God's Wealth

Ordinary riches can be stolen; real riches cannot. In your soul are infinitely precious things that cannot be taken from you. (Oscar Wilde)

I enjoy following your rules as much as others enjoy great riches. (Psalm 119:14)

Some will follow every scheme known to man, or create a new one, in order to obtain some form of 'riches', but they seldom last, nor do they bring the ultimate pleasure one believed possible. We can measure 'wealth' in various ways, but if we seek 'wealth' in forms that take us away from following God with all our hearts, then the 'wealth' we seek is flawed. God's riches oftentimes cannot be measured in terms society really understands.

"There is nothing wrong with men possessing riches. The wrong comes when riches possess men." (Billy Graham) While I agree with Graham, I would add that there are riches that can 'possess a man' that are really not wrong for mankind. Those riches are measured in how well the Word of God is known to us, has influenced our choices, and is able to direct our path each day. These are riches unknown to many and cannot be 'bought or sold'. 

Riches are not a bad thing, but there are some that can control us without us even knowing we are headed down that path. Whenever our focus is on how much we want some 'thing' that is outside of our reach, we need to ask ourselves if it is really going to add good things to our lives. The Word of God and the commands contain within may seem like they are a little 'out of our reach' at times, but whenever we ask God to incorporate those truths into our lives, we are always made better.

Great riches are enjoyable - especially when they are the riches that come from knowing God, understanding his plans, seeing how he works in our lives and the lives of others. It is a good thing to pursue God's 'wealth' with all our hearts, souls, and minds. It is the pursuit that will be greatly rewarded in the end. Just sayin!

Tainted Wealth

Tainted wealth has no lasting value, but right living can save your life. (Proverbs 10:2)

I found myself revisiting an old medical TV series over the past few days where more than one of the characters were quite entangled in 'making money', sometimes at the expense of others. As depicted by their characters, their absolute greed drove them to do things that were totally outside of the reason they ever got into their profession as doctors. They were so focused on fame and fortune; they lost sight of their calling. Wealth sometimes has a way of 'undoing' us - actually changing our focus from what we know to be 'true' and 'right' in our lives. Perhaps this is why God reminds us we cannot have our eyes on both wealth and God - the former one will eventually erode away at the relationship we have with him.

Tainted wealth is that which is 'ill-gotten' - it might have started out quite innocently, but the more we pursued the wealth, the more it consumed our focus. Eventually, we find that the 'pull' of fame and fortune just isn't satisfied - there is never 'enough'. While the characters on the TV show are fictitious, the struggle is quite real in our world today. There has always been a drive for 'more' since mankind came to be on this earth. That 'drive' led them to do unthinkable things, all in the pursuit of what they would never attain. That is how sin works in our lives - it gets us following desires that are never satisfied and whims of fancy that can never be appeased until we let go of them.

Sin isn't appeased easily, though. The enemy of our souls has no desire to let us go easily. His intent is to confuse us as to what truth really is, where we might find absolute peace, and how it is we might let go of all that doesn't allow our continued focus on God alone. Wealth and fame are two very powerful 'lures' that are not easily rejected. As much as God warns us to avoid the pull of these two 'lures', we sometimes cannot resist them. We are like silly fish, following whatever moves in front of us, not even seeing there is one big hook on the end of that lure! Keep your eyes on Jesus and you will not be so easily lured into the dangers the enemy lays before you. Just sayin!

Tap into this

Those who love money will never have enough. How meaningless to think that wealth brings true happiness! The more you have, the more people come to help you spend it. So what good is wealth—except perhaps to watch it slip through your fingers! (Ecclesiastes 5:10-11)

I don't think there is anyone who wants to look back on their life only to realize the majority of the activity they performed was merely to 'make money'. The average wage-earner in the United States holds about 12 jobs in their lifetime, spending about 4.5 years per job, meaning we work about fifty years or so. If all that work is without any rest, the body, mind, and soul of a man is taxed by the end! Too much rest makes for a different outcome - we might even be labeled as a little 'lazy' and 'foolish'. The balance comes somewhere in the middle, but it should never be to the detriment of our relationships - including our relationship with God!

True happiness is kind of an elusive thing for many. We somehow equate 'happiness' with some state of 'being' that we work hard to attain, but seldom find. It is much better to put oneself in the place of finding peace and forgiveness in relationship with God than it is in finding wealth and privilege in this world. Wealth won't open heaven's doors. Privilege gained in this world won't give us 'heavenly status'. If we want true 'wealth' and 'heavenly status', we find it in an intimate relationship with Jesus.

