Rich Beyond Measure

I’ve said it, and I’m sure you’ve said it too. “What would I do if I won the lottery?” Admit it. We’ve all thought about all the things we’d do with the money; buy a house for each of my family members…although that would probably drain all your winnings these days, pay off all my student loans, quit my job, or buy the church a new building. (Wink, wink) In today’s world, money is what drives just about anything, and the lust for money drives people in the millions to spend their last dollars in the hopes of striking it big on Powerball.  That’s a 1 in 302.6 million chance of winning. You have a better chance of getting struck by lightning than you do of winning the lottery.  Yet every year, people will throw their money at this pie-in-the-sky dream of striking it rich. 

The scary thing, however, is that nearly one-third of all lottery winners are filing bankruptcy within 3 to 5 years of winning it all. Once the money is in hand, they begin a spending frenzy like they’ve never known before. Many have lived in poverty most of their lives and have never managed $50,000, much less $500 million. There’s also the reality of every poor family member you’ve ever had coming out of the woodwork wanting a handout. Uncle Steve from Omaha suddenly shows up on your porch wanting a handout and potentially gets violent if he doesn’t get anything. There was even a case in 2012 of a woman killing a man in Florida when he realized she was stealing money from him.

Few things on this planet can ruin lives like money. I’ve seen men fight over it. I’ve read stories of people losing their lives over it. I’ve seen people make one single bad choice, and their whole lives fell apart, and they were living on the streets. According to a study in 2022, 20-40% of all divorces are based on financial issues. While money can be a huge blessing, it can also be a force for evil. Satan loves our lust for money. He knows that it can drive us right into his waiting arms that want nothing more than to stab you in the back. 

But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content. But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs.
1 Timothy 6:8–10

Contentment is something that many don’t really talk about. When the world around you is all about excess, few want to live a content life. We see the family down the street that just built a new, expensive patio, and we start to think that we NEED to do the same. Our kids’ friends all have expensive cell phones and plans, so we have to fall in line and do the same. We take our camper on a weekend vacation and realize how much older and smaller it is than all the others around us and we start planning how to buy the bigger and newer model. Instead of being thankful for what we have, many of us are bitter that we don’t have as much as some others do.

This way of thinking also prevents us from giving back to God. We see our money as “ours” and become selfish. This isn’t a new thing, though. We can read about Jesus meeting a young, wealthy man and his response to what it takes to follow Christ. 

And as he was setting out on his journey, a man ran up and knelt before him and asked him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone. You know the commandments: ‘Do not murder, Do not commit adultery, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Do not defraud, Honor your father and mother.’ ” And he said to him, “Teacher, all these I have kept from my youth.” And Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, “You lack one thing: go, sell all that you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” Disheartened by the saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.
And Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, “How difficult it will be for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!” And the disciples were amazed at his words. But Jesus said to them again, “Children, how difficult it is to enter the kingdom of God! It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.”
Mark 10:17–25

When we read this, many would say they would be willing to do that, but would we? If we see a need, do we fill it? When we know of someone who is struggling financially, do we anonymously send them some relief? The truth for many is no. We earned this money. We don’t owe it to anyone. This is what the lust of money does to us. It closes our hands. Instead of holding them open and allowing God to use our funds, we keep them tightly closed to prevent any of them from going away.

I’ve personally seen money weaponized in churches so that people can get their way. I’ve seen ministers water down their messages because they didn’t want certain people to leave the church. There’s a reason why Paul said that money is the root of all kinds of evil. The lust for money is a vile poison. It causes us to push loved ones away, think terrible thoughts about others, and pull away from everyone in fear of losing it all. 

And he said to them, “Take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.”
Luke 12:15

Our worth doesn’t come from the size of our bank accounts or the square feet of our houses. Our worth comes from knowing we are children of God. We have already been adopted into great wealth. We are already rich beyond measure.