I’M SAVED, NOW WHAT? (part-45)

I’M SAVED, NOW WHAT?

WEALTHY PEOPLE (continued)

Whenever a wealthy person has excluded God from his life
and failed to make a profession of faith, all of his wealth will
disappear while he is spending eternity separated from the
Lord.
    Your wealth has rotted, and
    moths have eaten your clothes. (James 5:2)

Of course the wealth of a believer will also be left behind at death,
but he understands how he was able to achieve his wealth, and
more than likely has tried to be a good steward of what the Lord
has provided. To understand the dangers of putting our faith in
wealth and possessions, we need to see what Jesus says about it.
    Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth,
    where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves
    break in and steal. (Matthew 6:19)

One thing I have noticed in the work force – those with lower
salaries are the biggest contributors whenever there is a need.
The reason may be that those with higher salaries have strained
their budget through overspending in their attempt to achieve a
desired social status. As a result, they have sizeable debts but are
too proud to downsize, which would allow them to be better
stewards of their money.

Chances are the higher salaried employees are also less likely
to tithe as the Lord has commanded. Why? Because they
could be deeply in debt, or they could have a desire to buy
more ‘stuff’ to increase their social status.

Incidentally, the Lord does not need our tithes….at all. So, why
would He tell us that we should tithe? For one thing it is an act
of obedience. It gives us an opportunity to say to ourselves,
    “God doesn’t need my tithe, but He
      has asked me to tithe, so I will obey Him”.
It is also an acknowledgement that we truly believe He exists
and we want to be in a good relationship with Him.

We express our faith in God when we tithe. Tithing is an expression
of faith that God will provide for our needs. Lastly, we tithe in order
to receive His blessings. God blesses those who express their faith in
Him through active obedience.

James continues his message about the error of focusing on
wealth, instead of the Lord and His plans for a person’s life.
    Your gold and silver are corroded. Their
    corrosion will testify against you and eat
    your flesh like fire. You have hoarded
    wealth in the last days. (James 5:3)

Since gold is non-corrosive, what point is James trying to make
when he says it is corroded? Apparently he is emphasizing that
no earthly treasure is lasting and secure; we leave it all behind
at death’s door. Even prior to death, some had hoarded so much
that some of it is going to waste. When he says,
    ‘their corrosion will testify against
    you and eat your flesh like fire’
it appears he is giving us a warning that our greed will result in
our own destruction.

Since the New Testament considers the period between Christ’s
first and second comings as ‘the last days’, James says that some
of the rich will hoard their wealth right up until the day He returns.
Instead of spending time serving the Lord, they are devoting their
time and energy on greedily attaining more material things for
themselves.

Some of the wealthy keep everything for themselves and depend on
wealth for their security. They have failed to develop a relationship
with the Lord and as a result, have lost out on enjoying the blessings
received from using their wealth to benefit others.

Using wealth to benefit others isn’t restricted to helping the poor.
There are opportunities to help those dedicated to serving God
who have needs in order to obey His call. For instance, God may
inspire someone to start a small church and they want to obey,
but just do not have the financial resources to make it happen.
Imagine how rewarding it would be for a wealthy person when
he or she provides the funds to help get the church started.

‘Giving’ is so much more rewarding than ‘receiving’. When we
receive gifts, sometimes we can feel a self-imposed pressure to
think of how we can adequately show our appreciation. However,
when we give, we do not have the pressure of showing appreciation.
We can just enjoy the good feeling of knowing that we have brought
happiness into the life of someone else.

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