If the principle of 'the more you have, the more others will find ways to use it for you' holds true, I wonder if the more grace and peace we have works the same way? If we are filled with grace, will others tap into it, realizing they both need and desire some of what we have? If we are overflowing with love, will others draw from the recesses of that love and find their lives are transformed as a result? Maybe the 'wealth' we need is more of Jesus - so when others come looking for what it is we have, they find the best resources they can 'tap into'! Just sayin!

My storehouse is full

“Teacher, please tell my brother to divide our father’s estate with me.” Jesus replied, “Friend, who made me a judge over you to decide such things as that?” Then he said, “Beware! Guard against every kind of greed. Life is not measured by how much you own.” “A rich man had a fertile farm that produced fine crops. He said to himself, ‘What should I do? I don’t have room for all my crops.’ ‘I know! I’ll tear down my barns and build bigger ones. Then I’ll have room enough to store all my wheat and other goods. And I’ll sit back and say to myself, “My friend, you have enough stored away for years to come. Now take it easy! Eat, drink, and be merry!”’ “But God said to him, ‘You fool! You will die this very night. Then who will get everything you worked for?’ “Yes, a person is a fool to store up earthly wealth but not have a rich relationship with God.” (Luke 12:13-21)

We can all be so 'into ourselves' that we totally miss being there to help another when they are standing right there in front of us. It is truly a sad thing to be so caught up in this thing we call the 'making of a man' that we miss each other's needs. Jesus' clear warning is to guard our hearts and minds against such greed. Greed doesn't just happen - it is an attitude of the heart that comes from continual rehearsal in our minds of the desire to get or be 'more'. Our attitude of heart determines the actions we take, but we can use our actions to act as an indicator of our 'heart's attention and desire'. We might focus on our assets, but God focuses on our attitude. 

Some individuals think they are 'worth more' or can 'do more' because they have huge assets available to them. I think Jesus was challenging us to consider something that has absolutely nothing to do with our assets. He wanted us to see what a right heart can do in terms of meeting the needs of our community, not just a huge amount of wealth. Sometimes we think we have nothing to offer, or very little, because we are comparing ourselves to someone we think has 'more'. As Jesus said, we can amass much in the way of earthly wealth but be so emotionally and spiritually 'bankrupt' in the end. The more we allow Jesus to truly touch the chords of our heart, changing the way we think or look at the world's 'assets', the more we will find ways to share ourselves with others.

The main thing Jesus focused on so many times as he taught was the need for a rich relationship with God. We might not believe there is much 'value' in this deep, ongoing and vital relationship, but God's presence within us makes our hearts full to overflowing. A silo or barn can store up 'things' but a heart in tune with God can store up and GIVE OUT the blessings of God's grace and love. It would be foolish to count upon the filled silo or barn and neglect the one 'storehouse' that God focuses on so intently - the heart. Just sayin!

Rich, but poor?

Jesus said to them, “Be careful and guard against all kinds of greed. Life is not measured by how much one owns.” ...who will get those things you have prepared for yourself?’ “This is how it will be for those who store up things for themselves and are not rich toward God.” (Luke 12:15, 20-21)

Do we own it, or does it own us? It is sometimes hard to decide which one actually is the truth, but a sure way to find out is how we react when it is taken from us. Remember Job? He had riches galore, a large family, lots and lots of herds of animals, crops in abundance - in essence, he had it all. He was a good man, known in the community to be faithful to his family, considerate of others, a good friend. Then one day, it was taken from him. He lost the crops, herds began to die, family members were lost, and he found himself sitting on a hill of dung, scraping boils on his body with a broken shard of pottery. If you or I were to face similar circumstances today, how might we react?

It took some 'talking it out with God' to get all the things off his chest he really didn't understand. He asked repeatedly why all these events were transpiring - something I know God didn't mind. He might have even began to question his faith a bit - another thing I don't think God minds us talking with him about. There are times when we just don't understand our 'losses' - times when we might call into question our own beliefs and where it is we have put our trust. If our trust has been placed in the 'things' and not in God himself, our faith will falter a lot. If we find ourselves bemoaning our 'losses', but keeping God at the center of our prayers, it is likely we have placed our faith in the Creator and not the creation.

