The world has made us think that the more you have, the higher you go. So, your status in life is above those who have less. I used to think like that until recently, when I found something in the Bible that opened my mind to think otherwise. James 1.
Before explaining further, I have to get you to Solomon, the youngest son of David in the Old Testament. God said to him, ask for whatever you want me to give you. 2 chronicle 1.
Solomon answered, ‘give me wisdom and knowledge’. God was impressed by his answer and thinking, so He gave him more than he asked for. He got what he wanted, and also became the richest man in the world. But as a human being, when he got more, he ended up wanting more, and that became his problem and downfall. He had too many women, which was totally outside God’s will. In the end, when he acknowledged his mistakes and thought things through in Ecclesiastes, he came to a conclusion, that God and his wisdom was the best answer. You can read the rest of the story yourself. One thing I like about the Bible is; we get stories God wants us to learn from. You get to see their ups and downs, weaknesses and strengths, of which we can relate to.
Going back to my eye opening in James 1, it says that, a person in humble circumstances is in a high position, and it goes on to say the one with world riches is in a lower position. Why did James say this?
When it comes to money, most of us are in humble circumstances, we don’t have too much, therefore we are not consumed by self- indulging. Thus we only have the basic necessities, to meet our needs, e.g. a roof over our heads, daily food, etc.
Those who have lots of money, get too many material possessions, which according to Jesus is unnecessary. This is the issue, when a person gets too much of something they get proud, which is true. And when you’re in that state of mind your position in life becomes relatively weaker. Comparatively, when it comes to marriage and stability, a person needs one true love, and when it comes to friends just a few will do. People with so many possessions worry more. Who is going to get their possessions when they had gone? On the other hand, a person who has little worries less. So, having too much money, is not good. And I say it again; it is not good; that’s why the majority of us don’t have much of it. However, as you know, when you consider another scenario, when someone is too poor to feed themselves, that’s not good either. As those who have too much are in a small minority, so are those who are too poor. So thank God that the majority of us are in the middle, we can manage two meals a day.
But the Bible again explains; if you find yourself with a bit too much, give a lot away to the poor. 2 Tim. 6:17-19. With that attitude you’ll find yourself happier. Jesus the Master of life says, don’t store up a treasure for yourselves which is going to disappear anyway, but have a godly treasure (wisdom and a gift from God) which will never disappear. Matt. 6:19. And we learn from him, a person who has God and Jesus is in a better position than one who hasn’t. And he goes on to say, the love of money is the root of all evil. He right!! Look at us; who in this world has not been messed up by money in one way or the other, not to mention stress, selfishness, and greed, apart from exception circumstances? Jesus knew money was going to be one of our biggest problems. For once we put it in our hearts, it has a way of twisting us in all kinds of directions.
Even though he never had a penny for himself because he was absolutely holy, he was required to pay the temple tax. However, I find it funny and amazing that he used a fish to pay for it. Mathew 17:27
In this secular world as they call it, so much emphasis is placed on saving up for life insurance purposes, which has become not just a scary process but a big business too. But Jesus says, actually make sure you get saved, and don’t worry about life.
And the conclusion is, money becomes meaningless if it is not used properly to meet our needs, and the needs of others.