Do NOT Lean On Wealth!

Psalm 100:3 says

"Know that the LORD is God.

It is he who made us, and we are his;

we are his people, the sheep of his pasture."

God made us and because of that he knows us more than we know ourselves. God knows the heart of man. He knows what we can handle and what we can't. His law is for our preservation. We should therefore embrace it.

Isaiah 2:7-9 says

⁷ Their land is full of silver and gold;

there is no end to their treasures.

Their land is full of horses;

there is no end to their chariots.

⁸ Their land is full of idols;

they bow down to the work of their hands,

to what their fingers have made.

⁹ So man will be brought low

and mankind humbled—

do not forgive them.

These were a blessed people. They had food to eat, great wealth amassed and kept but it was all to their destruction. Anyone to whom wealth is entrusted by God, must first understand the reason for this wealth. The wealth of the wicked will not be given to those who do not know its purpose. Nor will it be given to those who just want to hoard it and say "See how good God has been to me." The wealth of the wicked will only be given to those who will favor the righteous cause of the Lord. Therefore renew your mind where this matter is concerned. That God may entrust you, first with true riches of the Kingdom and then secondly with material wealth.

In the passage above we see a group of people who were blessed of the Lord. However, they did not understand that wealth in the hands of the righteous was to fulfill the cause of Jehovah. As such they amassed for themselves great wealth and their hearts were turned away from God to this wealth. They began to worship it and to bow down to the work of their hands. There is real danger of the heart turning away from God to wealth, if you amass it for yourself!!

In the book of Deuteronomy 17: 14 - 20 we find Moses giving Israel instructions on what to do when they get to their promised land. The land of their destiny. He instructs the King thus:

¹⁶ "The king, moreover, must not acquire great numbers of horses for himself or make the people return to Egypt to get more of them, for the LORD has told you, "You are not to go back that way again." ¹⁷ He must not take many wives, or his heart will be led astray. He must not accumulate large amounts of silver and gold."

Why does God say this? Because he understands the power of great amounts of wealth to turn the heart of man from God. Does this mean that we should be poor? Not at all!! God himself delights in the prosperity of his saints! He wants to put vast amounts of money into our hands not just so our bank accounts can read in the Gazillions, but so that we can feed the hungry, clothe the naked, educate children, help the widow and the orphan. It is so that we can be his channel to reach the unreached and to demonstrate his love and care for humanity on the earth.

Look at what a King was to do to safeguard his heart and the reign of his generations:

¹⁸ "When he takes the throne of his kingdom, he is to write for himself on a scroll a copy of this law, taken from that of the priests, who are Levites. ¹⁹ It is to be with him, and he is to read it all the days of his life so that he may learn to revere the LORD his God and follow carefully all the words of this law and these decrees ²⁰ and not consider himself better than his brothers and turn from the law to the right or to the left. Then he and his descendants will reign a long time over his kingdom in Israel."

The King was to handwrite for himself on a scroll the whole law of God. That ensured that he read it word for word and internalized it. Psychologists have proven that there is a connection between reading something and then writing it down and how well the brain absorbs and remembers it. Then he is to keep the scroll with him and read it daily all the days of his life!!! This is the way to preserve your soul when the wealth of the wicked comes into your hands. Read the word of God day in and day out. Make notes. Internalize the word. Let it go deep into your spirit and deep into the chore of your heart. Then you will revere the Lord your God and will follow his laws in humility not thinking yourself better than your brothers.

On day one of this wonderful month of September I have understood that:

1. It endangers my soul to hoard for myself great wealth and not use it for the Kingdom of God.
2. That this word of God must be my protection. I must read it and meditate on it especially when I walk in the kind of money God has ordained for me, that my soul may be preserved.

I leave you with this very sobering thought found in Isaiah 1:31:

That if you insist on hoarding and are led astray to worship wealth and the work of your hands

"The mighty man will become tinder

and his work a spark;

both will burn together,

with no one to quench the fire."