God's plan is for us to be rich toward him - not ourselves. We can amass all manner of 'goods' and 'things' that really don't fill the empty space in our spirit but might just fill more than one empty space in our homes, garages, workshops, or storage rooms. We would be happy with our riches for a while, but the reality of the 'hole' in our spirits would still be there. We need to remember that Christ desires to fill us to overflowing with all manner of good blessings, but they begin on the inside and are not stored in garages! We might be 'rich' to some, but we are 'poor' where it really counts. Just sayin!

Give First

Since we came into this world, we have had not had to tell ourselves to demand or seek out the things we want, but rather we have had to learn how to deal with all the things we want to figure out if we really need it. We might have come face-to-face with the reality that food was a necessity, but the black patent leather shoes weren't; the school clothes were, but the frilly dresses and designer jeans weren't; the reliable means of transportation was a necessity, but the shiny new car every other year was not.  We will often struggle with trying to decipher the difference between need and want throughout life - simply because the circumstances change and we are called upon to change with them.  In time, we can become a little confused between the two, especially when we aren't aware of this nasty little thing called "greed".  It rears its ugly head more often than we'd like to admit and we struggle with this thing called "contentment" more often than we'd like to admit.  The words we need to embrace:  "Life isn't defined by what we have - but by whose we are!"

Someone out of the crowd said, “Teacher, order my brother to give me a fair share of the family inheritance.”  He replied, “Mister, what makes you think it’s any of my business to be a judge or mediator for you?”  Speaking to the people, he went on, “Take care! Protect yourself against the least bit of greed. Life is not defined by what you have, even when you have a lot.”  Then he told them this story: “The farm of a certain rich man produced a terrific crop. He talked to himself: ‘What can I do? My barn isn’t big enough for this harvest.’ Then he said, ‘Here’s what I’ll do: I’ll tear down my barns and build bigger ones. Then I’ll gather in all my grain and goods, and I’ll say to myself, Self, you’ve done well! You’ve got it made and can now retire. Take it easy and have the time of your life!’  “Just then God showed up and said, ‘Fool! Tonight you die. And your barnful of goods—who gets it?’  “That’s what happens when you fill your barn with Self and not with God.”  (Luke 12:13-21)

Isn't it so like us to go running to someone with some authority in life to "arbitrate" our differences?  This man didn't know Jesus - he just saw him as this great authority who was drawing in the masses, thinking he could intervene on his behalf to persuade his brother to give him what he was not able to get on his own.  We know one brother feels he has not received "his fair share" of the family inheritance and he wants it!  What we also know is the very evident tendency of Jesus to speak truth into a moment, exposing heart and soul pretty quickly!  So, when Jesus responds to the man to beware of greed in his life, he probably knows the inward struggle of this man's heart!  I have been in those same moments of time - coming to Jesus for what I thought was the right thing for my life only to have him expose something within my heart that wasn't allowing me to see things correctly!  In that moment of "correction", I got a little huffy and put-out with Jesus, but within a short while, I realized my attitude was impairing my ability to see what Jesus wanted me to really see!  

As was Jesus' custom, he launches into a story to "drive home" the warning he gives about not being defined by what we have (what we possess).  It is another "word picture" to help us realize the intent of his instruction, simply because we "get" words better when we "see them" in a picture!  Building new barns would be something the crowd understood, for these were places to keep their harvest - safe from predatory birds and animals; shut up against the weather.  Everyone who worked the land likely had a barn of sorts - maybe not a fancy one, but something which allowed for storage of the season's crops.  It doesn't seem like much could go wrong with building a new barn, does it?  After all, if you have enough grain to fill the first barn to overflowing, it stands to reason you need a second one to contain the excess.  The problem is, we don't really need the excess, do we?  Maybe this is what he was really trying to teach - our excess isn't doing us much good, but it could do a whole lot of good to the ones around us with tremendous need!

I subscribe to the teachings of "give first, save second, and live off the rest". This doesn't mean I figure out how much I want to live on, then determine what I can give and save in response to what I want to live on.  What it means is that I have determined my reasonable standard of living - what some might call a budget.  Our "excess" is not what defines us - it isn't going to provide anything of lasting value to our life.  What does define us is our position "IN" Christ - a child of God, loved and adored by him, cared for under the shadow of his wing, and safe in his sheltering arms.  I kind of chuckle when I go by a neighbor's house, not because he is particularly "funny", but because of the priorities he seems to have established for his life.  You see, he bought the lot next door to him, tore the house down, erected a two-story garage complete with these fancy lifts which allow him to park cars on both levels!  Exactly how many cars can you drive?  Unless I am missing something, we are all only capable of driving one car!

