Tuesday May 30th, 2023
Meditate on: 1 Timothy 6:17 AMC
« As for the rich in this present world, instruct them not to be conceited and arrogant, nor to set their hope on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly and ceaselessly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. »
Read: Proverbs 30:7-9 NLT
7 O God, I beg two favors from you; let me have them before I die.
8 First, help me never to tell a lie. Second, give me neither poverty nor riches! Give me just enough to satisfy my needs.
9 For if I grow rich, I may deny you and say, “Who is the Lord?” And if I am too poor, I may steal and thus insult God’s holy name.
Having tasted both poverty and wealth, I can categorically say that wealth is better of the two.
Nevertheless, if not handled with the fear of God, wealth can have a negative influence on those who possess it.
Agur’s prayer in today’s Bible reading is food for thought in this regard.
From his prayer, we understand that wealth can influence a person to question God’s relevance and deny His existence.
Frankly speaking, comfort and riches can cause a person to conclude that he or she has need for God.
We see this manifested in rich countries today.
Nebuchadnezzar came under this negative influence of wealth, and he did not have a good story to tell. Intoxicated by prosperity, he boasted in Daniel 4:30, saying:
« …As he looked out across the city, he said, ‘Look at this great city of Babylon! By my own mighty power, I have built this beautiful city as my royal residence to display my majestic splendor.’ »
Through this statement, he claimed self sufficiency and denied God who gave him wealth and power. God had to school him for seven years among animals before he realized his folly (Daniel 4:33).
This is why it should not surprise us to see wealthy people in those societies that deny the existence of God manifesting animalistic tendencies in their desires and lifestyle choices.
Usually, those who are rich have a quest to be richer still.
While there is nothing wrong with this, it is disheartening that in an attempt to gain more wealth for themselves, many rich people exploit the downtrodden workers who labour to make them wealthy.
Sometimes, they may decide not to pay their wages on time, leaving the money in the bank to yield interest for their own pockets.
Some don’t even bother to pay at all, while some others choose to pay a token of what their workers are due.
People like this should realize that they are committing fraud, and God may choose to fight them Himself (James 5:1-4).
We see from the lives of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob that wealthy people who acknowledge the Almighty God as their source of power to get wealth hardly misbehave. Deuteronomy 8:18
Such people will not use their wealth to have extramarital affairs or to entice the vulnerable into evil acts. They will see their staff as their own brothers and sisters, and will not toy with their wages.
Above all, it will not be difficult for them to honor God with first fruits, tithes and offerings and works of charity.
Are you free of the negative influence of wealth?
Prayer point: Father, please give me power to get wealth and help me use it judiciously for Your glory and kingdom, in Jesus’ Name.
Author: Bishop Enoch. A. Adeboye.
Edited by Naomie
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