Giving money to the poor has the potential of keeping them poor. Not understanding that, many well-meaning Christians have inadvertently hurt those whom they’ve wanted to help. I first began to understand this back in the late 1980s, when I had an opportunity to travel inside the Eastern European nation of Romania, taking a trip that gave me an education on the economic “advantages” of communism.

Romania was then suffering under its fifth decade of communism. It was a nation that was crumbling. I saw empty store shelves, food lines, and the dreary faces of people in survival mode.

One of the few happy people whom I met in Romania was an elderly pastor who lived in a weathered little wooden house in a rural village. He was, in fact, bubbling with joy, and he told me that the reason he was so blessed was because he loved God with all his heart, mind, soul and strength. Visiting with him was a delight.

Pastors were considered societal parasites in Eastern Europe during those years, and so he, like all pastors, was required to work at a daily job that was thought by communist leaders to be of some economic value. He had been assigned to work with a crew of loggers. He told me that each day his crew would hike out into the forest, cut down trees for three hours, and then lie down and sleep on the forest floor for the remainder of their shift.

I asked him the reason for such an extended daily work break. He explained that if his crew cut down more than their required quota of trees on any given day, their daily quota would be increased. And they would not receive any increase in pay since the government set all wages, and everyone in Romania was supposedly equal. So that joyful, blessed pastor who loved God with all his heart spent his afternoons sleeping in the woods!

His story illustrates a universal human trait: Unless we are motivated by some noble cause, we will always choose the easiest option. That Romanian pastor did not consider lining the pockets of communist bureaucrats to be a noble cause. If he, however, would have had a guarantee of earning more money in exchange for more work, he would have worked harder, as he would have been motivated by love for his wife and children to be a better provider. He may have also been motivated by love for the poor with whom he could share a portion of his earnings.

Communism utterly kills people’s motivation to work harder, because the harder-working laborer receives no benefit. Socialism has the same effect, just to a lesser degree. Why should I work harder if most of my increase is taken by the government and given to someone else who is unwilling to work?

Putting Yourself in His Romanian Shoes

What would you have done had you been that Romanian pastor? If you don’t know, I can help you.

Imagine for a moment that you were looking for a job and were offered two identical opportunities, but one job paid more than the other. Which would you choose? You would, of course, choose the higher-paying opportunity simply because it offers you more money for the same amount of work.

Now back to that Romanian pastor. He was similarly motivated, except there was a ceiling set on his earnings. So he chose the “higher paying job”—the one that required less work for the same amount of earnings. If you or I had been that Romanian pastor, we would have been sleeping in the woods every afternoon, too.

Let me take this one step further. What if you were offered two opportunities to gain $1,000, one that required one week’s labor, and one that required no labor? I suspect you’d take the second offer, the gift of $1,000. Again, unless we’re motivated by some noble cause, we naturally choose the easiest option.

Understanding this helps us realize what we don’t want to do for the poor if we truly want to help them, and that is, continually give them something for nothing. A flow of well-intentioned charity can ensure perpetual poverty. We should not wonder why the poor have no motivation to work when we feed, clothe and house them without requiring any work from them. Like the former communist government of Romania, we effectively kill any motivation they may have had before we arrived with all our good intentions.

Government charity is of course no different than private charity. If by working, people are not able to earn significantly more money than they can gain from collecting welfare checks, they will have absolutely no motivation to get “off the dole” (as they say in England).

Help that Hurts

When it comes to dealing with the truly poor in less-developed nations—those whose poverty is appalling by comparison to what is labeled as poverty in the more-developed world—we have a natural tendency to compassionately empty our wallets to instantly meet their glaring needs. But the beneficiary has been taught a lesson that he will not soon forget: The easiest means to money is to be friends with rich people from other countries. That is the breeding ground for all sorts of evil that aid organizations and compassionate people frequently find themselves facing, evils such as deception, flattery, and bad reports about other “less-worthy” beneficiaries.

Beyond that, expectations and dependencies are slowly created, and as benefactors slowly grow weary of feeding the ever-increasing appetites of the monsters they’ve created, they ultimately stop their flow of charity. In the bitter end, benefactors find themselves accused of ‘betrayal” and “cold-heartedness” by their former beneficiaries—who have already begun to search for their next benefactor.

Before I continue, let me quickly affirm that needy people who are unable to earn a living for themselves, such as orphaned children, elderly widows, those who are significantly handicapped or oppressed, and those with no earning opportunities, are in a different category. They need a flow of charity, at least temporarily. Similarly, those who suddenly find themselves in desperate situations, such as victims of natural disasters or war refugees, need immediate handouts in the form of food and shelter. Yet even in those cases, relief needs to transition to development as soon as possible. And although I hoped to avoid using the worn-out cliché about the comparative benefits of giving a man a fish versus teaching him to fish, there is no better illustration of what I’m talking about. Development is better than relief.

It is not always quite so simple in the real world, however, because chances are the man already knows how to fish, and he is already fishing, but he is only catching enough fish to barely feed himself and his family. What he needs is a boat and a net so he can catch more fish, and he needs a nearby market where people would be willing to buy his fish.