My neighbor subscribed to the farmer's philosophy - bigger barns make for "more stuff" he can amass!  As is always the case with Jesus, he points us to the importance of relationship, not resources.  Let's not lose sight of this important lesson in our own lives - relationship first!  First with Jesus, next with each other, then in turn touching those in our lives who cross our paths. This is better than bigger barns any day!  Just sayin!

Life Hack #7 - Hidden Treasure

Life Hack #7:

Riches are elusive - especially when we are pursuing them. Riches seldom fall into our laps, delivered on a silver platter, all nice and neat. We have to pursue, labor, direct our focus, and spend a whole lot of time going after them. Riches are not "prohibited" or "bad" for a Christian, but they are not the end-all - the main pursuit in life. We need to discover where our true riches are and how they are obtained, maintained, and continually refreshed.

Don’t wear yourself out trying to get rich; restrain yourself! Riches disappear in the blink of an eye; wealth sprouts wings and flies off into the wild blue yonder. (Proverbs 23:4-5)

Our true riches are not the "things" or "bank balance" we attain, but the richness of God's grace, love, and purpose in our lives. What we often find ourselves doing is pursuing what we "think" will make us happy in some sense, rather than accepting what we can "count on" to fulfill us totally. Once we determine our actions as either "pursuing" or "accepting", we might have a little indicator of what types of riches we are after in this lifetime! Those which elude us need to be pursued - those which are gifted to us need to be accepted.

God's grace and love are "accepted" riches - we "amass" them at the point of our acceptance of the sacrificial death of Christ and the placement of our hope in his finished work on the cross. We "accrue" these riches into our lives the longer we walk with Jesus and learn of him. Today's grace will be built upon tomorrow, and tomorrow's grace will increase even more into infinity. We are not really amassing "more" - just coming to appreciate the significance of his grace and love more fully each day. We are truly receiving, not pursuing, because God pursues US in order to bring us close to him. We just nuzzle up in response to his love and grace - this is what we often refer to as pursuing him.

Earthly treasures are fine - they fulfill a purpose in this life here on earth. Things like food, housing, clothing, and enough money to keep the lights on I am trusting God to provide - giving me good health and the ability to interact with life around me. What I am focused on daily is the purposeful spending of time getting into his Word, allowing it to get into me, and letting his still-small-voice speak into the depths of my spirit. We are unaware of the magnitude of God's riches until we allow him to reveal them to us. God wants us to beware of the "pursuit" of what doesn't really last. In turn, he hopes we will learn the meaning of our true "wealth" or "riches" - Jesus Christ. To be a child of God is to come into the fullness of all the "wealth" of God's Kingdom. Don't live to pursue what really doesn't matter in the end! Just sayin!

Life Hack #3 - A Real Windfall

Life Hack #3:

Forbes magazine published an article November 28, 2012, entitled "Why Winning Powerball Won't Make You Happy" written by Susan Adams. Citing multiple studies which point out the IMMEDIATE high or exuberance of winning, but then focus on the quick return to a low point within just a short point in time, she concludes: "While winning the lottery can make a difference, it won't affect the other conditions of your life". We can "bet" on the one-time windfall, or we can count on the certainty of what God provides with consistency. The choice seems pretty simple to me, but obviously there are a whole lot of others who actually don't believe this!

Don’t gamble on the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, hocking your house against a lucky chance. The time will come when you have to pay up; you’ll be left with nothing but the shirt on your back. (Proverbs 22:26-27)

"Life Hack #3" looks at where it is we determine our "windfall" or "riches" to rest - in the 'windfall' or in the 'consistency'. Life's joy isn't in the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. The "lucky chance" many take will do little more than make them more than financially broke in the end. Gambling seems like a pretty risky business to me. My mother used to say to me, "My poor wee lassie". My response to mom each and every time she says this to me: "I no so poor". Yep, the grammar is wrong, but you get the point. I am not poor in any respect - in fact, I am as rich as I can be, blessed beyond measure in Christ Jesus - even when things may not be "quite right" in my life. A lot of us determine our disposition in life based on the circumstances we are dealt. Look at the one who carries us through those circumstances, not at the circumstances themselves!

