A Simple Trust that makes us Miss the Mark

Introduction

The wisest man on earth till this day, the king Solomon says in Proverbs 11:28,

He that trusts in his riches shall fall..

 

What the World has taught us.

What I come to say is that everyone on earth rich or poor is forced to trust or depend upon riches these days. The world has taught us so for a very long period of time, making us believe that only riches can help us thrive on earth. The rich is thoughtful on his riches, relying totally on it and believing that his riches can save him to the end. At the same time, the poor whisks hither and thither in search of riches, spending all his time to earn and save riches by all possible means.

But the most pathetic part in this is that Jesus says in Mark 10:24 that,

…how hard is it for them that trust in riches to enter into the kingdom of God!

Dear children of God, it breaks my heart to think how many of us, anxious about our worldly concerns can make it up into His kingdom.

The Riches of the World includes

• wealth i.e. finance, property including lands, houses, gold, etc
• secure job with promotions, pay hikes, etc
• good health conditions
• good marriage
• good reputation in the society
• and all blah blah blah

Don’t We Really Need Any Riches

But dear friends, don’t we actually need any such riches on earth? Though we don’t care to become the world number one richest person, don’t we at least need some of the above mentioned lists to thrive on earth? Don’t we at least need the basic amenities to continue our life on planet earth?

Dear ones, God is never against riches because He is the One that bestows His riches on us without adding any pain to it (Proverbs 10:22). It is He who gives us the ability to earn (by giving us a good, secure job with promotions and pay hikes), it is He who gives us properties to relish, it is He who blesses us with a good wife or a husband, it is He who gifts us with beautiful children, et cetera.

The Don’ts About Riches

But what the Bible comes to say is that,

we should NOT

• trust in riches (Proverbs 11:28)
• desire to become rich (1 Timothy 6:9)
• make haste to become rich (Proverbs 28:20)
• labor to be rich (Proverbs 23:4)
• love riches (1Timothy 6:10)
• serve riches (Luke 16:13)

How We Miss The Mark

Just being anxious about or by striving to become rich, we get into temptations, snares, foolish and hurtful lusts of the world that drown us in destruction and perdition (1 Timothy 6:9), in other words we put ourselves into another track rather than the track which God has assigned for us to run our race in.

Illustration

Shiny Abraham, the first Indian female athlete to enter Olympic games, missed her gold medal in the 800-metre running in the 1986 Asian games, even though she finished first, because she missed her track and ran into another.

Just like that, being anxious about the worldly riches that every human being on earth inevitable needs to live on earth, we get distracted away from the purpose that God actually has for our lives, err from our faith and pierce ourselves through with many sorrows (1 Timothy 6:10).

Flee From The Next Track And Run On Your Own

The apostle Paul warns us to flee from the second track that belongs not to God but to the world and it’s ruler, and follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience and meekness. While there are list of things that God wants us to chase after while on earth, we totally forget them because we of our anxiety on the basic worldly needs.

Beware dear colleagues, we don’t need to be greedy to miss the mark. Just a little worry, a little unrest and a little trust on something else other than God can easily make us miss the mark.

How To Get Rich

It was God who made Abraham rich (Genesis 14:22). But Abraham’s heart was never beating for the earthly comforts. He was always ready to give up on anything but God. He gave up the prime preference of choosing the land to dwell to Lot, he was ready to sacrifice his only begotten son, Isaac, he just entrusted his servant Eleazar to find a wife for Isaac, he kept confessing that he was a stranger on earth (Hebrews 11:13), and all his target was on his native land, the Heaven (Hebrews 11:14).

God naturally blesses us with riches, when we keep seeking and doing His purpose for us. God’s purpose about Solomon was to rule His precious people, the Israelites, and when Solomon asked God for wisdom to rule them, God was so pleased that He granted Solomon all other riches that he needed on earth.

Jesus Himself counsels us in Revelation 3:18 to buy (to pay a price)

• faith (1 Peter 1:7)
• righteousness (Revelation 19:8)
• be enlightened with the anointing of the Holy Spirit and the Word of God (John 14:26; 1:9; Psalms 19:8)

in order to become rich.

Conclusion

Dear ones, let every beat of our heart beat for God and His purposes for us on earth. May our every breath on earth endeavor to fulfill His plan for us to the full. Let us strive to get the hell out of the adjacent track that seems to be right but the end thereof is utter failure (Proverbs 14:12). May God bless you!