Bible Reading: Psalm 49; Revelation 7:1-8
“Be not thou afraid when one is made rich, when the glory of his house is increased, for when he dieth he shall carry nothing away: his glory shall not descend after him” – Psalm 49:16-17 (KJV).
Lasting and true riches cannot be quantified in terms of Naira, Dollar, Pounds or Euro. There is more to wealth and true riches than appeals to the eyes. People often measure riches by ones bank account or asset on earth. People are despised and look down on if they do not have so much of this world’s riches. This is one of the reasons why people can sacrifice their principles and integrity just to acquire wealth. Some people can kill and trample on others just to make money. There is so much competition, unhealthy comparison and fraud because of wrong values.
The society we live in value money above character, because of this, there is so much craze to acquire wealth by cutting corners and by all means. All these are results of wrong values and erroneous understanding of true riches and wrong yardstick for measuring wealth. People lay treasures on earth and do not show concern or give thought to life after here. Any wealth that will not follow one beyond the grave cannot be quantified as true riches. If all one has can be monetized, such a one is very poor. The most important things of life cannot be bought with money.
True riches concern those things that money cannot buy. True riches transcend death. True riches are not temporal, they have eternal values. True riches have to do with how rich one is towards God. It is about joy, peace, hope and faith in God. True riches are eternal treasures. It is the spirit of God in the life of a person; it is the eternal investment of God in ones life. It is the depth of ones relationship and fellowship with God; it is the stake one has in the kingdom.
If you are not born again, you are not truly rich. Yes, one may have money and great assets here on earth but no place in heaven not to talk of assets in eternity. One can and should have both temporal and eternal riches but it is better to be poor in material and temporal things than to be poor in spiritual and eternal things.
PRAYER: Dear Lord, give me true riches in Jesus name.
Rev. Vincent Diolu