So how do we get that man the boat and net he needs? We have two good options. We can either give or lend him money to purchase the tools a fisherman needs. If we give him money, from the outset the profits from his new venture don’t have to be split between meeting his own needs and making loan payments. He may not, however, be as careful to take care of the tools that cost him nothing, and he may not work as hard to ensure his success. What costs nothing is often valued accordingly. If he fails, he hasn’t lost anything, and he is only back to where he was before he started. He may assume that if he fails, his benefactor will be there to bail him out again.

If, however, we lend him money at interest to purchase a boat and net—and even require some collateral—he is then motivated to carefully consider his business plan, weigh his risk of loss, and work very hard to succeed. He is personally invested from the start. Moreover, if he repays his loan, we can then help another needy fisherman to buy a boat and net, and then another, and another and another. If he refuses to take a loan (at a reasonable interest rate), it might be a good indication that he doesn’t believe he can succeed in the proposed business. The willingness of people to take loans and put up collateral can be an excellent litmus test of their chances of success.

Learning these things from our experiences and the experiences of others, Heaven’s Family is engaged in establishing micro-banks. These banks not only provide start-up capital via loans for enterprising believers, but they also provide income for micro-bankers via the interest that their little banks earn. Heaven’s Family also provides agricultural training for failing subsistence farmers, who generally double or triple the yields of their next harvest, and then continue to enjoy greater yields in subsequent harvests.

Liberating the Lazy

If we truly want to help the poor, we should never do for the poor what they can do for themselves. Years ago, I can remember traveling with my church’s youth group to Appalachia to repair run-down houses of the poorest people I had ever met up until that point in my life. The people spoke English, but we were barely able to understand them because of their thick mountain accents. And I remember how we marveled that the residents would just sit and watch us repair their leaky roofs and sagging porches. We never required them to join us in our work, and they were happy to drink our lemonade and not get in our way.

If I had to do it all over again, I would start by asking homeowners if they had any roof leaks. If they said “yes,” I’d offer them a few shingles, some roofing nails and a can of tar if they would promise to go to work immediately on fixing their leaks while I watched.

Scripture says, “If anyone is not willing to work, then he is not to eat, either” (2 Thes. 3:10). That is plain and simple, and it is just as much a biblical commandment as are all the commandments to give to the poor. The apostle Paul believed in that commandment so much that he worked just to set a good example, even when he had the right to be sustained by offerings:

For you yourselves know how you ought to follow our example, because we did not act in an undisciplined manner among you, nor did we eat anyone’s bread without paying for it, but with labor and hardship we kept working night and day so that we would not be a burden to any of you; not because we do not have the right to this, but in order to offer ourselves as a model for you, so that you would follow our example. For even when we were with you, we used to give you this order: if anyone is not willing to work, then he is not to eat, either (2 Thes. 3:7-10).

Under the old covenant, field owners were forbidden to gather the gleanings from their fields during the harvest, but to leave what remained for the poor (see Deut. 24:19-21; Lev. 19:9-10). Take note, however, that if the poor were to benefit, they had to work to gather the gleanings. Field owners didn’t deliver gleanings to their doorsteps.

God set a personal example in that regard, freely pouring manna from heaven six days a week for the needy people of Israel as they journeyed to the Promised Land. He required, however, that they gather it. Those who didn’t work didn’t eat. There was no such thing as a free lunch from God.

We read in Acts 6 of the early church’s efforts to take care of widows by means of a daily feeding. It didn’t take long before the apostles were plagued by the universal dilemma that always stalks the generous: More needy people started showing up for their handouts. Those widows in Jerusalem who were being overlooked started complaining, and their representatives accused the apostles of ethnic favoritism. That is no doubt why the apostles, as they decided to delegate their responsibilities to others, required men who were “full of the Spirit and of wisdom” (Acts 6:3). Effective benevolence demands great wisdom, lest more harm than good be done.

Paul later wisely laid out very detailed instructions to Timothy regarding which widows should and should not be supported by the church (see 1 Tim. 5:3-16). Only a limited number would qualify, and those who did would hardly be receiving something for nothing, as they were required to work full-time in serving others, doing good works, and praying.

I’ve found that in some cases, impoverished Christians in other countries have been so conditioned by the thoughtless charity of Western Christians that they seem to have no concept of working to earn money, but expect to be sustained by never-ending handouts. If offered a loan to start a business, they refuse it, as it requires work to succeed and repay the loan. Those folks should be left alone until their stomachs educate their heads, as Proverbs tells us: “A worker’s appetite works for him, for his hunger urges him on” (Prov. 16:26).

Flushing Out the Sluggards

I once heard about a pastor who, during the Great Depression, frequently had men come to his church office to ask him for money. He would first ask them if they had looked for a job. They would respond that they had, but explained that they had simply not been able to find work. He then asked them if they would work if they could find a job. They always replied in the affirmative. Finally, he would say to them, “Good! I have a pile of wood in back of the church that needs to be split. There’s an axe beside the woodshed. Go out and split as many of those logs as you can, and then come back and I’ll fairly pay you.”

