I Have Met the Wealthy and He Is Us

178 - Today's Prime Time Devo comes from 1Ti 6:17 Command those who are rich in this present age not to be haughty, nor to trust in uncertain riches but in the living God, who gives us richly all things to enjoy. 18 Let them do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to give, willing to share, 19 storing up for themselves a good foundation for the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life. It was just a few verses back that Paul was addressing the matter of wealth and now he returns to it, but this time it is in an entirely different vein, and the difference is very important for us. A couple of verses back, Paul was talking about those who are driven to be rich and run the risk of shipwrecking their faith as their love of mammon replaces their love of God! “The LOVE of money is the root of all evil!” But what about those people who are wealthy simply because God has blessed them? What about those who are well off because they followed good biblical stewardship? What about those who come into an inheritance, or any other kind of windfall? This is good that Paul brings this matter up because he gives great guidelines for those who are wealthy in this present age! And guess what? That would be you and I, and so many others that have been blessed to live in the affluent U.S. of A! Notice a guideline that is missing? It's that one that Jesus gave to the rich young ruler in Mt 19:21, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me." It's missing, because it's not necessary. Jesus used that extreme instruction for the rich young ruler because the rich young ruler foolishly thought he could obey his way into heaven. So take heart wealthy person. There is no need to give everything away. No need to take a vow of poverty! However, there are some things that the wealthy are commanded to do. We'll look at some of these things in the days ahead!