What does it mean to be rich?

The meaning of being rich is a complicated question. Though you may be rich compared to others, you may struggle to pay your bills. You may have a high income but great debt.

1 Timothy 6:2-10 instructs Christians who are poor how to live and relate to wealth. In verses 17-19, the Bible instructs wealthy Christians how to use their wealth for God's glory. In this passage, the rich are those whose wealth is such that they are not concerned with their basic needs and can afford comforts and pleasure beyond basic needs.

Christians with earthly riches are warned not to put any hope in their riches but to hope in God alone, trust in God's provisions, and use what they have for God's glory.

In contrast to the celebrated scribes, Jesus draws his disciple's attention to the place where people brought their temple offerings. Their attention was naturally drawn to those making large gifts, but Jesus wanted them to witness something greater.

Jesus pointed to the poor widow's offering as a greater offering in the sight of God, not because of worldly value but because of the heart of worship. From the widow's offering and Jesus' teaching, we find the principles that giving is good, must be sacrificial, and is an act of worship.

The testimony of Achan's sin testifies to the danger of greed and the importance of being thankful for God's provisions. Gratitude and thanksgiving are the responses to God's provision and grace. Greed is the sin of being ungrateful and taking what has not been provided.

This passage teaches us to be thankful for God's provision and honor him with what He provides.

Christians are called to be generous givers. In 1 Corinthians 8, while encouraging the generosity of the saints, Paul uses the phrase "excel in this act of grace." It is good and right to excel in faith, knowledge of scripture, and spiritual maturity. But let us also excel in grace, giving abundantly and generously as the Lord provides.

This parable is unsettling. And I believe the more we understand it, and the more we rightly identify with the characters in it, the more unsettling it will become. Jesus tells this story to teach major themes about eternity, heaven, and hell. This parable is intended to teach, warn, and to encourage the wayward to repent.

We live in a world that values things. The sales pitch is always the same, “more things equal more happiness.” We like to hear that we “need” more things, or we “deserve” more things. So often, the temptation to judge our own value or success by the number of things we have collected overwhelms us. And as a result, we pursue an unattainable goal to have enough. The tragedy of all this striving for more is that we invest our resources, talents, and efforts in the attempt to attain things that will never be able to hold the value that was spent pursuing them.

There are riches that brings blessing, but these are not recognized by the world nor celebrated by men. The true treasures that bring true blessings are the things of the Lord. Seek after true treasure and being rich toward God.