YOU CAN BE RICH AND YET BE MISERABLE (PART 5, FINAL PART)
"Charge them that are rich in this world, that they be not highminded, nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God, who giveth us richly all things to enjoy;" - 1 Tim 6:17, KJV.
What a Word of admonition to the rich! This Word of exhortation should be heeded; after all, it's clear that "riches are not for ever:" - (Prov 27:24)
Permit me to devote this final part to the issue of the benefit of God's blessing. It's good and absolutely of immense importance to understand that God's blessing goes far beyond gathering or accumulating riches. The Bible lets us to know of the vanity that is associated with increased wealth:
"When goods increase, they are increased that eat them: and what good is there to the owners thereof, saving the beholding of them with their eyes?" (Eccl 5:11, KJV). Here, the Bible says that your benefit lies in feeding your eyes with the increase in your wealth, and nothing more! To me, this is not worth the struggle!
Another translation, the NLT seems to say it in another way: "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!" Insightful!
Our world is replete with examples of people who have gotten more money only to have also gotten more misery. Truth is, God's blessing goes far beyond the mere accumulation of riches. Indeed, the absence of the ability and liberty to enjoy one's wealth bespeaks misery and vanity! There are rich and influential people today who would readily trade their riches for good health, for peace of mind, etc. Proverbs 10:22, NCV tells us that: "The Lord’s blessing brings wealth, and no sorrow comes with it." This is a true blessing!
If you experience a financial increase in your life and yet your life is full of sorrow, pains, and is especially characterized by the absence of the ability to enjoy it, then you have not been blessed indeed! To be truly prosperous involves much more than simply seeing an increase in your bank account or material possession. The ability to enjoy your wealth is the gift of God. Increased wealth, in and of itself, is not a blessing. The blessing lies in the ability to enjoy and extend financial favor to others. The Bible says, "Tell the rich people to do good and to be rich in doing good deeds. Tell them to be happy to give and ready to share." (1 Timothy 6:18, ICB)
If to have increased wealth is all about being blessed, we shouldn't see rich men, extremely rich men living in misery, committing suicides here and there. Don't you know that a person can be happy in a one room apartment with God; and yet be terribly miserable in a mansion without Him? The blessing has to do with more than simply having more money and material things. It has to do with the ability to fully reap the benefits of peace and contentment with what you have been given.
PRAYER:
Dearest Heavenly Father, thank You because I am truly blessed! In the name of Jesus, I possess the ability to enjoy to the full Your blessing upon my life.