The First Three Commandments For the Rich

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. We must not deny this, we are the rich! And as the rich, the Holy Spirit speaking through the Apostle Paul gives us some commands. Number One: Thou shalt not be haughty. Don't think you are better than others simply because you possess a lot of things. Your soul is no more valuable or less valuable based on what you possess. Number 2: Thou shalt not trust in uncertain riches! The word “trust” here means expect. Don't expect that your bottom line is always going to be there. The Great Depression taught that to our forefathers, and we have yet to learn that lesson to the degree that they did. Jas 4:13,14 puts it this way: “ Come now, you who say, "Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, spend a year there, buy and sell, and make a profit"; 14 whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away. “ Number Three: Thou shalt trust in the living God! Or as James puts it in James 3:15, “Instead you ought to say, "If the Lord wills, we shall live and do this or that." Trusting in the living God rather than temporary riches is to expect Him to be true to His Word. And don't forget, He and His Word are eternal, but riches are temporary. You can't take them with you, and one day they will all be destroyed by fire. 2Pe 3:10,11 says, “ But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up. Thou shalt trust in the living God! In other words, “seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things (all that you need) shall be added unto you”