The majority of the time, those freeloaders politely thanked him, walked out his door, and he never saw them again. And that pastor kept a clear conscience in the process.

God wants us to help the poor, but the best way to help them is to help them lift themselves out of poverty. He doesn’t want us to help sluggards remain lazy. The best form of charity is an opportunity to earn.

Go to the ant, O sluggard, observe her ways and be wise, which, having no chief, officer or ruler, prepares her food in the summer and gathers her provision in the harvest. How long will you lie down, O sluggard? When will you arise from your sleep? “A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest”—Your poverty will come in like a vagabond and your need like an armed man (Prov. 6:6-11).

This is the final chapter, so let’s think about the day when we’ll begin to benefit from our investments in heaven. That will be payday—a day when we surely won’t regret any earthly sacrifice we made. In fact, we’re likely to regret that we didn’t make greater earthly sacrifices. On that day we will see the treasure we’ve laid up in heaven.

So when we arrive, will we be able to log on to our accounts at HeavenBank.com to check our current balances—balances that will be based on our earthly financial sacrifices? Will we be able to make withdrawals to purchase mansions at the corners of Diamond Road and Emerald Avenue, complete with three-chariot garages?

Those are interesting questions, and I wish I knew the answers. We do know that life in heaven (and ultimately on the new earth) will be similar in many ways to life as we know it now. Heaven will be populated with multitudes of people (Rev. 7:9). They will all have places to reside (see John 14:2-3). They’ll be able to walk and talk and enjoy heaven’s beauty. It will be a place full of activity. The Bible certainly doesn’t portray heaven as a place where people just sit around all day on clouds strumming golden harps.

Will there be learning? Creativity? I can’t imagine not. Work? Progress? How about ownership, labor and commerce? If so, will everyone work purely from joy, and will there be no incentive to gain something through our labors? Will there be some form of currency or medium of exchange? I wish I knew the answers to all those questions.

Regardless, we know that Jesus told us that we can and should lay up treasure in heaven. That implies that those who do will have something waiting for them in heaven that they would not have had otherwise. What will it be? Does every dollar given away on earth add a gold coin to our safe deposit box at Heaven Bank?

I can’t resist mentioning a story that is told of a man whom Saint Peter saw dragging two large suitcases with him as he trudged toward the pearly gates. Upon his arrival, he breathlessly dropped the suitcases with a thud. Peter asks, “What’s in the suitcases?” The man replies, “Let me show you!” He opens them up to reveal to Peter that both are filled with gold coins and bars. Peter responds, “Pavement? You brought pieces of pavement?”

Of course, just because there are roads in the New Jerusalem that John described as being “pure gold, like transparent glass” (Rev. 21:21) doesn’t completely rule out the possibility of gold coins being used in heaven as a medium of exchange. There will be no thieves living in the New Jerusalem, and so no one who lives there will yield to the temptation to sneak out late at night to dig up some of the road (not to mention the fact that there will be no night there).

But back to my primary question: What exactly are the “treasures” that we lay up in heaven? What are the rewards for our obedient stewardship?

Unfortunately, the Bible doesn’t reveal as much as I wish it did, and perhaps because our rewards are beyond our current comprehension. Because of that, we’re just going to have to trust Jesus on this, which isn’t so bad. When someone loves you so much that He dies for you, you can trust that any rewards He promises are going to be good.

Of course, the Bible does speak of crowns that may be received, such as the “crown of righteousness” (2 Tim. 4:8). Everyone who “loved His appearing” (2 Tim. 4:8) will receive that crown, however, and I think it is safe to say that all true followers of Christ “loved His appearing.” Similarly, the “crown of life” will be given to all who persevere and love Jesus (see Jas. 1:12, Rev. 2:10). So neither of those two crowns seems to be reserved as special rewards. An “unfading crown of glory” is another one that is mentioned in the New Testament, and it apparently will be granted exclusively to good shepherds (1 Pet. 5:1-4).

We can certainly anticipate receiving praise from God for our sacrifices (see 1 Cor. 4:5). Hearing the words, “Well done, good and faithful slave” (Matt. 25:21) will be a reward that will warm our hearts forever.

Scripture also seems to imply that God will reward us by granting us different positions of authority in Christ’s government. Jesus’ Parables of the Talents and of the Nobleman support this possibility (see Matt. 25:14-30; Luke 19:12-27). In the Parable of the Nobleman, the two faithful servants are awarded authority over cities. And Scripture teaches that we will rule and reign with Christ in His kingdom (see 2 Tim. 2:12; Rev. 2:26-27, 5:10, 20:6).

Even now, some future seats of authority in God’s kingdom are already reserved. Jesus said to the Twelve:

Truly I say to you, that you who have followed Me, in the regeneration when the Son of Man will sit on His glorious throne, you also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or farms for My name’s sake, shall receive many times as much, and shall inherit eternal life (Matt. 19:28-29, emphasis added).

