with all
things to enjoy” (1 Timothy 6:17). This has been a tremendous struggle for me.
It is easy for us to trust in those tangible assets we have accumulated. I know
that money can buy goods and services. It has so much power that it is easy to
be fooled into thinking that money supplies our needs and offers security.
Money can become our first love. We tend to trust in the seen rather than in
the invisible living God. This is why we need to constantly remind ourselves to
walk by faith rather than by sight.
“Instruct them to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and
ready to share, storing up for themselves the treasure of a good foundation for
the future, so that they may take hold of that which is life indeed” (1 Timothy
6:18-19).
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