Merriam-Webster defines wealth as the abundance of material possessions or resources. Society perceives the accumulation of wealth as the means to establishing security and wellbeing.
With such a temporal perspective, it is not surprising that so many people pursue material wealth with the belief that it will bring them happiness. It is no wonder then, that when individuals fail to achieve material abundance or when their prosperity fails to deliver satisfaction, disappointment is the result.
Then, in their brokenness, some (not all) cry out to God and seek His help. Often, it isn’t until people are at the end of their proverbial rope that they discover the humility to reach out because they can no longer rely upon their own strength to rise above the waters that threated to submerge them. Scripture tells us that “The Lord is close to the broken hearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.” (Psalm 34:18).
Jesus once said, “Come to Me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” (Matthew 11:28-30).
In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus began with what are known as “The Beatitudes.” Beatitude is defined as “supreme blessedness,” and the verses at the beginning of the fifth chapter of Matthew’s gospel convey the heartfelt mercy of God towards the spiritually broken.
“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of God. Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God. Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you. (Matthew 5:3-12). Today we can add the way they treated Christ and the apostles, as well as the Christian martyrs throughout church history.
The poor in spirit are humble in spirit and they recognize their need for God’s mercy. Physical wealth deceives people into believing they are self sufficient and self made. When all one’s physical needs are met daily there is no need to cry out to God to satisfy the burning in one’s belly, since there is an abundance of food, drink, comfort and even entertainment to satiate their appetite.
Warnings From Scripture
In Matthew 6:19-21, Jesus warns, “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
Money or wealth can replace God in the life of an undiscerning and materialistic person. Jesus said, “No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.” (Matthew 6:24). Additionally, in Matthew 19:24, Jesus taught that it is harder for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven than for a camel to go through the eye of a needle.
The apostle Paul wrote in 1 Timothy 6:10, “For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.” He recognized that throughout cultures, societies and time, the pursuit of material security is a false hope.
The wisdom of Christ on this matter echoes through the millennia as the gospel of Mark concisely articulates, “What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul?” (Mark 8:36-37). Similarly, in Luke 12:15, we read, “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.”
Yet the message being preached today from many pulpits is diametrically opposed to the teachings of Christ and the apostles. The scriptures are being twisted to imply physical wealth when spiritual wealth was the intended comprehension. John 10:10 is often misapplied by prosperity preachers to promote that an abundance of material blessings await those who trust in Jesus. However, the real abundance intended by Jesus is heavenly abundance since the life He provides is eternal life.
The apostle Paul puts this into perspective in his second letter to the church at Corinth. “Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things, in all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.
As it is written: ‘He has scattered abroad His gifts to the poor; His righteousness endures forever.’” (2 Corinthians 9:6-9). In other words, when we give generously to the work of the Lord, our actions and gifts are perceived as righteous works by God. In verse ten Paul goes on to say, “Now He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness.”
The good works we do result in a harvest of righteousness. There is no mention of material gain, just spiritual gain. He also says we will have all we need. He doesn’t say we will have more than we need. However, some prosperity preachers incorrectly interpret these verses as receiving material wealth.
Another passage of scripture often taken out of context is the parable of the sower, recorded in Matthew 13. Verse 23 is often misinterpreted to mean financial gain when it is clearly speaking of spiritual value. “But the one who received the seed that fell on good soil is the man who hears the word and understands it. He produces a crop yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.”
In much the same context, Jesus says in Mark 10:29-30, “I tell you the truth, no one who has left home or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields for me and the gospel will fail to receive a hundred time as much in this present age (homes, brothers, sisters, mothers, children and fields – and with them, persecutions) and in the age to come, eternal life.” Church missionaries are a case in point as they integrate into the dwellings and families of the communities they serve and are heirs with Christ in His eternal kingdom.
Permanent Contentment
The writer of Hebrews advises in chapter thirteen verse five, “Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, ‘Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.’” Here we can see the contrast between the sin of coveting and the fruit of the Spirit expressed through contentment. True contentment only comes from the Lord and those who thirst for money will always want more.
When Jesus told the woman at the well, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” (John 4:14), He implied that He will never leave or forsake those who follow Him. Those who drink from His cup will never crave for more.
Revelation 3:14-22 contains a warning to the church at Laodicea that serves as a precedent that many Christians ought to take to heart today. Those who preach whatever their congregants’ itching ears want to hear simply must take heed from the words Jesus uses in His rebuke.
“You say, ‘I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.’ But you are wretched, pitiful, poor and naked. I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire, so you can become rich; and white clothes to wear, so you can cover your shameful nakedness; and salve to put on your eyes, so you can see.” (Revelation 3:17-18). Their material abundance translated into spiritual poverty.
True happiness cannot be derived from superfluous accumulations of material wealth that only serves as a temporary and false hope. Supreme blessedness encompasses body, soul and spirit in a meaningful, effectual and enduring way that produces genuine security. Bona fide affluence can only be found in the eternal and immeasurable mercy of God’s salvation through Jesus Christ. By coming to terms with this reality we can experience genuine peace that transcends all human understanding (Philippians 4:7).
