Okay.
I do hope you are having a blessed day.
I am sure you have a lot to do, so let’s get straight into things!
Carrying on from the previous post, Proverbs tells us next that we are to cease from our consideration of becoming wealthy.
And that’s hard to accept initially.
We’ll continue in the next post, but I want to encourage to ask yourself…
What do you think they mean by this?
Cease from our consideration?
Should we not try to become wealthy?
Should we not even think about it?
An interesting word is used for “consideration” here.
It means to think hard about something. The result of this thinking should be a proper discernment of it. But according to what is being said here, it seems like God is warning us against making wealth the thing we consider and think hard about in life.
There are those who constantly chase the illusive goal of being rich.
They read books about it – they listen to tapes that promise them the way to get there – they listen to radio shows that promise them that if they do what this man says – they’ll be rich.
And I’ll be honest.
I was one of those people. At times I still am. Constantly reading to try make sure I am in the best position to be “comfortable”.
There is even a “chrisitanized” version of this thinking.
The health/wealth/prosperity teaching promises that God Himself is nothing but a divine sugar daddy.
Yes.
We said it.
Sugar Daddy.
If we treat Him right – and confess the right things – we’ll be rich! At least that’s what some people would like us to believe. That’s what they want to us have our minds fixed on.
However, God wants us to have our minds fixed on other things.
Other things?
Things other than our own financial bottom line. If we truly had discernment, and if we had the correct perspective, we’d know that our bank account will matter only in how we used it for God’s glory.
Okay.
Okay.
So cease from consideration. I think I am starting to get things now.
Go on…
Our “consideration” should be of the Lord Himself and what His will is for us in life. To have a constant consideration of wealth is to waste our minds, and I guess you can also say our time, on things that are not eternal.
Perfect! And of course , there are other reasons we should not be chasing wealth.
Like?
Okay, one for example, is the fact that wealth is often illusive.
Illusive.
Imagine a man buying lottery tickets thinking he is going to win and get rich. After that, he will finally be at peace and have the answer to all his problems.
This immediately tells us two things – first, this guy is not very good at Math – and second, he is focused on the wrong things. He thinks that money will solve his problems.
Do you know what often happens to lottery winners? They blow it.
If he only took the time to study previous big winners of the lottery he’d learn that it usually causes more problems than it solves.
‘Do not overwork to be rich; because of your own understanding, cease! Will you set your eyes on that which is not? For riches certainly make themselves wings; they fly away like an eagle towards heaven’ (Proverbs 23:4-5 NKJV).
I have people in my life who are fairly wealthy. We thank God. They’ve worked hard. They’ve made a living for themselves. And often, if I ask them how much money they need to be content, their answer is along the lines of, “Just a little more than I have now.” That is the most deceptive part of wealth.
When we “get there” to the number, the figure, the goal – we’ll find it is not enough to bring peace and satisfaction to us. So, we figure we’ll set our goal a little higher – only to find that when we get there we still don’t feel satisfied.
One last thing needs to be said of a life spent chasing after wealth and riches. The ultimate regret for the rich man comes when he dies. He leaves everything behind. There are no “rich people” in heaven or hell. The basis of success or ultimate failure has to do with being able to stand before God in the judgment. We can be as wealthy as 10 Solomons – and still find ourselves eternally impoverished if we don’t have forgiveness and salvation in Jesus Christ.
We will end with this: Be rich toward God – cultivate a wealth will last beyond what can be stolen or rust away.
My Sunday Skl 
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