If we look at wealth to give us a sense of "worth" in life, we will always be chasing an elusive dream, for today's "wealth" will not keep up with tomorrow's demands. If we look at "image" to give us a sense of worth in life, we will be chasing a pretty unmanageable dream, for our "image" will fade in time, no matter how much plastic surgery we have done! God's direction to us is to look to him to give us our sense of worth - for this is truthfully the only thing which "imputes" value into our lives. We could hold out for the windfall at the end of the rainbow, but I would rather have my value determined today, not some day down the road when I "hit it big". I don't think there is anything "bigger" to "hit" than being redeemed by the grace of God from a life lived without him for all of eternity!

Keeping our focus on the "what if" of tomorrow will not benefit us any today. In fact, it serves to do nothing more than make us yearn for what we don't have and what we will be unlikely to ever achieve. Rather than focus on the "what if" of tomorrow, we would do well to focus on the "what is" of today. We have been granted so much in Christ Jesus - it will take us a lifetime to actually realize the significance of the TRUE and lasting "windfall" we have in HIM! Just sayin!

What's in your wallet?

True wealth is not of the pocket, but of the heart and of the mind. 

(Kevin Gates)

I'd have to say there are a whole lot of 'posers' in this world today - people who proclaim great wealth and tend to 'flaunt it' a little at times. These same people are oftentimes poor in the true sense of the word - deficient, lacking, impoverished in the spiritual and emotional realm. Why is it that material wealth really doesn't satisfy us all that well? I think it is because we are made as 'tri-part' beings - body, soul, and spirit. All have to be fulfilled for their to be a true balance in life. We cannot neglect the spirit and feed only the body or soul. One cannot exist without the other. Wealth does little to feed the spirit, while it oftentimes overfeeds the body and soul. There is a lot of pretense in life, but we cannot pretend to have a healthy spirit apart from it being indwelt by the Spirit of God.

One pretends he is wealthy but has nothing, while another seems to be poor but has great wealth. (Proverbs 13:7)

Great wealth isn't found in our pocketbooks or wallets. It is found in the heart of a man - spirit motivated by the inner working of God's love, peace, and grace. Therein we find true wealth - greater than the wealth we might put on display for others to see. It matters not if you live in a cardboard box or a palatial mansion - how are things with your soul - your mind, will, and emotions? Are they in balance? Are they whole because God's Spirit has touched them, making them whole and healthy? If not, the wealth you have is probably temporary and will soon depart when adversity comes your way.

Why is it God's kids seem to flourish in times of uncertainty and greater adversity? It isn't that they have a secret stash of foodstuff in the root cellar or stockpiles of money in the mattresses. It is that they know where their true provision comes - from the throne room of God himself. They have learned to trust not in things seen, but in things unseen. So many of us attempt to fill some empty part of our lives with things that won't really endure when the hard things must be faced. We are going to be emotionally bankrupt in short order when our trust is placed in such things. 

As I write these words today, I know some will quickly defend their 'position' by pointing out they 'know God', but let me just say to each of us - if our trust is more in what we see and hold, then we are trusting in the wrong thing. We can have divided trust - it is possible to put our trust in God, but put trust in 'things' and 'positions', as well. That is why the rich young ruler had such a hard time with what Jesus told him to do when he asked him how he could experience eternal life. Jesus' response actually put a hurdle in his way that he could not jump over. 

What was Jesus' response? Sell what you have, give it to the poor, and come follow me. How many of us can say we really understand the struggle the young ruler had at that moment? He had told Jesus he had kept the commandments, honored his parents, and remained faithful to his wife. Why would Jesus ask him to sell his possessions and give them to the poor? It was because Jesus knew where the man 'anchored' his faith - in what he had amassed. The scripture tells us he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions. (Matthew 19:16-30) 

Jesus may not be asking us to part with our physical riches, but he is asking us to consider how much faith we place in them, or our own ability to obtain them. His purpose in asking us to take notice of where we place our faith is because if there is anything else in the center of our trust other than him, we will live truly unfulfilled and empty lives. Just sayin!

Principle 7: Know What Riches Are

Riches are elusive - especially when we are pursuing them.  Riches seldom fall into our laps, delivered on a silver platter, all nice and neat.  Instead, we have to pursue, labor, direct our focus, and spend a whole lot of time going after them.  Now, don't get me wrong - I don't want to live in a cardboard box, but if we just begin to consider this a little, we might just get a little insight into our seventh principle for living with a solid foundation in life.  Riches are not "prohibited" or "bad" for a Christian, but they are not the end-all!  I think our purpose today is to discover where our true riches are and how they are obtained, maintained, and continually refreshed.  

