Most of us have heard that money cannot buy happiness. I’ve not taken a survey to prove that rich people are not happy, but I know two things: the ability to become rich comes from God and happiness comes from God. My question could be ‘why not me’ but it isn’t . . .
God says, “You shall remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives
you power to get wealth . . .” (Deuteronomy 8:18) but that does not mean
the recipient will be happy. God says, “He who loves money will not be satisfied
with money, nor he who loves wealth with his income; this also is vanity.”
(Ecclesiastes 5:10)
God gives wealth, sometimes to people who
do not have the ability to become rich, but because He wants to bless them. He said
to Isaac, “I am the God of Abraham your father. Fear not, for I am with you
and will bless you and multiply your offspring for my servant Abraham’s sake.”
(Genesis 26:24–25)
The second passage from today’s readings was
written by a rich man. He said, “There is an evil that I have seen under the
sun, and it lies heavy on mankind: a man to whom God gives wealth, possessions,
and honor, so that he lacks nothing of all that he desires, yet God does not
give him power to enjoy them, but a stranger enjoys them. This is vanity; it is
a grievous evil.” (Ecclesiastes 6:1-2)
No wonder it is said that money cannot
buy happiness. The wisest man in the world was also the richest, but he
realized that apart from the blessing of God, there was no power to enjoy what
he had. (Some might point out that having several hundred wives may have
contributed to this discovery!)
The next reading in the NT is also about
money and the love of money. This time, Jesus is talking to a rich young man
who wanted to know how what good thing he could do to inherit eternal life. Jesus
asked him about what he was doing already and the young man claimed to be
keeping the commandments, “All these I have kept. What do I still lack?”
Jesus said to him, “If you would be perfect,
go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in
heaven; and come, follow me.” This was a test! The entire Bible makes it
clear that giving away all your money will not grant eternal life. The result
shows that the rich man didn’t pass the test. “When the young man heard this
he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.” (Matthew 19:20–22)
After he left, Jesus said to his
disciples, “Truly, I say to you, only with difficulty will a rich person
enter the kingdom of heaven. Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go
through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of
God.”
The disciples were in a religious culture
that considered riches a blessing from God, so when they heard this they were
greatly astonished, and asked, “Who then can be saved?” Jesus looked at
them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are
possible.” (Matthew 19:23–26)
Salvation is God’s doing. It isn’t about
what we can do, or what money can do for us. In the case of this young man,
money became his idol, his god. He said ‘no’ to eternal life because he could
not part with his wealth, but even as he made that decision, he went away
sorrowful.
Jesus wanted the disciples to know that
wealth gained by whatever means does not replace the care of God. Had the man
given up his riches, God would have taken care of him. Jesus said, “Everyone
who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or
lands, for my name’s sake, will receive a hundredfold and will inherit eternal
life. But many who are first will be last, and the last first.” (Matthew
19:29–30)
He followed up with a story about an
owner of a vineyard who hired people during the day, offering each the same
wage. At the end of the day, each one was given a denarius. Of course those
hired first thought they would receive more. They grumbled, but the owner said,
“I am doing you no wrong. Did you not agree with me for a denarius? Take
what belongs to you and go. I choose to give to this last worker as I give to
you. Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me? Or do you
begrudge my generosity?” (Matthew 20:8–16)
We use money to divide people into
classes, to make impressions, to feed our egos and appetites, but God uses it
to take care of us and so we can take care of others. Our status is never about
money for life under Christ is not about cash or anything else that will be
left behind when He comes for us.
Instead, every time I sell something or somehow
gain some money, my first thoughts should always be, “What does the Lord want
me to do with this?”
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