Being Rich Towards God

UV 2915/10000 Being Rich Towards God
So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God
Luke 12 v 21

This uni-verse expounds on Jesus’s view of what is true and lasting riches. It is said that what can be counted does not often count and what cannot be counted counts a lot. But the world with its emphasis on metrics and the measurable, the physical and the tangible, the experiential and the visible, tends to make us count what does not count- the treasure that decays, can be stolen, forged, robbed, destroyed, buried, lost. People get stressed out and burnt out working for worldly wealth, once they have it, they get stressed out, insecure and worried if someone will take it away from them. Such wealth is deceitful as it gives us a false sense of well being and it can easily evaporate over time, sometimes even overnight if the rich man’s life is called back by the Lord. Instead, the uni-verse urges us to to be rich in faith toward God. There is nothing wrong and everything is right with accumulating such spiritual wealth. Such wealth of faith will widen the eye of the needle so that we have easy and continual access to the Lord God. A person who focuses on amassing such spiritual wealth is truly wise. He is laying a sure foundation for his eternity where nothing can be taken away or robbed or destroyed or degraded.

This is the kind of wealth that if we have it, we will be given even more and if we do not have it, the little we have will be taken away. The more we give away of this wealth, the more we have. Our blessings are multiplied even as we give away the true spiritual riches the Lord has invested in and with us. This is treasure that will enable us to live and die victoriously. The more we use this treasure instead of hoarding it up, the more it grows. The more we learn and obey the commands and precepts of the Lord, the richer we are, the more we learn, trust and claim the promises of the Lord, the more rich we become, the more we follow the models and good examples of faith in the Bible, the richer we are. When we accumulate worldly riches, people say we have riches but when when we accumulate spiritual riches, we are rich. We are to increase in our fear or reverence for the Lord and His commands. We should focus on developing an equal passion for God and the things of God even as He has given all things into our hands in the person of Jesus. When the Lord sees us, we will no longer be like the prodigal son who wore tattered clothes, had no footwear, nothing to sustain him for the day, who lived in the misery of sin and self destructive tendencies. We will continually seek His forgiveness and He like the father of the prodigal son will give us the best from his wardrobe, the best shoes, the signet ring of authority of his household, the sceptre of a ruler, the glittering everlasting crown of salvation that will not weigh heavily on our heads.
Being rich towards God is being faithful and always living and moving in an attitude of worship and gratitude. When we are rich towards the Lord, we know that nothing is impossible. There is nothing that the Lord cannot do to fulfil His purpose in our lives. When we are rich towards the Lord, we will have the attitude of Abel and not that of Cain. Our hearts will be the altar on which we are constantly sacrificing our own egos, our own selfish pleasure to obtain a greater good in the kingdom of the eternal. The more we store of the riches of God of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, humility and self control, the more we store of His precious wisdom and of His word, the more our hearts expand like a treasury that keeps extending its walls to hold more and more treasure. This incidentally is the only kind of treasure that we can carry with us beyond the grave and also leave behind as a blessing for the succeeding generations. The question we need to ask ourselves and answer is : are we laying up enough treasure for ourselves for eternity every day or are we postponing or ignoring it?

Prateep V Philip