"You still lack one thing. Sell all that you have and distribute to the poor, and you will have treasure in Heaven; and follow Me." v22 Luke 18:18-23. NKJV
Does this mean that God doesn't want us to be rich? Does it mean that we have to go and give all we have, to the poor before I can have treasure in Heaven and follow Jesus properly? The answer to these two questions, is no. God wants us to be rich because that way, we can help many people along the way, without us worrying about whether we have enough finance to live on ourselves.
This was a test to the rich, young ruler. He had approached Jesus wanting to know how he could inherit eternal life. Now, this man would have been quite skilled in investments and how to increase his finances. It was the business world to him. This was why he approached Jesus. He wanted to invest in his future because, no doubt, he had heard about receiving eternal life and it appealed to him.
Therefore, Jesus used this test to determine where his priorities were. Jesus knew that the man's treasure and security was in his wealth and He wanted to show him that this was a hinderance to him. His hope and security should be focused on God, not on his bank balance. After all, this could be taken off him by just one, bad investment. Sadly, the man couldn't see what Jesus was pointing out - the cost was too great. For him, God would always take second place.
There's not a lot of difference today. Many, still put their trust in their riches - their bank balance; nice house and car together with a handsomely paid salary. All of this is ok if we place God in the middle of it all. He must come first. Our trust must always be in Him before any other thing or person. After-all, He engineered that we have it all to begin with.
So enjoy what God has given you but always allow God to have His rightful place. Don't be frightened to tithe. It is God's in the first place so, He will take care of you. If you can, pray about helping others who may be in need. There are many starving and unschooled children in our world today. Can you help? Don't be scared to ask God if you should help. If you do, it will bless you, bless them and bless God as well.
Copyriight 2020 Grahame Howard
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