Psalm 49:16-20
So don't be impressed with those who get rich and pile up fame and fortune. They can't take it with them; fame and fortune all get left behind. Just when they think they've arrived and folks praise them because they've made good, they enter the family burial plot, where they'll never see sunshine again.
We aren't immortal. We don't last long. Like our dogs, we age and weaken. And die.
Scripture quotations from The Message. © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene Peterson. Used by permission of NavPress, Colorado Springs, CO. All rights reserved.
All my life I have heard the phrase, “You can’t take it with you.” When I was a teenager, my dad was a funeral director, and I heard him talk often about this. At the end of the day, the poor farmer who toiled all his life just to put food on the table was buried pretty much the same way as the rich man who couldn’t begin to count all of his money. Outwardly, what we accumulate or become in this life really won’t matter in the end. But what we have in our heart makes all the difference.
In The Purpose Driven Life, author Rick Warren says, “God watches how we use money to see how trustworthy we are.” Citing Luke 16:11, Pastor Warren says, “… there is a direct relationship between how I use my money and the quality of my Spiritual life.” So does this mean that we can’t have nice clothes or drive a nice car… that we should give that money to missions instead? Not at all.
God does not mind that we have nice things, if we can afford them. In fact, when we get to heaven, our streets will be paved with gold… and that’s the tip of the iceberg! The problem is how we act with money… and how we react to it. If money and the things we buy with it is all we think about, we are not putting God’s priorities first in our life. If we wait more impatiently for the newest release of the iPad or iPhone, the latest sneaker from our favorite athlete or the next album from our favorite entertainer to be released than we do for our next opportunity to share the love of Christ with someone else or a chance to learn more about Jesus, we’ve got some work to do.
If we think more about money and “things” than we do about Jesus and ways to worship Him, serve Him, and grown in His wisdom and love… God can’t trust us to manage the blessings (and Spiritual wealth) He wants to give us. Luke 16:11 says (paraphrased) that if God can’t trust us with earthly wealth… what Luke calls “wicked wealth” – how will He be able to trust us with true wealth – the wealth of a life lived in and for Him? If we work night and day on this earth for the almighty dollar more than Almighty God, we have totally missed our purpose.
It’s all about priorities. Many “rich” people have done amazing things with their earthly wealth. Many “poor” people have done as much – or more. Search your heart – and your motives. See what drives you these days. What are your goals for the future… to acquire more wealth and earthly “success” – or to “store up treasure for heaven?” See where you need to adjust your focus and concentrate on what you can take with you into Eternity. Ask God to help you adjust your attitude and start using what you have to accumulate “wealth” that really matters.
©2011 Debbie Robus
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