True wealth
Esther 1:4: “And he showed the riches of his
glorious kingdom and the honor of his excellent majesty many days, a hundred
and eighty days. “
This was during the time of king Ahasveros
of the Persian kingdom. He ruled 127 provinces, spanning from India up to
Ethiopia. The strong city of his throne
was Susan. The king decided, in the third year of his reign, to have a banquet
for all his highly placed officials and officers. For a period of 180 days,
during this banquet, he displayed the beauty and lustre and magnitude of his
riches and kingdom to all. Following this a great festival was held that lasted
for seven days.
Although this story may be regarded as less
significant, it is in fact of great significance to those of us who dearly love
and honour God. It warns us against what may happen when our possessions and
riches become all important to us. How we are transformed to a point where
nothing else matters to us. We become trapped in a spiral where we just desire
more and more, eventually arriving at a place where we are prepared to do anything
to get even more. We lose sight of all the true riches in our lives like our
children, our marriage and our relationship with God. We need to ponder the
question, “what gives us, as children of God true happiness?” Which principals
are important to God, and which are important to man? God requires us to honour Him with all we
have, and this includes all our possessions too.
Do we always strive to have more? Do we have
the tendency and desire to improve all the time, always a bigger house, always
a more luxurious car? Even the drive within yourself and your heart to earn
more and more money, to have a higher position, to be more important, is in fact against the principles of God’s
Kingdom. These things are important to man and is part and parcel of the sinful
world we live in.
This might not make sense but when you really think about it, you never
gain happiness from your possessions, no matter how much you have. God knew
that our lives would be destroyed by these wants. That is why it forms part of
the Ten Commandments. Exodus
20:17: “You shall not
covet your neighbor's house. You shall not covet your neighbor's wife, nor his
man servant, nor his maid servant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything
that is your neighbor's.” God knows the heart and mind and knows that these things lead to man’s
destruction. He warns that when you are
not satisfied with what you have, you will end up wanting for someone else’s
passions of even their spouse. Do you see where your desires will lead you?
Let’s have a look at Jesus’ actions when, after 40 days in the desert,
Satan tempted Him. Keep in mind what condition Jesus was finding Himself in
after 40 days under the blazing sun. He was tired, hungry and thirsty after
being without food or water for 40 days. If you think about it, He would have
appreciated a silver platter of food.
No, He remained obedient to God and did not give in to temptation. I
want to focus on one specific temptation relating to the subject we are
discussing.
Matthew 4:8-10: ” Again, the
Devil took Him up into a very high mountain and showed Him all the kingdoms of
the world and their glory."
And he
said to Him, All these things I will give You, if You will fall down and
worship me.
Then Jesus said to him, Go, Satan! For it is
written, "You shall worship the
Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve."
Jesus
did not want to be rich, to be king or to own all the kingdoms in the world. He
chose to be true to God and to serve, honor and love Him. God knows, in His heart that all these
things bring only unhappiness. He also says in His Word; Mat 6:33: “But seek first the kingdom of
God and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added to you.” We all know that Solomon was
one of the richest kings ever. No king after him ever owned so much. Very early in the history of Solomon God
appeared to him and asked what he desired.
Let’s look at His answer in
scripture.
1 Kings 3: 9: “And give to Your servant an
understanding heart, to judge Your people, to discern between good and bad. For
who is able to judge this, Your great people?.” Solomon
requested wisdom as king, not riches, but an understanding heart was more
important to him. As a result of his being humble and only asking for wisdom
God granted him all the other things he did not ask for as well.
1Kings
3:11: “And God said to him, Because you have asked
this thing, and have not asked for yourself long life, and have not asked
riches for yourself, nor have asked the life of your enemies, but have asked
for yourself understanding to judge justly.”
1Kings 3:12: “ behold, I have done according to
your words. I have given you a wise and an understanding heart, so that there
was none like you before you, and after you none shall arise like you.”
1Kings 3:13: “And I also have given you that which
you have not asked, both riches and honor, so that there shall not be any among
the kings like you all your days.”
1Kings 3:14:
“And if you will walk in My ways, to keep My statutes and My
commandments, as your father David walked, then I will lengthen your days.“
In 1 Timothy 6:9 God also warns us; “But
they who will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts
which plunge men into destruction and perdition.”
”This chasing after money and riches in actual fact leads us into
temptation and damnation. Eventually nothing will satisfy us. When we start
falling into this trap we should remind ourselves of 1 Timothy
6:10: “For
the love of money is a root of all evils, of which some having lusted after,
they were seduced from the faith and pierced themselves through with many
sorrows.” Yes, it
may seem harsh, but it is reality.
So how do we train ourselves not to chase after these false riches, but
after the true wealth in God? God
provided an answer in the form of:
1Timothy 6:6-8: “But godliness
with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and
it is clear that we can carry nothing out.
But having food and clothing, we will be content.”
Being content with what you have is God’s
answer. So how do you do that? How do you quench these constant desires that
burn in your heart? It is only possible through God. He is the only one that
can reveal to you that He is everything. He is the one you should be longing
for. In Him you should get your fill when the hunger creeps up on you in the
desert. He is the one who will fill you with a fountain of living water. He is
the one who can heal you. He is the one that truly loves you. He is the one who
can open your eyes to the worldly wants and lusts that are trying to devour
you. He can give you insight and wisdom, to enable you to recognise and fight
against these desires. Do you realize how desperately you need Him? Maybe it is time that you, once again go down
on your knees before your Creator, Father and Lord, to declare your dependence
on Him.
Try making a list, comparing things of the
world giving you happiness to things of God giving you happiness. Ponder over
it; were you really happy when you had lots of money, even more than you
needed? When you had a high ranking job, taking up so much of your time that
you longed for some spare time to be in the arms of your wife, or to run around
the garden with your children? Chasing after a ball with them shouting and
laughing at your heels?
If you go and study your list you will surely find the scale leaning
toward God, and the earthly pleasures on the other side, actually becoming
insignificant. God says in His Word in 1 Corinthians 1:4-5: “I thank my
God always on your behalf for the grace of God given you in Jesus
Christ, that in everything you are enriched by Him, in all speech and in
all knowledge”. If
you have a hunger to grow in faith and the knowledge of God’s Word every day,
you already possess an important part of His Kingdom. Then you have found true
wealth in Him.
By: Marieke Zeevaart
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