Isn’t it true that one consuming desire shared by all of Jesus’ genuine disciples is to be entrusted with more responsibility for His glory? Do not we all currently wish that our ministries were more fruitful? Perhaps the greater opportunities that we will be given to serve Him in His kingdom will fulfill those desires.

Apart from crowns, words of praise, and governmental positions, I suspect that there are still going to be some surprises for those who have laid up treasure in heaven. 1 Corinthians 2:9 comes to mind: “Things which eye has not seen and ear has not heard, and which have not entered the heart of man, all that God has prepared for those who love Him.”

When the Last Shall be First

Some have concluded—based upon their interpretation of Jesus’ Parable of the Laborers—that all of the redeemed will receive identical rewards in heaven. But we must not emphasize one scripture passage at the neglect of all the others. Because the Bible has only one Author, every verse must be harmonized with the other 31,000 verses. Let’s read the Parable of the Laborers closely:

For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard. And when he had agreed with the laborers for a denarius for the day, he sent them into his vineyard. And he went out about the third hour and saw others standing idle in the market place; and to those he said, “You too go into the vineyard, and whatever is right I will give you.” And so they went. Again he went out about the sixth and the ninth hour, and did the same thing. And about the eleventh hour he went out, and found others standing; and he said to them, “Why have you been standing here idle all day long?” They said to him, “Because no one hired us.” He said to them, “You too go into the vineyard.”

And when evening had come, the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, “Call the laborers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last group to the first.” And when those hired about the eleventh hour came, each one received a denarius. And when those hired first came, they thought that they would receive more; and they also received each one a denarius. And when they received it, they grumbled at the landowner, saying, “These last men have worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden and the scorching heat of the day.” But he answered and said to one of them, “Friend, I am doing you no wrong; did you not agree with me for a denarius? Take what is yours and go your way, but I wish to give to this last man the same as to you. Is it not lawful for me to do what I wish with what is my own? Or is your eye envious because I am generous?” Thus the last shall be first, and the first last” (Matt. 20:1-16).

Was Jesus trying to teach us that, in the end, everyone will receive the same reward regardless of their labor or faithfulness? I don’t think so. Take note that, as the landowner rewarded each group of laborers, he took into consideration the opportunities that they were given to work. The one-hour laborers would gladly have worked a full day had they been given the opportunity. But they only had the opportunity to work one hour.

This teaches us that when God rewards us for our service, He will take into consideration the opportunities (and resources) that He entrusted to us. “From everyone who has been given much, much will be required” (Luke 12:48). You can receive as much reward as the world’s greatest evangelist if you are just as faithful with the gifts and opportunities that God has granted to you. This principle was clearly illustrated in Scripture’s story of the widow who contributed just two small coins to the temple treasury:

And He sat down opposite the treasury, and began observing how the people were putting money into the treasury; and many rich people were putting in large sums. A poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which amount to a cent. Calling His disciples to Him, He said to them, “Truly I say to you, this poor widow put in more than all the contributors to the treasury; for they all put in out of their surplus, but she, out of her poverty, put in all she owned, all she had to live on” (Mark 12:41-44).

From God’s viewpoint, her tiny contribution was larger than those of the rich because He took into consideration her available resources. She gave all she had to live on. And for that reason, her heavenly reward for her small contribution would surpass the rewards the rich would receive for their large contributions. That is one reason why, at the judgment, “Many who are first will be last, and the last, first” (Mark 10:31).

Incidentally, don’t make the mistake of thinking that there is anything selfish about striving to be among those who are first. It is not as if there are a limited number of rewards for which we’re all competing. Our limitless God has unlimited rewards. It isn’t selfish to strive to be among the first because you don’t have to push anyone down to make it to the top. In fact, Jesus said, “Whoever wishes to become great among you shall be your servant.” It is by serving that we become great.

The True Test

Jesus once told a story about a very foolish investor, a man who laid up his treasure in the wrong place:

The land of a certain rich man was very productive. And he began reasoning to himself, “What shall I do, since I have no place to store my crops?” And he said, “This is what I will do: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I will say to my soul, ‘Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years to come; take your ease, eat, drink and be merry.'” But God said to him, “You fool! This very night your soul is required of you; and now who will own what you have prepared?” So is the man who lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God (Luke 12:16-21).

Obviously, had the wealthy man been “rich toward God,” he would not have laid up “treasure for himself,” building bigger earthly barns where he could store his abundant crops. Had he been “rich toward God,” he would have considered the fact that his bumper crops were a blessing from God. Thus, he had responsibility to steward his blessing.

Did God bless him so that he could retire early and live a life of ease and luxury? Apparently not, since he was destined to die soon. Thus we can only conclude that God blessed him to be a blessing before he died. Had he laid up his treasure in heaven, God would not have considered him to be a fool, but very wise. But he was not “rich toward God.” That is, he really had no relationship with God, and it was proven by what he did with what God had entrusted to him.

