Wealth Archives - In the beginning God

Daily Reading

Daily Thought

When Solomon became king, God offered Solomon whatever he wanted, “In that night God appeared to Solomon, and said to him, ‘Ask what I shall give you’” (2Chronicles 1:7). Solomon spurned riches and honor and asked for wisdom. Wealth and power would make him a mighty king, but wisdom would make him a good king, a godly king. God granted Solomon wisdom and knowledge, and then went ahead and gave him riches and possessions and honor on top of it.

God made Solomon wise, but he also gave Solomon a challenge that would test and could strengthen his wisdom. “Thus King Solomon excelled all the kings of the earth in riches and in wisdom” (2Chronicles 9:22). Would riches and possessions and honor serve God and God’s kingdom or would they serve only Solomon?

Solomon would be a great king, but not fully, not with his whole heart. Solomon was wise and could have ruled his kingdom with wisdom, but he did not rule himself. Rather, he drank the world’s riches of wealth and wine and women. At the end of his life, Solomon reflected, “He who loves money will not be satisfied with money, nor he who loves wealth with his income; this also is vanity. There is a grievous evil that I have seen under the sun: riches were kept by their owner to his hurt” (Ecclesiastes 5:10, 13). Solomon, at last, became truly wise, but too late. His kingdom would be divided, as was his heart.

“No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.” ~Matthew 6:24

Daily Prayer

My God, my Lord, my Savior, I will serve and follow You fully, keeping my eyes on You, focused on the prize, a glorious day to come when I might hear the words, “Well done, good and faithful servant.” You are what is good in life and I long to be godly. I will guard my heart against distractions. Strengthen my will and give me wisdom to choose well.

God, You are the center of my life, and all else revolves around You. You are first in everything. I trust my life to You, knowing that a life can only be great when it is first good and godly. This is my resolve. I pray this will be my actions, as well.

Amen

Daily Question

What stands between you and giving your heart whole and fully to God?

Daily Reading

Luke 19-20

Daily Thought

Given a choice between riches and God, the man clung to his wealth, and Jesus observed, “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” (Luke 18:25). The disciples were shocked because in their mind, rich people could do anything. Except let go of their riches, explained Jesus, which made it impossible for them to follow God, “but what is impossible with man is possible with God” (Luke 18:27). Along came Zacchaeus, “a chief tax collector and rich” (Luke 19:2)–just the guy to show what God can do.

Zacchaeus, in name Jewish, served Rome instead, collecting taxes for Caesar. This earned him the hatred of his people, but he favored money more than friends. Little wonder the crowd did not part to let the short guy up front, so Zacchaeus was forced to climb a tree if he would see Jesus. When Jesus stopped under the tree and looked up, Zacchaeus must have feared the worst–the holy man would call out the sinner, but instead, Jesus invited himself to dinner, “Zacchaeus, hurry and come down, for I must stay at your house today” (Luke 19:5). It was not a request, but a necessity, not for Jesus’ sake, but for Zacchaeus’. The crowd grumbled that Jesus would “be the guest of a man who is a sinner” (Luke 19:7), and the sinner opened the door and let him in. Greed may have its grip on the heart of Zacchaeus, but grace is stronger. Grace is the power of God to do in Zacchaeus what he would never do on his own. “Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor. And if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I restore it fourfold” (Luke 19:8). God did the impossible and the rich man let go of his riches.

Daily Prayer

Father God, You are good and Your ways are good for me. I choose to follow You, to stay on the path You put before me. Made in Your image, I desire to look like You again. Thank You for Your Son, who showed me what You look like. Thank You for Your Spirit who day-by-day transforms me into Your likeness.

May my life be a reflection of You, so that I can say to others, “Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ.” To Your glory!

Amen

Daily Question

What does God compete with most for your heart?

Tag: Wealth

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