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                                                                                    Wealth and the Believer   
                                                                                                  by
                                                                                               Josprel
     
       KJV = King James Version
       TEV = Today’s English Version
     
       “There is that maketh himself rich, yet hath nothing. There is that maketh himself poor, yet hath great riches”   
       (Proverbs 13:7 KJV).
     
       “But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown   
       men in destruction and perdition” 1 Timothy 6:9) KJV).
     
      I once heard a dedicated Christian grumble that serving the Lord had made him poor. He said that when he
      was born again he instantly dedicated his three young sons to God for the ministry.
     
      “Lord, I don’t care if I’m poor for the rest of my life, just use my sons in your work,”  he prayed.
     
      When the sons reached young manhood, all three studied for the ministry and   became successful pastors. On
      hearing the father complaint, I said to  him, “Why are you complaining about your lack of wealth? You told the
      Lord  you didn’t care if you were poor the rest of your life, as long as He used  your sons in His work. Now that
      God took you at your word, you grumble about it? ‘

      From the moment I first began preparing for the ministry until now, I have never requested wealth from 
      the Lord; however, I have often requested  wisdom. Only others can witness whether that request has been
      answer; I  hope it has. One brother actually severely rebuked me for not asking the  Lord for riches. Yet     
      God always has been good to my family, abundantly providing for us. The churches we have served, faithfully 
      cared for our  temporal requirements. The church boards generously raised our salaries and allowances without
      my asking them to do so. At board meetings, I would be requested to leave the board room, and when I 
      rejoined  the meetings, the board chairman would inform me that either my salary, expense accounts,
      retirement package and sometimes, more than one of them   had just  been increased. But I never asked for
      these increases.
     
      God does not define wealth by human standards. The writer of Proverbs 16:8  noted that, “Better is a little
      with righteousness, than great revenues  without right” (KJV). It is true, however, that there are obvious
      material  requirements persons possess.  People would rather be wealthy then merely comfortable; but for the
      Christian, material prosperity must be
      subordinate to spiritual prosperity.

      The Apostle John wrote to his friend, Gaius, “Dear friend, I pray that you’re doing well in every way and are 
      also healthy, just as your soul is doing well” (John’s Third Epistle, verse two, TEV). The obvious question to ask
      here is: If we actually were doing as well physically and materially as our soul is prospering, just how healthy and
      wealthy would we be?
     
      It is difficult to possess great wealth and not put our trust in it, though a few believers have miraculously
      accomplished it and put the wealth to paramount use for God. Perhaps that difficulty is the reason God
      in his omniscience and mercy has not made more of us millionaires. Mark 10:17 27 records the account of a
      wealthy young member of the Sanhedrin who came running anxiously to Jesus.

      He asked, “Good teacher, what must I do to receive eternal life?”
     
      Jesus answered, “You know the commandments . . .”

      “Teacher, ever since I was young, I have obeyed all these commandments,” the young man replied.
     
      Jesus gazed lovingly and intently at him and said, “You need only one thing. Sell all that you have and give the
      money to the poor, and you will have riches in heaven; then come, take up the cross and follow me.”
     
      When the man heard this, his went away sad, because he was very rich (Mark 10:17 23).
     
       Jesus said to His disciples, “How hard it is for rich people to enter the Kingdom of God!” (Mark10:17 23; TEV;
       KJV esp. v. 21).
     
      That young man’s problem was not his wealth; rather it was a misdirected faith in his wealth. He trusted in it
      and it robbed him of a relationship with Jesus. This author once wrote an entire article on the Rich Young   
      Ruler, titled, “The Man Who Rejected His Cross.”  Though we fault the young man for rejecting his cross and
      the call of Christ in his life, to a lesser degree, we sometimes do the same thing.
     
      So how should a believer handle prosperity? To answer this question, we should study the Book of Job. James
      5:11 informs us that Job was a man no different than other men. He had passions the same as we all have. It
      always has been difficult for humanity to overcome the passion for  possessions. Moreover, it  is becoming
      increasingly evident that our young  people, because of subliminal (and not so subliminal) media messages with
      a give me what I deserve to own now slant, seek an instant gratification of their desire for possessions. They
      demand to instantly acquire things that past generations labored long and hard to possess.
                                                          CONTINUED IN PART TWO
                                                                 
                                                                           © Josprel
                                                                   josprel@verizon.net