Our stewardship is indeed a litmus test, if not the litmus test, of our relationship with God. Those who are heaven-bound act like they are heaven-bound. Those who are not acting like they are heaven-bound, but like the rich fool in Jesus’ story, are not heaven-bound.

Jesus couldn’t have made this clearer as He taught His disciples during His Sermon on the Mount, telling them:

Do not lay up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal; for where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. The lamp of the body is the eye; if therefore your eye is clear, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in you is darkness, how great is the darkness! No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will hold to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon (Matt. 6:19-24).

Jesus was not contrasting committed Christians with uncommitted Christians. Rather, He was contrasting those who do and do not have a relationship with God—as revealed by where they are storing up their treasures.

Note that in Jesus’ contrast of two people, one person lays up treasure on earth because his heart is not in heaven. The other lays up treasure in heaven because that is where his heart is. One is full of darkness, that is, ignorance of the truth, while the other is full of light, that is, knowledge of the truth. One has a “bad eye,” a common Hebrew idiom for a “greedy heart” (see Prov. 28:22; Matt. 20:15)[24], while the other has a “clear eye,” the opposite of the “bad eye,” thus signifying a non-greedy heart. One person’s god is money, and therefore God is not his God, as Jesus said that it is impossible to serve God and money. The other person’s master is God, as evidenced by the fact that money is not his master.

These two contrasted people are polar opposites.

Clearly, the person who is laying up his treasure on earth—the one whose heart is not in heaven but on earth, who is full of darkness, whose heart is greedy, and whose god is not God but money—is not a Christian. And for this reason, anyone who is not laying up some treasure in heaven should be gravely concerned about his or her relationship with God.

Keep in mind that it is quite possible, if one has an abundance, to tithe and still lay up lots of earthly treasure. Remember that the Pharisees scrupulously tithed, but they were also lovers of money who were ultimately cast into hell (see Matt. 5:20; 23:15, 23, 33; Luke 16:14; 18:12).

In the final analysis, if we obey Jesus’ commandments in regard to our financial stewardship, it is a matter of faith. If we believe in Jesus then we’ll do what He says, and we’ll reap the benefit of His promises.

The Divine Program

Scripture promises that we will not only be rewarded in the next life for our earthly giving, but also in this life as well. Writing to the Corinthian believers about their promised offering for the suffering saints in Jerusalem, Paul declared:

Now this I say, he who sows sparingly shall also reap sparingly; and he who sows bountifully shall also reap bountifully (2 Cor. 9:6).

But was he speaking only of reaping in heaven? No, Paul continued:

God is able to make all grace abound to you, that always having all sufficiency in everything, you may have an abundance for every good deed… Now He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food, will supply and multiply your seed for sowing and increase the harvest of your righteousness; you will be enriched in everything for all liberality, which through us is producing thanksgiving to God (2 Cor. 9:8, 10-11).

Those who give can expect to receive “an abundance for every good deed,” a multiplication of their “seed for sowing,” and an enrichment that makes possible more “liberality.” Obviously, according to Paul, the blessing of reaping in this life is not so we can disobey God and lay up treasures on earth. Rather it is so we can sow more, and ultimately lay up more treasure in heaven. What a blessing! And this reveals that God is a very good investor himself, as He invests in those who prove to be good investments! He will help us become forever rich if we’ll just get with the program.

Last Words

In summary, here are the seven principles for becoming forever rich:

1.) Your life is a journey to stand before Jesus, the Venture Capitalist before whom you will have to give an account for everything He’s loaned to you—your time, talents and treasures. That will be your most important day, so prepare for it every day of your life.

2.) You are among the world’s wealthy elite. So learn contentment and remember, “To whom much is given, much is required.”

3.) Debt can be good or bad for you. Eliminate all debt that is not likely to increase your earthly and heavenly wealth.

4.) Self-dispossess. Scale down in Disneyland in order to wisely transfer earthly assets to heaven.

5.) Live frugally. Live simply.

6.) Leverage your time, skills and resources intelligently for maximum gain. But don’t become a manure-shoveling maniac.

7.) Give intelligently. Give first to truly poor believers, the “least of these,” which is the means to laying up treasure in heaven. Remember that the best way to help those who can work is to give them opportunity to work, lifting themselves.

Your treasure is hidden in the field. Buy the field! Be forever rich!

_____________________

Epilogue

Earn all you can, save all you can, give all you can. — John Wesley

_____________________

But when the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on His glorious throne. And all the nations will be gathered before Him; and He will separate them from one another, as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats; and He will put the sheep on His right, and the goats on the left. Then the King will say to those on His right, “Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger, and you invited Me in; naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me.”

Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, “Lord, when did we see You hungry, and feed You, or thirsty, and give You drink? And when did we see You a stranger, and invite You in, or naked, and clothe You? And when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?”

And the King will answer and say to them, “Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me.”

Then He will also say to those on His left, “Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels; for I was hungry, and you gave Me nothing to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me nothing to drink; I was a stranger, and you did not invite Me in; naked, and you did not clothe Me; sick, and in prison, and you did not visit Me.”

