Eternal Riches
True Wealth and Eternal Riches
According to an article on Investopedia.com, Jeff Bezos, former CEO of Amazon, has a net worth of 144 billion dollars.1
I can’t even tell you what a billion dollars looks like, much less 144 of them!
But seriously, I don’t even want to know.
Money can become the main priority in a person’s life – a serious distraction away from God.
Specifically, I’m talking about the self-indulgent pursuit of wealth which we can see, for example, on display in some celebrity lifestyles.
The pursuit of riches and fame are on display all around us, but these two worldly scorecards amount to a big “0” when it comes to our eternal salvation.
Does that mean that money itself is bad?
In general, no.
To emphasize, there’s a huge difference between being blessed by God with a nice bank account or choosing to let money pursuits consume your life.
In Matthew’s synopsis of the Sermon on the Mount, we find Jesus teaching the multitudes about, among other vices, the dangers of materialism and idol worship.
No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth. – Matthew 6:24, (NASB).2
Consequently, Jesus’ words here are eternally significant for all of us.
The Blessing Of Eternal Riches
Acclaimed poet, Louis Gander, recently published a poem that gets to the heart of the matter when it comes to the love of money.
To emphasize: true wealth and eternal riches aren’t in your bank account.
A Stubborn Lot 8-1-22
Can a penny buy a morsel of some dried unleavened bread?
Can a nickel have some meaning to apologies unsaid?
Can a dime hide a confession that we want to keep inside?
Can a quarter take the place of the regrets when we have lied?
Can a dollar buy a drop of love from someone we have pained?
Can a ten buy us full freedom, though it’s we ourselves we’ve chained?
Can a hundred cover up our sins so we can’t be enslaved?
Can a Million pay for all our sins so that we can then be saved?
Can a Billion buy a sliver from the cross where Jesus died?
Can a Trillion buy a seat in Heav’n so we can’t be denied?
ALL the money in the world can’t buy one SPECK of space
in Heaven where the God of Love bestows sufficient grace.
It’s loving dedication and full faithfulness we owe.
Our money is so worthless – yet we idolize it so.
We are a spoiled people in our air conditioned cars.
We’re over-entertained by our most favorite superstars.
We are a prideful people and we’re such a stubborn lot –
but owe to Jesus EVERYTHING and EVERYTHING we’ve got.
©2022 louis gander – ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
http://www.ganderpoems.org/ 3
We All Need Jesus
If you’ve experienced God’s grace, then you know that all of the riches in the world can never replace the treasure of knowing His love firsthand.
Looking back, there was a time in my own life where money and fame were important to me.
However, once I came to a saving faith in Jesus Christ, those pursuits took a nosedive.
In short,
We don’t “need” followers
We don’t “need” fame
But, we all need Jesus
# # #
1 Quotation from Dan Moskowitz, financial writer for many investment online magazines. “The 10 Richest People in the World.” Courtesy of Investopedia.com. June 1, 2022. Web. Accessed 1 August, 2022. Retrieved from: https://www.investopedia.com/articles/investing/012715/5-richest-people-world.asp
2 Scripture quotation is from the New American Standard Bible (NASB) Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation.
3 Poetry courtesy of Louis Gander, ©2022 Louis Gander ALL RIGHTS RESERVED, “A Stubborn Lot 8-1-22.” [online post]. From Gander Story Poems, n.d. Web. Accessed August 2, 2022. https://www.ganderpoems.org/2022/07/a-stubborn-lot-10-1-22.html