Don’t wear yourself out trying to get rich; restrain yourself!  Riches disappear in the blink of an eye; wealth sprouts wings and flies off into the wild blue yonder.  (Proverbs 23:4-5 MSG)

To be certain, our riches are really not the things or "bank balance" we attain, but the richness of God's grace, love, and purpose in our lives.  What we often find ourselves doing is pursuing what we "think" will make us happy in some sense, rather than accepting what we can "count on" to fulfill us totally.  Look at the two words I used there - pursuing and accepting.  Once we determine our actions as either "pursuing" or "accepting", we might just have a little bit of an indicator of what types of riches we are after in this lifetime!  Those which elude us need to be pursued - those which are gifted to us need to be accepted.

God's grace and love are "accepted" riches - we "amass" them at the point of our acceptance of the sacrificial death of Christ and the placement of our hope in his finished work on the cross.  We "accrue" these riches into our lives the longer we walk with Jesus and learn of him.  Today's grace will be built upon tomorrow, and tomorrow's will increase even more, and so on.  We are not really amassing "more" - just coming to appreciate the significance of his grace and love more fully each day.  We are truly receiving, not pursuing, because God pursues US in order to bring us close to him.  We just nuzzle up in response to his love and grace - this is what we often refer to as US pursuing him. 

Earthly treasures are fine - they fulfill a purpose in this life here on earth.  I need a car to get back and forth to work, and God has blessed me with a very reliable one.  I need clothing to cover my nakedness, but it is not the clothing which truthfully adorns me.  I require food to keep my body functioning correctly and at optimum health, but food is not what I pursue.  These are things I am trusting God to provide - giving me good health and the ability to work well in my chosen profession.  What I am focused on daily is the purposeful spending of time getting into his Word, allowing it to get into me, and letting his still-small-voice speak into the depths of my spirit.

There is a joke which goes something like this:  A man meets an angel one day and is told today is his time to leave this earth. He is given the opportunity to take anything from this earth he wants - just one thing.  He chooses all the gold he has amassed in his treasury.  When he arrives in heaven, he is greeted by the same angel.  The angel questions him about his choice of bringing the gold.  The man says he has worked hard for it and the angel says, "Yeah, but I just don't understand why you brought paving material to heaven!"  We are unaware of the magnitude of God's riches until we allow him to reveal them to us.  Our writer wants us to beware of the "pursuit" of what doesn't really last. In turn, he hopes we will learn the meaning of our true "wealth" or "riches" - Jesus Christ.  To be a child of God is to come into the fullness of all the "wealth" of God's Kingdom.  Don't live to pursue what amounts to "paving material" in God's economy!  Just sayin!

Principle 3: The Pot of Gold

All over the world people are hoping to hit the big winnings of the lottery or some contest.  They faithfully march to the local establishments selling the tickets in order to make their "weekly investment" into the "big ticket".  Some play the same numbers week after week, determined it will be THEIR week this week.  Forbes magazine published an article November 28, 2012 entitled "Why Winning Powerball Won't Make You Happy" written by Susan Adams.  In the article, she cites multiple studies which point out the IMMEDIATE high or exuberance of winning, but the quick return to a low point within just a short point in time.  Why?  She concluded that "while winning the lottery can make a difference, it won't affect the other conditions of your life".  This is so true! We can "bet" on the windfall, or we can count on the certainty of what God provides.  The choice seems pretty simple to me, but obviously there are a whole lot of others who actually don't believe this!

Don’t gamble on the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, hocking your house against a lucky chance.  The time will come when you have to pay up; you’ll be left with nothing but the shirt on your back.  (Proverbs 22:26-27 MSG)

Our third principle for ensuring our foundation is based on trust in God deals with where it is we determine our "windfall" or "riches" to rest.  It isn't in the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, or by amassing gambling debt up the kazoo.  The "lucky chance" many take will do little more than make them broke in the end.  We have all heard the stories of gamblers "gone bad" - losing it all - home, job, family, and self-esteem.  To me, it seems like pretty risky business to me.