Then they themselves also will answer, saying, “Lord, when did we see You hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not take care of You?”

Then He will answer them, saying, “Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.” And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life (Matt. 25:31-46).

_____________________

And the multitudes were questioning him [John the Baptist], saying, “Then what shall we do?” And he would answer and say to them, “Let the man who has two tunics share with him who has none; and let him who has food do likewise” (Luke 3:10-11).

[24] The King James Version translates Proverbs 28:22, Matthew 6:23 and Matthew 20:15 to all include the expression “evil eye.” Both Greek words translated “evil” in Matthew 6:23 and 20:15 are the same: poneros.

They are the envy of everyone, born among a very privileged class, living lives that most others can only dream of. Because they are so wealthy, they never give even a fleeting thought to lacking anything they truly need. In fact, they own so much more than they need that they have trouble finding room to store all their possessions. To that end, they often discard what the average person would love to possess. And because they associate only with others who are as wealthy as them, they are generally oblivious to the teeming majority of people who live at an unimaginably lower standard.

Who are these very fortunate people?

They are you, your family, your friends, and your neighbors.

Most of us have no idea how wealthy we are compared to most of the world’s people. Let me see if I can help with some perspective.

One way to measure your wealth is to subtract your debts from the value of everything you own—your clothing, furniture, appliances, cars, home and so on. That gives you your net worth. Here is an astounding fact: If your net worth is $3,210 or more, you are in the top half of the world’s wealthiest people. To be among the richest 10 percent of adults in the world, all you need is a net worth of $68,800.[3]

Another way to measure your wealth is by your income. Over 70 percent of the world’s people live on less than $10 per day.[4] That is less than $3,650 per year. About 46 percent of the world’s people live on less than $5.50 per day. That is a little more than $2,000 per year. About 26 percent of the world’s people live on less than $3.20 per day. That is less than $1,200 per year.[5]

It might also help us to remember that about nine million people will die of hunger and related causes this year. 25,000 will die of hunger and related causes today. [8] 690 million people are undernourished.[9] That is about 1 in 11 of the world’s people.

One in four people do not have access to safe drinking water.[11]

Born with the Silver Spoon

It’s as if we’ve won the lottery, or were born into royalty. So much of our wealth is simply due to the fact that we’ve been born in the right place.

Warren Buffett, currently one of the world’s wealthiest people, freely admits this very thing, stating, “If you stick me down in the middle of Bangladesh or Peru, you’ll find out how much this talent is going to produce in the wrong kind of soil.” Like Buffet, if you or I had been born in Bangladesh, chances are very good that we would be very poor. Compared to the rest of the world, it’s like we’re living in Disneyland.

My intention in writing this is not to make anyone feel guilty about being born in a wealthy nation or about his or her annual income. You had no choice regarding where you were born, and there is nothing wrong with earning money, as long as God is not dishonored through the means. My hope, however, is that you will begin to understand how wealthy you already are. How blessed is that day when you realize you’ve been living on an island of fantasy in an ocean of reality. Only then might you grasp the second secret to being forever rich, which is to learn contentment. If you can learn to be content, you can potentially lay up much more treasure in heaven.

Learning to be content requires real effort, because formidable forces are at work to make us discontent. Western culture is materialistic—to the maximum. Everyone is striving for more “stuff,” and we are continually bombarded with advertisements designed to make us dissatisfied with what we currently have—in order to persuade us to make a purchase. The people in the commercials are always smiling, and surely we could be happy too if we just had what those happy people have.

The Ad Men at It

Think of what a difficult task automobile advertisers face. They know that most everyone who views their commercials already owns a car that takes them everywhere they want to go. They also know that most of those automobile owners purchased their existing cars by trading months (and in some cases, years) of their lives in daily labor to earn the money they need to make payments on a depreciating asset. Yet those advertisers hope to persuade such people to trade in their existing cars, go deeper into debt, and pledge many more months of daily labor to pay off their new debt—just so they can own a car that does almost exactly what their current car does! The advertisers’ only hope of success is if they can somehow make us discontent.

And so they do. The cars in their ads are driven by good-looking people, and the subliminal message is that you can improve your sex appeal and intelligence if you drive their make and model. If there are children in the backseat, they are also attractive and well behaved, sending a message that this car will also improve your children. Such cars are always driven on scenic roads along the ocean, through well-manicured suburbs, or past posh city skyscrapers, telling you that your life can also be upgraded. And they never need to be washed because they’re never dirty. Most importantly, you can be sure that others will admire you if you drive the car in the commercial. Even if you don’t own a second home in the mountains, an SUV can at least lead people to believe that you might. As you drive by, they’ll imagine you four-wheeling across wilderness streams to reach your hideaway cabin!

Let’s face it. Most of us don’t buy cars to take us from Point A to Point B. We purchase cars to make a statement about ourselves as we drive between Points A and B.

If we can just learn to be more content, however, we could keep our cars longer without embarrassment. We might even start purchasing pre-owned cars, saving ourselves tens of thousands of dollars in the years ahead, which will make it possible to lay up even more riches in heaven.

