GOD GIVES US RICHES
“Wealth and honor come from you.” 1 Chronicles 29:12
Do you have any money? Did you work for it, or was it given to you? We are happy when we have money in the bank, then we can claim the riches are all ours. But that would be making a big mistake. Just as our health, families, and food are gifts from God, so is our money. We would not have any if God had not given it to us. Since God made the money, it is rightfully his. Haggai 2:8 says: “The silver and the gold is mine, declares the LORD almighty.” God owns all the money in the world.
People who think riches are theirs fall into the sin of greed. We should never begin to love money. Once when Jesus was traveling through the countryside, a rich young man came to him and asked, “What do I have to do to be saved and go to heaven?” Jesus told him to obey the Ten Commandments. “But,” said the young man, “I have done that. Is there anything else?” Jesus looked at him and said there was one more thing. He must give away everything he owned, all his money and riches. Then he would finally get to see heaven. The young man felt Jesus was now asking him to do too much. He loved his money and wasn’t willing to part with it. The man sadly walked away. The Bible says that loving money brings all kinds of sins like coveting and stealing. Wise King Solomon once wrote: “Whoever loves money never has enough; whoever loves wealth is never satisfied” (Ecclesiastes 5:10).
Jesus tells us to be good stewards of our money. We must spend it and save it wisely. And we should remember that we first give some of our money back to the Lord. We can do that when we give money to our church. People in the Bible were asked to give back to God 10% of their earnings. That meant with every $10 they earned, they gave $1 back to God. That is a good guide for us to follow today. We can also give some of our money to help the poor. The Bible says that whoever is kind to the poor is really giving to the Lord, and God will reward those who do it. Often money that we give in our church offering is used to help poor people.
Whenever we think of what God has given to us, we should remember to say thank you. Just as we thank those who are kind to us, so we should remember to thank God for the blessing of wealth and riches.
We give Thee but thine own, whate’er the gift may be;
All that we have is Thine alone, a trust, O Lord, from Thee. Amen.
From Living for Jesus by Reynold R. Kremer