The Deceitfulness of Riches
Proverbs 30:8,9; "Remove far from me vanity and lies: give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with food convenient for me: Lest I be full, and deny thee, and say, Who is the LORD? or lest I be poor, and steal, and take the name of my God in vain."
We human beings tend to become so materialistic, that our desire to obtain things can overshadow the relationship we have with our God.
Ecclesiastes 5:13-15; "There is a sore evil which I have seen under the sun, namely, riches kept for the owners thereof to their hurt. But those riches perish by evil travail: and he begetteth a son, and there is nothing in his hand. As he came forth of his mother's womb, naked shall he return to go as he came, and shall take nothing of his labour, which he may carry away in his hand."
When we enter into this world, we bring nothing with us, and when we leave this world, we take nothing with us. Many ancient cultures buried their dead in elaborate tombs with many of their treasures and posessions, believing that the dead could carry them into the after-life. Yet many of these burial sites have been discovered and robbed, plundered, and destroyed.
Job 1:20,21; "Then Job arose, and rent his mantle, and shaved his head, and fell down upon the ground, and worshipped, And said, Naked came I out of my mother's womb, and naked shall I return thither: the LORD gave, and the LORD hath taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD.
Job was a very wealthy man with great posessions, yet the devil came against him to take all that he had. Job lost everything in one day. Yet his attitude towards losing all his wealth, even losing all of his chidren was not of grief, but of worshipping God, and recognizing that everything he had came from the Lord, and that he could take nothing with him when he died.
Psalms 49:17; "For when he dieth he shall carry nothing away: his glory shall not descend after him."
This portion of scripture also helps to confirm that when a person dies they take nothing with them.
1 Timothy 6:6-10; "But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. And having food and raiment let us be therewith content. But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition. For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.
From this portion of scripture we see that great gain does not come from the amount of wealth we obtain, but from "Godliness with contentment." The amount of gratitude we demonstrate will determine our contentment or satisfaction. When we become obsessed with obtaining and acquiring wealth, we give occasion for damaging sin to enter in, causing us to fall away, out of the Lord's will. There is nothing wrong with being wealthy. There are many Godly people that are rich. Its when wealth assumes a greater place in our lives than God that we're in serious trouble.
Hebrews 13:5; "Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee."
God never intended for us to fuss over what we don't have, but to be content with what we do have. We are to be good stewards, or manage well the things that the Lord allows us to have. We will see how none of what we have is actually ours. Everything belongs to God!
Psalms 50:10-12; "For every beast of the forest is mine, and the cattle upon a thousand hills. I know all the fowls of the mountains: and the wild beasts of the field are mine. If I were hungry, I would not tell thee: for the world is mine, and the fullness thereof."
Psalms 24:1; "The earth is the LORD's, and the fullness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein."
Exodus 19:5; "Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine:"
Exodus 34:19; "All that openeth the matrix is mine; and every firstling among thy cattle, whether ox or sheep, that is male."
Numbers 3:13; "Because all the firstborn are mine; for on the day that I smote all the firstborn in the land of Egypt I hallowed unto me all the firstborn in Israel, both man and beast: mine shall they be: I am the LORD."
Haggai 2:8; "The silver is mine, and the gold is mine, saith the LORD of hosts."
Isaiah 43:1; "But now thus saith the LORD that created thee, O Jacob, and he that formed thee, O Israel, Fear not: for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name; thou art mine."
Isaiah 66:1,2; "Thus saith the LORD, The heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool: where is the house that ye build unto me? and where is the place of my rest? For all those things hath mine hand made, and those things have been, saith the LORD: but to this man will I look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at my word."
So it is safe to determine from these verses of Scripture that the earth and everything in it belongs to God. All that we claim to own, our bodies, our income, our children, our animals...all these things belong to the Lord. We tend to be so selfish at times with what we claim is ours. When we begin to understand that what we have is loaned to us while we inhabit this earth, We will better appreciate their true value.
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