Living with Eternity in View - Part Four
Laying Up in Store for Themselves a Good Foundation Against the Time to Come
2 Corinthians 5 (KJ2000)
14 For the love of Christ constrains us; because we thus judge, that if one died for all, then were all dead:
15 And that he died for all, that they who live should no longer live unto themselves, but unto him who died for them, and rose again.
You do not belong to yourself. You belong to God. You are called the redeemed of the Lord because you were purchased with the blood of Jesus. You are now obliged not to live for yourself but for Him. Because you belong to God, your money belongs to God, and one day you will give Him an account of how you spent it.
Many years ago, to be called born-again was to be called poor. People thought riches were sinful. There were even songs composed which celebrated the expected poverty and misery of God’s children. Look at this chorus:
Here I wander, like a beggar,
Through the heat and the cold,
And my burdens are so heavy,
Lord, my sorrow is untold,
Praise God, the Spirit of God raised teachers in the Body to show us from the Word that we’re not wandering beggars, we’re fellow citizens with the saints and of the household of God! We’re not walking in untold sorrow, we’re full of the joy of the Holy Spirit!
But it seems to me that in being liberated from this destructive mindset of poverty we moved too far in the other direction. It seems to me that for some Christians, the pursuit of worldly wealth has now become a trap.
Luke 12 (KJ2000)
13 And one of the crowd said unto him, Teacher, speak to my brother, that he divide the inheritance with me.
14 And he said unto him, Man, who made me a judge or a divider over you?
15 And he said unto them, Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man's life consists not in the abundance of the things which he possesses.
16 And he spoke a parable unto them, saying, The ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully:
17 And he thought within himself, saying, What shall I do, because I have no room to store my crops?
18 And he said, This will I do: I will pull down my barns, and build greater; and there will I store all my crops and my goods.
19 And I will say to my soul, Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years; take your ease, eat, drink, and be merry.
20 But God said unto him, You fool, this night your soul shall be required of you: then whose shall those things be, which you have prepared?
21 So is he that lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.
Interestingly, Jesus warns a man who simply wanted His help in securing an inheritance about covetousness. He didn’t speak to the issue, He didn’t ask why this man’s brother was about to cheat him, and He didn’t ask for a meeting to resolve the matter. Instead, Jesus spoke a parable to encourage this man to look beyond his brother’s treacherous ways and focus on being rich towards God. There are only a few people referred to as fools by God in the Bible, those who gain worldly wealth but do not lay up treasure in heaven make the list!
No matter how much money you make in this world, you will not take it with you to the next one. Our great quest to own riches should be moderated by Paul’s reminder that “we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out.”
I have seen many investment seminars hosted by churches, but very few seem to remind us of the need to be rich in the next world, or even talk about the concept of being rich towards God. The Scriptures teach that we will be rewarded in eternity for the way we spend our money to support God’s Kingdom in time.
I encourage you to look at your finances again. Do you support your nuclear family (1 Tim. 5:8)? Do you support your extended family (1 Tim. 5:4)? Do you give to those who teach you the Word (Gal 6:6)? Do you give to the poor (Eph. 4:28)? Do you give to the church (1 Cor. 16:1-2)?
1 Timothy 6 (KJ2000)
17 Charge them that are rich in this present age, that they be not haughty, nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God, who gives us richly all things to enjoy;
18 That they do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to distribute, willing to share;
19 Laying up in store for themselves a good foundation against the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life.
Continue in grace!