PART 11 I AM AN OVERCOMER
11
Being Rich Toward God
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Have you ever had an aspiration to want to be rich?
You can buy whatever you want when you want. You can go wherever you want to go when you want to go. Having financial stability can be a comfort. Unfortunately, for some, this becomes their life’s ambition. How we get there and what someone has to do to achieve success could involve compromising family, morals, and even our faith. There’s nothing wrong with working hard, being honest in your business dealings with others, and reaping the world’s benefits. However, we should take notice when no one or nothing else matters in this endeavor. The following word expresses this sentiment.
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Covetousness
inordinately or wrongly desirous of wealth or possessions; greedy.69
Another way to define this word is to say that it’s an unquenchable thirst for more and more of something we think we need to be satisfied. It may be a thirst for money or the things money can buy, or even a thirst for position and power. Jesus clarified that true life does not depend on an abundance of possessions.70 What it does depend on is a different kind of riches.
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What does it mean to be rich toward God?
Being rich toward God means learning about what Christ thinks and appropriate it for ourselves.
Philippians 2:5 Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:
The word let mind be in Koine Greek is a verb in the imperative mood. This indicates how the action of the verb is conceived concerning reality, whether it can be actual or possible. The Apostle Paul commanded the Philippians believers to let Christ’s mind (how Jesus Christ thought about things is the way you should think about them71) be in them.
As we become occupied with God’s Word in all aspects of life: outward circumstances, memories, carnal desires, interactions with others, demonic influences, etc., anxieties, fears, judging others, jealousy, depression, addictions, murmuring, anger, preoccupation with the details of life, covetousness, sexual lusts, slander, selfishness, pride and insecurity won’t remain in control.
John 8:32 And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.
Over time, this verse will become a gradual reality in our lives. The truth of God’s Word will make us free from the dominance of the sinful nature to operate in the fruit of the Spirit. And whether we’re rich or poor, we’ll be operating in something most precious, divine contentment.
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What is divine contentment?
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1 Timothy 6:6 But godliness with contentment is great gain.? ? ? ? ? ? ?? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?
Godliness (the real and true religion, Christianity in the heart) with contentment (the life of God in the soul; inner God-given sufficiency that keeps us at peace; to maintain a spiritual equilibrium amid both favorable circumstances and those which are adverse) is a means of great gain (the real riches which we ought to seek, is religion, with a contented mind).72 Put another way, here’s what the Pulpit Commentary says about wealth. The godly man is rich indeed. For he wants nothing in this world but what God has given him, and has acquired riches which, unlike the riches of this world, he can take away with him.73
However, when our lives are focused on the wrong kinds of riches and temporal security over eternal life, then our lives will be characterized like the story before us.
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Suggested Reading: Luke 12:16-23
Jesus was speaking before his disciples, along with a large number of people. One of those in the crowd asked Him to speak to his brother about dividing his family inheritance with him. Jesus responded by speaking a parable about a rich man whose life was centered on personal profit obtained from agricultural produce.
This man’s harvest was so plentiful that he didn’t have enough barns to store all of it. He didn’t express any recognition or thanks to God for this blessing, nor was there any attempt to ask Him for direction as to what to do with the overflow. He decided to build more barns so that his future stability on earth was set. As for eternity, this had no place in his thinking.
Luke 12:20-21 But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided? So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.
Unfortunately, his time had come suddenly. At death, his soul would pass on, and all that he worked for would be given to someone else. Life isn’t about whether we have material wealth or not. It’s whether we’ve repented of our sins and believed in Jesus as to who He is and what He’s accomplished, which serves not only as the basis for our eternal destiny but our opportunity on how to become rich in Christ in time through the Word of God and the ministry of the Holy Spirit.
With that said, here are some verses about the kinds of riches we should seek during our brief time on the earth.
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Colossians 3:2 Set your affection (mind; keep on thinking about) on things above (heavenly realities and values; on the eternal), not on things on the earth (things that perish; these things should not be our aim, goal, or master).
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Hebrews 13:5a Let your conversation (disposition of the heart) be without covetousness (monetary greed; love of money), and be content (satisfied) with such things as ye have (with what God has given us):...
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1 Timothy 6:17-18 Charge them that are rich (those who possess wealth) in this world, that they be not highminded (not to regard oneself as being better than others), nor trust in uncertain riches (abundance of material things that are easily [lost or,] will easily disappear74), but in the living God, who giveth us richly all things to enjoy; That they do good (do well), that they be rich in good works (honorable works; rich in the faith which produces them), ready to distribute (to give nothing through partiality or favor, but be guided in their distribution by the necessities of the objects presented to them; and that they confine not their charity at home, but scatter it abroad75), willing to communicate (to be involved themselves in various concerns of the Christian community76; as implying a personal share in the pleasure imparted by the gift77)
What we’ll become aware of next is learning to recognize how God wants to order our lives so that we can easily identify when the instructions of church leadership aren’t lined up with such.
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Endnotes
70The Bible Exposition Commentary, 1989, 28 Nov. 2008
71Greek-English Lexicon.
72Barnes’ Notes.
73The Pulpit Commentary.
74UBS New Testament Handbook Series.? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?
75Adam Clarke’s Commentary.
76UBS New Testament.
77Vincent’s New Testament Word Studies.
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