Do you want to earn more money than what you can spend? Do you want
to have the latest gadgets, cars, big mansions, and lots of properties?
How about travel around the world and go to every tourist destination?
Do you want never to worry about where you will find your next meal, the
clothes you wear, or the shelter to live?
Well, I guess all of these are what the rich people have. No wonder
many of us want to get rich. We want to experience all the best things
this life could offer through the power of money. However, many people
go down to their graves poor.
Do you know what the Bible say about the best way to get rich? You can even get rich instantly
right now
if you know the answer to this question. It sounds so good to be true,
right? But what if I can tell you that this is possible. Do you want to
know the answer? If yes, then continue reading.
The best and quickest way to get rich
Read this verse carefully:
“Now godliness with CONTENTMENT is great gain. For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. And having food and clothing, with these we shall be content. But
those who desire to be rich fall into temptation and a snare,
and into many foolish and harmful lusts which drown men in destruction
and perdition. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil,
for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and
pierced themselves through with many sorrows” (I Timothy 6:6-10).
According to the Bible, the best and quickest way to get rich is to be
content!
The richest men on earth are not the ones who are in the top 10 list of
Forbes Magazine. The richest men in the world are not the top CEOs of
multi-national companies. The richest men are not the ones you see in
many wealth and success magazines. They are actually the people who are
contented with their lives.
In the eyes of this world, your wealth is based on the money and
possession that you have. In the eyes of God, material possessions are
basically nothing. True wealth is not about having all the money in the
world. It is actually how much you have followed the will of God and
fulfilled His purpose for your life.
The greedy trap
Greediness is among the greatest sins. It is about
GETTING rather than giving. It is all about the
self and not others.
When I was a fresh graduate, I was happy with my small salary. Then I
get a raise within just a few months. My work is output base – meaning I
earn more if I work more. So I work more hours just to make more to the
point that I neglected my health and social life. The more I earn, the
more urge I have to work harder. It seems that I can’t get enough
knowing that I can still get more. This mentally has plagued my mind
until I decided to stop pursuing money.
I forget:
I live not to work, but I work to live.
In the process of wanting to earn more, I have sacrificed a lot of the
things that really make me happy. Though I have more money, at the end, I
realize,
I lost more things than what I have gained.
There is wisdom to what Paul has said. Those who desire to be rich
will fall into various temptations and will eventually lose their focus
to the things that matter most. Jesus said:
“For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?” (Mark 8:36)
If your primary goal in this life is to get rich, then you are missing the whole point of living. You are wasting so much of your time and energy in getting rich that you will inevitably just end up empty and dissatisfied.
There is a spiritual void in our hearts that material wealth will
never
be able to fill. We tend to be so busy that we forget how to live this
life. If only all people get wealthy, they will soon discover that money
is not everything.
There are a lot of rich individuals who are depressed, divorced,
isolated, and even die of drug abuse. Is this really the path that you
wanted to take?
True contentment
We need to note that Paul said, “
GODLINESS with contentment”. We need to realize that our
contentment must be coupled with godliness.
Godly contentment is about doing our best while letting God take care
of the rest. This type of contentment means that we don’t just lie
around in our bed all day because we are “contented” with our lives. No,
it doesn’t say.
There are a lot of godly and biblical principles that we can read
from the Bible about accumulating wealth. In fact, we see some servants
of God who are rich. One good example is Abraham, who was considered to
be a mighty prince and a very wealthy man (Genesis 13:2).
God is not against getting rich and doing your best to have a better
standard of living. God is not against doing our best to prepare for the
rainy days of our lives. The whole point of this verse is about
setting our RIGHT priorities in life. If you put more importance on pursuing wealth rather than the will of God, then we are not following this verse.
As long as you live and you follow God’s instructions and
commandments, He will never leave you nor forsake you. He will take care
all of your needs and even the desires of your hearts. This is what
godly contentment really means:
It is having the confidence that God is the greatest source of your blessings.
How will contentment make you rich?
Maybe you are disappointed that your definition of being rich is not
really how the Bible defines it. Perhaps, you are still dreaming of all
the benefits of having a lot of money. This is only natural. However,
to be truly rich, you need to be contented first.
No amount of money in this world can satisfy the greediness of human
nature. When you finally get “enough” money, you suddenly feel that it
is not enough. We will never get to the point that we have enough. This
is why I always marvel at our politicians here in the Philippines who
are already rich and yet they still choose to steal money from the
people. Why would they steal money when they already are wealthy? The
answer is greed.
If you are content with your life, you will instantly become rich –
richer than all the greedy wealthy people on earth. For individuals who
are contented with their lives, they have “enough”. They are rich not
because they have plenty of money, but because they have placed their
trust in God.
The Bible tells us:
“Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: FOR WHERE YOUR TREASURE IS, THERE WILL YOUR HEART BE ALSO” (Matthew 6:19).
If there’s a type of wealth that will never be taken from us, it will
be the spiritual wealth we have accumulated in heaven. Christians who
are rich in God are richer than the richest man on earth. Those people
who put their trusts in their material wealth are
only rich during this lifetime. When they die, they will not be able to bring with them all their money. But for Christians,
they will be both rich today and rich in the life to come.
Closing remarks
All the material wealth on this earth will pass away. Thus, we are
urged to “not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which
are not seen.
For the things which are seen are TEMPORARY but the things which are not seen are ETERNAL” (II Corinthians 4:16-18).
As Christians, Jesus Christ revealed what our top priority in our lives should be:
“But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and ALL these things shall be added unto you” (Matthew 6:33).
Our reward can come as physical blessings during this lifetime.
Nevertheless, on top of that, we will have an eternal reward when Christ
will finally return and establish His Kingdom here on earth.
This reward is GREATER than all the physical wealth combined.
Now, I don’t know what you call that, but for me, that is true
richness! If you have this hope, you will surely have the blessed and
godly contentment in your heart. When you have this, you will inevitably
become one of the richest men on earth!