Let me tell you one of the greatest blessings of owning an older car, especially one that has some dings and dents: When you walk out of Walmart and discover that the person who parked beside you opened his door carelessly and put another ding in your door, it doesn’t ruin your day. It’s just another ding! Life goes on. Compare that with the discovery of the very first ding on your just-purchased, showroom shiny, 48-future-payments-to-go automotive idol…

The Joy of Contentment

The honest truth is that none of us need anything more than what we currently own. In fact, we could get by on much less if we were so motivated. As soon as we shift into contentment, a huge weight rolls off of our shoulders, and the future becomes instantly brighter.

Think about this: If unhappiness stems from unfulfilled desires, then there are only two roads to happiness, either by (1) fulfilling or (2) abandoning those unfulfilled desires. The latter generates instant happiness. The former often produces protracted unhappiness as the unhappy person strives to fulfill a desire that may never be fulfilled. And how many unhappy people, if they do fulfill a desire, discover it to be empty and…unfulfilling? At that point, some learn the lesson, but many remain tragically deceived and simply reset their discontentment to focus on yet another acquisition. Such people are trading the certain happiness that accompanies contentment for just a chance of future, fleeting happiness. We are wise, then, to heed the wisdom of G.K. Chesterson: “There are two ways to get enough. One is to continue to accumulate more and more. The other is to desire less.”

But aren’t people who are contented purposeless and lazy? Isn’t it the discontented who dream of better things and thus make progress and achieve?

The answer is yes and no. People who are completely content are indeed sometimes purposeless and lazy. I’m not advocating, however, the abandonment of all unfulfilled desires. Scripture only advocates abandoning misguided desires, which includes seeking happiness in the acquisition of more earthly, material things. That, in a nutshell, is what Jesus was prescribing when He told His followers to lay up treasures in heaven rather than on earth. He meant for them to abandon one desire for a better, more worthy desire. Obeying Him in that regard requires being both content and discontent—content with what one has on earth and discontent with what one has in heaven.

Again, most of us already have more than enough on earth due to misguided desires. We’ve been foolish, pursuing temporal, earthly happiness, rather than eternal, heavenly happiness. We’ve been building sandcastles at low tide.

The Gain of Contentment

Writing to Timothy, the apostle Paul penned important words about the great value of contentment:

….men of depraved mind and deprived of the truth, who suppose that godliness is a means of gain. But godliness actually is a means of great gain when accompanied by contentment. For we have brought nothing into the world, so we cannot take anything out of it either. If we have food and covering, with these we shall be content. But those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a snare and many foolish and harmful desires which plunge men into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all sorts of evil, and some by longing for it have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs. But flee from these things, you man of God (1 Tim. 6:5b-11a).

Note that Paul first condemned those whose minds were “depraved” by reason of their thinking that “godliness is a means of gain” (1 Tim. 6:5). In light of his next few sentences, it is obvious that the gain he was referring to was earthly, material gain.

However, lest Timothy think he believed that there was no advantage to living a godly life, Paul qualified his condemnation by adding, “But godliness actually is a means of great gain when accompanied by contentment” (1 Tim. 6:6). So, living obediently to God’s commandments is actually very profitable as long as the obedient person is content, which indicates that payday doesn’t come immediately.

So when does payday come? Paul’s next sentences bring it all together: “For we have brought nothing into the world, so we cannot take anything out of it either. If we have food and covering, with these we shall be content” (1 Tim. 6:7-8). Clearly, payday is in the next life. We can’t take anything with us when we leave this world, so it is foolish to pile up earthly treasures. We can, however, send those treasures ahead of us to heaven. Thus it makes perfect sense to learn to be content with as little as possible now, even if it amounts to nothing more than our most basic necessities of food and covering.

Paul’s words are certainly convicting. How can we claim that we would be content with just food and covering if we’re not content with all that we currently do possess, which is so much more than food and covering?

The Danger of Discontentment

Discontentment drives us to foolishly acquire and cling to what we don’t really need and what we ultimately won’t own. Worse, according to Paul as he continued admonishing Timothy, discontentment drives some into “ruin and destruction.” Read his words again:

Those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a snare and many foolish and harmful desires which plunge men into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all sorts of evil, and some by longing for it have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs (1 Tim. 6:9-10).

Discontentment/longing for money is so dangerous that, if not checked, can cause believers to “wander away from the faith” according to Paul. To wander away from the faith is to wander away from what is required for salvation.

Paul’s warning against being among those who “want to get rich” makes me wonder how his words should be applied to people like me and you, people who already are rich. We are magnificently wealthy compared to his contemporary readers, not to mention most of the people in today’s world. We own material possessions that people in Paul’s day couldn’t have even dreamed of owning, like automobiles and computers. Most people in today’s world can’t afford those things. So how do Paul’s words apply to us?

Certainly, at bare minimum, we need to be content with what we already possess and carefully consider the necessity of any additional acquisitions, knowing that we have the same two choices as Paul’s contemporary readers. We can lay up our treasures on earth temporarily, understanding that our ownership ends at death, or we can lay them up in heaven and enjoy “great gain” eternally.