My mother is from Scottish/English heritage, so one of her familiar sayings when something isn't quite right with me is, "My poor wee lassie".  My response to mom each and every time she says this to me:  "I no so poor". Yep, the grammar is wrong, I know, but you get the point.  I am not poor in any respect - in fact, I am as rich as I can be, blessed beyond measure in Christ Jesus - even when things may not be "quite right" in my life.  A lot of us determine our disposition in life based on the circumstances we are dealt. I think Solomon may have been trying to get us to look at the one who carries us through those circumstances, not at the circumstances themselves!

Where it is we look for our "worth" in life gives evidence of what it is we have come to value the most.  For example, if we look at wealth to give us a sense of "worth" in life, we will always be chasing an elusive dream, for today's "wealth" will not keep up with tomorrow's demands.  If we look at "image" to give us a sense of worth in life, we will also be chasing a pretty unmanageable dream, for our "image" will fade in time, no matter how much plastic surgery we have done!

God's direction to us is to look to him to give us our sense of worth - for this is truthfully the only thing which "imputes" value into our lives.  We could hold out for the windfall at the end of the rainbow such as winning big in the lottery, but honestly, I would rather have my value determined today, not some day down the road when I "hit it big".  In fact, I don't think there is anything "bigger" to "hit" than being redeemed by the grace of God from a life bound to live without him for all of eternity!

Keeping our focus on the "what if" of tomorrow will not benefit us any today. In fact, it serves to do nothing more than make us yearn for what we don't have and what we will be unlikely to ever achieve.  Rather than focus on the "what if" of tomorrow, we would be well served to focus on the "what is" of today.  We have been granted so much in Christ Jesus - it will take us a lifetime to actually realize the significance of our "windfall" we have in HIM! Just sayin!

Invitation into Stewardship

^4-5 Don't wear yourself out trying to get rich; restrain yourself!
Riches disappear in the blink of an eye; wealth sprouts wings
   and flies off into the wild blue yonder.

(Proverbs 23:4-5)

The more we watch the news these days, check in incessantly on the status of our investments, and listen to the doomsday picture painted by those who analyze the status of our financial institutions, the more we move into a panic mode as it relates to our "financial security".  We begin to envision the worst - because the picture laid out for us by those who have a "big picture" view of the state of things.  Scripture has a lot to say to us about our relationship with our money.  Our passage today reminds us that we can "wear ourselves out" trying to get rich - and even more so when we are trying to "keep" the riches we have amassed in an economy that is failing.

Wealth can really be defined as anything that we have in great quantity that we have laid up in store for future use.  Jesus reminded his disciples that laying up treasures on this earth is a great waste of our time - it is the treasures in heaven that matter.  When we think of "wealth" in our society, we think of the amassing of goods, finances, or even property.  When Jesus referred to wealth in the "kingdom economy", he was thinking about positive character, richness in mercy, and fullness of grace.  Two differing views - two very different outcomes.

I don't want to imply that wisely planning for our futures is not supported in scripture.  In fact, we are told to make wise use of all that is given to us - all increase is to be wisely invested and utilized in the best manner.  We are warned against waste, reminded of the importance of sharing with those that don't have the same blessings we enjoy, and to be good providers for our family.  In scripture, this is referred to as stewardship.  

A steward is one who manages the property of another.  This should give us some insight into our "wealth" - it is not our own.  God give us the increase so that we can be channels of blessing into the lives of others.  If this is the view we have of our "increase", then we are less likely to be consumed by the increase (we don't spend a lot of time fretting over the outcome).  

Our invitation today is to come into a place of stewardship - the guardian of what we have been given, in service to those we are placed with in this walk of life.  The call is to not be given to a doomsday mentality - be wise in your spending, saving for your future, plan for the unexpected expenditures (like the new roof, the car repair, or the trip to the vet).  This is wisdom.  Then turn yourself to focusing on how you can be a blessing in the lives of others - in the furthering of the gospel, the changing of lives imprisoned in poverty, or delivering a soul from the darkness of their emotional prison.

These are worthwhile uses of our "wealth" - whether it is great or little.  In this season of giving, ask God what he would have you do to set aside something for a special purpose that he will reveal to you in the weeks ahead. It may be to support a local shelter, or to deliver sack lunches to the homeless in your city streets.   It may be to support the work of a children's ministry in your church, or to drive a disabled person to their doctor's appointments.  God's use of your "wealth" goes beyond the monetary - to the use of your time, talents, and yes, your treasures.  

How is God directing you to be a steward of what he has given you today?