True Wealth
“A devout life does bring wealth, but it’s the rich simplicity of being yourself before God. Since we entered the world penniless and will leave it penniless, if we have bread on the table and shoes on our feet, that’s enough.” (1 Timothy 6:6-8 MSG)
I know few people who have not battled with financial insecurities. Most of our insecurities have been driven by a perceived simple remedy, which is the need for more money. Why is this? It is because we perceive that our financial needs are greater than our pocketbook. I believe there is another truth that needs to be considered. The real truth is that most of our financial insecurity is because our material appetite is bigger than our pocketbook, and this creates that feeling of insufficiency. My question to any of you struggling with this condition is if you feel the gnawing feeling you carry with the fear of not having enough to meet your obligations worth it? Is wasting your life with worry and fretting over how you are going to pay your creditors because you’ve used your good credit to buy more things that will wear out or break going to give you a better life? Really? I think there is a better way. In fact, I know it from personal experience.
I suppose there is a study out there with how certain “suddenly rich” people do with getting a bunch of cash dropped on them? I’ve seen a few studies on lottery winners, and for those who are able to handle the sudden wealth and it be positive for them, they continue life as if the new wealth didn’t matter, but they are few. They keep their same jobs and same spending habits. But for the others this sudden wealth leads many to a broken life, or broken lives, for they thought it would buy them happiness.
I saw some news that many Americans will be buying into a lottery dream this week, which is to win the $1.3 billion Powerball jackpot. The odds of winning that jackpot are 1 in 292 million. That is why the lottery is called a “stupidity tax,” for the odds are so great against a win. However, it rakes in massive amounts of money from hopeful ticket buyers, and that is why they do it. Worst are the odds with what happens to the winner, if one should win. The odds are great that this sudden wealth would lead to some kind of tragedy, and ruined life. Why is this? It is because of the truth that true wealth is not found in money. True happiness is not found in money. True significance and security is not found in money. The truth is all of these things are found only in one place, which is living within God’s provisions, God’s protection, which is God’s grace. God told Paul in 2 Corinthians 12:9, “My grace is sufficient for you..” When God told Paul this, and when He says this to you and me as well, there is no greater provision that can top it. God’s grace is the best heaven and earth can offer us. But to accept His grace as sufficient, and to enjoy it, and to profit from it, we must be content with it.
Do we settle for less, by being content with God’s grace? Likely we will, for we will have a lot of unnecessary clutter removed. But what will remain will lead to freedom and joy, and contentment. Isn’t that better?
Contentment was a foreign concept to me, for many years of my life. In fact, I saw it as underachieving, laziness, and compromise more than what it really was, which was the deep-down desire of my heart. I think most guys like me who grew up without wealth or privilege or opportunities that were inherited, have an inner drive that pushes us to get ahead. We measure our self and others by affluence, position, power and prestige. There is one common denominator that flows through all of these measurements, which is financial wealth. Therefore, little wonder that we grow up driven by the perceived need for wealth as a means to get ahead. But for those who get this wealth, we have found it less satisfying than what we thought it would be, and when we look back in life and see the cost extracted to get it, we see that it wasn’t worth it. There is a better way, and it is a way that never leads to regrets.
As I’ve looked at life and processed the drive that shackled me with debt and worries during dismal periods of my life, I see a man who was hungry for more material things than I needed, and disappointed when I began to make far greater income than my families before me. Although I earned greater income and accumulated more things than they ever came close to, they had something that was missing with me. They had less, but seemed to have more. They had no debt to pay back or pay off, and no worries about the next day, and where their provisions would come. They had a whole lot of joy that I didn’t have. They had a solid faith in God’s incredible provisions, and His faithfulness. They were content to live with the sufficiency of God’s grace. It was enough. In fact, not only was it enough, it was more than enough. To them it was excessive. I’ve heard it said by people such as this. “We are not in any need. But we are dependent on God.” This is the attitude of a truly wealthy person. This was the attitude that taught me where true wealth is found.
My words of wisdom to any of you who will listen is to not buy into the false promises that the world will give you to find what you are deep down longing for. Those promises are like the lottery, but the odds are even worse. Instead begin to simplify and minimize your life requirements. Work to get out of personal debt, and stay out. Dedicate your life and material wealth to God, and watch what happens. He will bless you far greater than you can ever bless yourself, and you will find that which is missing. You will find the contentment that comes from true riches, which is found from feasting from God’s hand. Not in any need, but always dependent.