Additionally, we can consider scaling down in order to transfer assets from earth to heaven, which is the topic of a later chapter, so I won’t elaborate on it now.

Words to the Rich

In the very same chapter of 1 Timothy from which we’ve been reading, Paul did have some special words to those who were rich in his day that can help very rich folks like us today:

Instruct those who are rich in this present world not to be conceited or to fix their hope on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly supplies us with all things to enjoy. Instruct them to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share, storing up for themselves the treasure of a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of that which is life indeed (1 Tim. 6:17-19).

First, take note that Paul refers to us rich folks as being “rich in this present world,” underscoring the fact that folks like us may not be rich in the world to come.

Second, Paul warns us against being prideful because of our wealth. Pride is certainly a temptation that stalks the wealthy. To succumb to pride’s temptation is to forget that God is the source of our wealth. How wealthy would you be had you been born to a prostitute in Calcutta?

Third, Paul reminds us that riches are uncertain. One of the richest people who ever lived once wrote, “Do not weary yourself to gain wealth, cease from your consideration of it.

When you set your eyes on it, it is gone. For wealth certainly makes itself wings like an eagle that flies toward the heavens” (Prov. 23:4-5).

Our hopes for a favorable future should be set on God alone, the One who, as Paul wrote, “richly supplies us with all things to enjoy” (1 Tim. 6:17). I like those words. God created the material world, and when He did, He saw that it was all “very good” (Gen. 1:31). He has abundantly provided us with enjoyable things. Keep in mind, however, that many of those enjoyable things He provides are life’s simple pleasures. When you hold your grandchild, savor a sunrise, or eat a crisp, sweet apple, you know God loves you.

Fourth, Paul admonishes us to use our God-given resources “to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share” (1 Tim. 6:18). Our lives should be characterized by liberal sharing that is proportionate to God’s blessings upon us. And why? So that we might store up for ourselves “the treasure of a good foundation for the future” (1 Tim. 6:19). That is, that we might lay up treasure in heaven.

Finally, Paul promises that so doing will result in our “taking hold of that which is life indeed” (1 Tim. 6:19). Although selfish, indulgent, rich people may think their lives are wonderful, they have not taken hold of true life, that is, life as God intended, now and forever. Jesus declared, “Whoever loses his life for My sake will find it” (Matt. 16:25). True and eternal life is found in giving up one’s life, trading selfishness for unselfishness, loving God and neighbor. Thus, learning contentment is essential, as discontentment breeds selfishness.

Surely the more one possesses, the more he ought to be contented, but such is often not the case. In fact, it is those who are the wealthiest who are often the least content, as they are driven by the deception that happiness is found in more stuff.

Back to the Beginning

Let’s conclude this chapter by going back to where we started, thinking about how rich we already are.

Consider Adam and Eve. When they were created, they didn’t have any “stuff.” All they possessed was a relationship with God, a relationship with each other, and an opportunity to enjoy a marvelous, pristine creation. So were they poor and to be pitied in their God-given state? Should we have expected to find them downcast in their deep “poverty”? I don’t think so. They owned nothing, but lived in a paradise.

Surely the initial God-created state of Adam and Eve serves as a divine commentary on what is truly valuable. Therefore, if I have a genuine relationship with God and possess a loving relationship with just one other human being, and if I can see the stars in the sky, smell the fragrance of flowers, hear the singing of birds, taste the sweetness of watermelon, and feel a cool breeze on a sultry day, I am rich—as rich as Adam and Eve. I have every reason to be joyfully content.

Most readers will have to admit that they have much more than Adam and Eve. We have a relationship with God through our Lord Jesus. We have not just one, but many loving relationships with other human beings. God’s creation is as marvelous as it has always been. And we are far wealthier than Adam and Eve were! So we are faced with a choice. We can either be discontented and use our wealth to acquire more stuff for ourselves, or we can be content, using our wealth to love more people—particularly those who are lacking the most basic necessities. Choosing the latter, we demonstrate our love for God, enriching our relationship with Him.

In doing that, we become truly rich and forever rich.

You say, “If I had a little more, I should be very satisfied.” You make a mistake. If you are not content with what you have, you would not be satisfied if it were doubled. — Charles H. Spurgeon

Make sure that your character is free from the love of money, being content with what you have; for He Himself has said, “I will never desert you, nor will I ever forsake you” (Heb. 13:5).

[3] See https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2016/01/21/you-might-be-among-the-richest-people-in-the-world-and-not-realize-it/.

[4] https://money.cnn.com/2015/07/08/news/economy/global-low-income/index.html

[5] See https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/press-release/2018/10/17/nearly-half-the-world-lives-on-less-than-550-a-day. These statistics are from 2015.

[8] https://www.un.org/en/chronicle/article/losing-25000-hunger-every-day

[9] https://www.actionagainsthunger.org/world-hunger-facts-statistics

[11] https://ourworldindata.org/water-access#access-to-safe-drinking-water