The True Riches

What does scripture mean, when it speaks of being rich or being poor? Why is being rich for the most part, spoken of in a negative light Such as; “A rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven. It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom”. “The rich man hath he sent away empty”. “But woe onto you that are rich”. “They that will be rich fall into many temptations”. “Because thou sayest, I am rich and increased with goods and, have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked”.

We need to understand that none of the above is necessarily speaking about ones financial status. It is not that God opposes someone who has become wealthy from the stand point of money. Because in another place it is written, I give thee the power to get wealth. Lets be clear on this issue of money and prosperity, God wants His people to prosper and be in health, but only as our souls prosper.

Money is not the problem, it’s the love of money that’s a problem. If our soul has not prospered, then the potential for being influenced by money is there. But lets get beyond the letter of scripture where it pertains to being rich to find it’s deeper spiritual meaning. Lets get beyond the type and shadow and find the truth that the Lord is conveying to us through natural riches.

When scripture says we must become poor that we might be made rich, it is not telling us necessarily to divest ourselves of all our money. When Peter and John encountered the lame man at the gate beautiful and said onto him, “silver and gold have I not but such as I have give I onto you”, the riches being spoken of were not literal riches. They were poor in that regard but they had the true riches.

Unregenerate man walks in an eternal state of poverty, yet because he is full of himself, he believes himself to be rich. His riches are his pride and self -assured ego centered life. He is rich in his own abilities and deceived by what he perceives as his own accomplishments.

When one is truly rich they will have this testimony; I can of myself, do nothing. It was said; For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He were rich, yet for your sakes he became poor that you through His poverty might be rich. I know that traditionally it is taught that He left His home in Heaven and all of the great wealth that was His, as the Son of God, to become as us and this is how He became poor. The truth is, in God’s economy, those are not the things that make one rich. It is not a matter of silver and gold and precious stones.

The true Riches have to do with being filled with God. When one is truly rich they are filled with all that God is. And to be filled with all that God is you must be emptied of your own riches, or all that you are. If you humble yourself you will be exalted but if you exalt yourself you will be humbled. Proverbs 13:7 states; There is that maketh himself rich, yet hath nothing: there is that maketh himself poor, yet hath great riches.

When it is said of our Lord; though He were rich yet for your sakes He became poor, I believe it was speaking of His identification with mankind. Man believed himself to be rich but needed to realize his true poverty. When scripture says He made his grave with the wicked and with the rich in His death, it was not speaking of the fact that He was buried in Joseph of Arimathaea’s, sepulcher. In our earthly wisdom, we thought ourselves to be rich, however, in reality He was the only true rich man.

In our misguided, earthly thinking we were all rich. He demonstrated that you must become poor to be truly rich. Not seeking your own will, nor identity, not lifting yourself up, but humbling your self before God, doing His will and not your own. Letting the image of God shine through you, the gold which is a type of the nature of God. The Silver that speaks of the redemption that is to be found in Him. And through the wisdom of God, let precious stones be the things that you build with in others lives instead of the wood, hay and stubble that you perceived to be riches in the past.

As with Paul, count all that you have accomplished prior to Christ as dung compared to the true riches. See all your past accomplishments and attainments as nothing and press on to know Him and win the true prize, the true riches, that are with Him and in Him. Knowing this, you will never lack for material things, unless you seek after them and you will always know prosperity unless you find it in yourself. Seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, (riches) and all these things, will be added unto you.

Amen

Art Groesbeck