I Am Rich!....

I don't play the lottery. But I must be honest and admit that I've thought about it - a lot! I find my thoughts drifting to the possibility of winning thousands or even millions of dollars when I'm paying bills and money is not stretching as far as I need it to. Or sometimes when something big goes wrong with the house or a vehicle, and it's going to take a chunk to fix the problem. Or sometimes when I decide on something I want or someplace I really want to go, and it's just not in the budget. And then there are times when the philanthropic me would love to take care of needs that I see around me or even across the world, but I don't have the resources to do much at all. When my mind dreams about what I'd do with all that money, I always think, "I'll give a bunch of it to the church and mission work!" I really would, but thinking that probably helps clear my conscience! The fact is, I am not sure how having lots of money would change me, if at all.

Jesus spoke about being rich several times in Luke, so it must of weighed on his mind. In Luke 16, he tells of the Rich Man and the beggar. The beggar was at his gate everyday, covered with sores and longing to be fed the crumbs from the man's table. This is the poor man whom the dogs licked his sores! A very pitiful situation. The rich man never acknowledged the beggar, never offered him anything to eat, never offered to clothe him with the clothes his servants were taking to Goodwill, never offered to get him medical attention, never even shewed away the dogs! The poor man died and was taken to heaven; the rich man died and went to Hell. Hell was so torturous that the rich man asked that the beggar be able to come and just give him a dip of cool water! He still didn't get it! Even in Hell, he expected the beggar to serve him - he didn't get that something was so very different between them that they ended up in very different places!

Jesus again spoke of riches in Luke 18. Here he speaks to the Rich Young Ruler who asked what he needed to do to receive eternal life. Jesus recited the Ten Commandments and told him to keep them, to which the rich young man said he had been keeping them all of his life. Jesus then said there was one other thing he needed to do and that was to sell all of his possessions and distribute the revenue to the poor, which would build up treasure in heaven, then follow Him. Wow! Can you imagine what must have been going through the young rich man's mind? He was rich...and had never lacked for anything...could come and go and do as he pleased - just like if I won the lottery! Now Jesus was asking him to sell EVERYTHING  and give away the money. He had been watching Jesus; he must have known the kind of nomadic lifestyle He and the disciples lived - never quite knowing where their next meal was coming from or where they would lay their heads at night. Jesus was asking the young man to make a drastic change! The scripture says that the man "became very sad, for he was extremely rich." Then Jesus said that it would be easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.

At first thought, I can rationalize the stories Jesus told about rich people in one of two ways. One, I am not rich, therefore, I am not the focus of the stories, which lets me off the hook. Second, the stories can stand to validate the view that rich people are selfish and snobbish, and think they are better than everyone else. Accepting either of those, would indicate my own shallowness in my relationship with the Lord. So, I must dig deeper and think broader until the Holy Spirit shows me Truth that applies to me, personally. That's what Bible "study" really is - much more than "reading" the scripture.

Obviously, there is a literal meaning and application of the lesson of the rich men when "rich" means well-off financially. And, there is truth in those lessons. However, I believe the Bible is the inspired Word of God and that all of it has meaning and application to all people. I can't pick and choose the stories that I want to draw application from. There is something for me in all of His Word, but sometimes I have to study on it a bit more.

Okay, I am not financially well-off, so can I metaphorically be the rich men in the stories? Yes, indeedee! Let's take the first story, the rich man and the beggar. The rich man had a lot, and the beggar had nothing but sores. The beggar came to the gate everyday hoping to receive something helpful from the one who had much. How many people do I pass by everyday who needs something I can give? Attention, a smile, a hug, an ear to listen, a nice word, the gospel. You see where I am going with this. It's not necessarily about money but ministry. I am rich because I know the God of the universe! The Creator of all, the Helper, Healer, Comforter, Provider. the Rock, Forgiver, Redeemer, Salvation-giver! I have everything that "beggar" needs! Yet, most days and most opportunities, I pass right by and never even notice his/her presence.My gosh, even the dogs noticed the beggar and licked his sores!

What about the second story? I, too, try to keep the commandments. But Jesus wanted more than legalistic obedience. He wanted "heart" obedience. He told the rich man to sell all that he had and give the money to the poor. When the man couldn't do that, He said it was easier for a camel to go through the eye of the needle than for a rich man to go to heaven. I believe Jesus was talking about what we focus our time and attention on - whether that's money or family, or job, or sports, or scrapbooking, or quilting, or building birdhouses. What is it that we won't give up and instead, put Him first in our lives? The man whose focus or treasure is concentrated on something other than the Lord is the target of this story. I may do all the "things" that I can check off on my offering envelope, but none of those may deal with the condition of my heart. He readily admits that in our humanness, it is very difficult to not focus on something other than God. That's why he added the strange remark about the camel. But when we don't even notice or care that we are out of focus - that's the problem the rich young ruler had and was unwilling to rectify.

All this time, I've been reading those stories about rich people and thinking how "right" Jesus was to concentrate on them. Wow! How small-minded I've been. He has speaking to me and about me all the time because - I AM RICH because HE IS in me! I have won the Lotto!!!