17 Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment.
Those of us with some wealth, and that is almost every person reading this BLOG, can have a tendency to trust in our wealth. We can put our trust in our job, our bank account, our line of credit, our investments rather than in the Lord. The place of wealth and possessions in our lives and in our security structure is an important working out of our faith in a practical way. If we are trusting our wealth, our trust in misdirected. We have seen the value of money rollercoaster in the last several years. The value of our homes has dropped dramatically, and our homes are the most basic asset we have that enables us to gather wealth. I have talked to some people over my years whose lives are obsessed with keeping and maintaining their wealth. They get almost frantic when the market goes up or down. They are not enjoying their wealth, they are simply trying to hold on to it. Their hope is in their money, so when their money is threatened, their world is uncertain. That is why we are to put our hope in God and not in our wealth. He never changes. His value never decreases. We can never lose the security we have in Him. When we truly have Him, then our focus in life is healthy and we can have a healthy view of our wealth. We can enjoy the moments, rather than fearfully clinging to the little wealth we have. Our perspective moves from the moment by moment uncertainties of life to the certainty of the unchangeable God. We can use the wealth in ways that honor Him, rather than hoarding it out of fear of the unknown. If you find yourself consumed by money worries today, put your hope in the Lord.
The Arnold Journey 