Being Rich Without Sorrow

Lamentations 4:1-5

1 How the gold has lost its luster!
Even the finest gold has become dull.
The sacred gemstones
lie scattered in the streets!

2 See how the precious children of Jerusalem,
worth their weight in fine gold,
are now treated like pots of clay
made by a common potter.

3 Even the jackals feed their young,
but not my people Israel.
They ignore their children’s cries,
like ostriches in the desert.

4 The parched tongues of their little ones
stick to the roofs of their mouths in thirst.
The children cry for bread,
but no one has any to give them.

5 The people who once ate the richest foods
now beg in the streets for anything they can get.
Those who once wore the finest clothes
now search the garbage dumps for food.

These verses remind me so much of the words of Jesus:

Matthew 6:19-21

19 “Don’t store up treasures here on earth, where moths eat them and rust destroys them, and where thieves break in and steal. 20 Store your treasures in heaven, where moths and rust cannot destroy, and thieves do not break in and steal. 21 Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be."

What we have here on earth can be destroyed in a moment in time. That is why it doesn't pay to put your trust into uncertain things and to put all your trust in God. Even if all that I had was gone it can all be replaced. If I go through that situation like Job did I could claim double for my troubles on the back end.

Job 42:10-15

10 When Job prayed for his friends, the Lord restored his fortunes. In fact, the Lord gave him twice as much as before! 11 Then all his brothers, sisters, and former friends came and feasted with him in his home. And they consoled him and comforted him because of all the trials the Lord had brought against him. And each of them brought him a gift of money and a gold ring.

12 So the Lord blessed Job in the second half of his life even more than in the beginning. For now he had 14,000 sheep, 6,000 camels, 1,000 teams of oxen, and 1,000 female donkeys. 13 He also gave Job seven more sons and three more daughters. 14 He named his first daughter Jemimah, the second Keziah, and the third Keren-happuch. 15 In all the land no women were as lovely as the daughters of Job. And their father put them into his will along with their brothers.

That's what I call blessing. It also reminds me of another scripture:

Proverbs 10:22

The blessing of the Lord makes a person rich, and he adds no sorrow with it.

When the Lord blesses you it is not going to make you sorrowful. Many people today who are very wealthy are also very sad. Having the money, houses, cars, etc. doesn't give you joy. You may be temporarily happy about the stuff, but when it comes time to pay for it, maintain it, insure it, etc. you lose any happiness you may have had. How many times have you watched the news to hear about a successful celebrity commit suicide? I have read those articles a number of times. Most people would say this comment when asked about having that much wealth, "Let me try it and I bet I wouldn't do it". I used to say that. Why is it that so many people continue to buy lottery tickets, especially when the dollar amount gets over $100 million? They don't realize that they may have the perfect intention of staying the same person if they won the money, what they don't realize is the people around them changing. Their perception of you changes and pretty soon you have no friends and you end up changing because of it. To me that doesn't sound like a process filled with joy. It sounds pretty sorrowful.

Lord I thank You that when You make someone rich You don't add sorrow to it. We can truly enjoy what You give to us because we are going to use it appropriately for Your purposes to be fulfilled here on earth. I thank You that You are making me more rich and that I can be joyful about that. Amen.

Published by Erik L. Vakula
Daily Bread From the Word
Copyright © 2009 Erik Vakula, All Rights Reserved