On being rich!

    I love being rich!  Being rich changes everything about life and the life I enjoy.  For those who know me this relates to my being Christian and not rich money wise.  The question is how we handle either form of being rich.  What motivates us to seek the riches of this world versus the riches of God?  Why does that matter? 
     Motivation for anything in a Christian's life is key to our happiness.  That is what it's all about really.  Happiness is dependent upon our motivation.  In the world's form of richness that means seeking only to increase ones own position, power, and aloofness (nice word, huh!).  While we may live a life of less because of our particular story; we still look forward to better and more.  The motivation may even be altruistic as we want better and more under the guise of doing this or that for our families, friends and of course those in need.  Any motivation, other than God telling us, is essentially selfish and without love. 
     There are so many Christians whose riches account with First Heavenly Bank is empty.  Thinking is based on several things.  First, we are taught how we look at riches and who has the riches.  Growing up I didn't know anyone who was materially rich.  There was no goal of being rich in either way for our family.  Today, social media, public outcry, and the neighbors in "that" neighborhood provide the focus on what we have and don't have.  And so the motivation for riches is tainted with selfish desires. 
     Here is the tricky part.  There can be no heavenly riches unless we have our focus on Jesus.  Jesus is really clear in his teachings that the riches of this world mean less than the riches in him.  We can only see our need for Christ if we look at what's missing from our lives.  We can only see our need for the riches of the world if we look at what others have.  Focusing on the riches of others will never make me rich.  Focusing on the riches of Christ makes me already abundantly rich! 
     The Bible says the streets of heaven are paved with gold.  Quite the contrast with what the world thinks about gold.  Again the difference is dramatic as we cannot take the riches of the world with us.  The riches of being in Christ are immeasurable.  Think of how many people have come to know Christ as a result of God's answer to your, mine and others prayers.  We have riches from blessing others.  Heavenly riches don't tarnish or fade away.  In the world the riches come and go with the switch of the market value or the whim of a corporation.
     In heaven the riches we have fade from our focus as we look at being unselfish in our love towards God and others.  Many of the Christian rich live a world of poverty in the world's eyes.  We are rich by what we know matters most and not what we have.  It's just the exact opposite in the world. 
     One final word.  Well, maybe one more paragraph.  What matters the most for you as a follower of Christ?  It's not riches.  What should matter most is surrendering our lives (and concept of richness) to Jesus.  The more we surrender, the richer we are.  Did you get that?  The riches the Christian have is a mark of how surrendered to God we are.  It's amazing that the Christian life can be so simple.  We try and try to make it something it is not.  God doesn't care about your "Sunday best" as much as your enjoy the best of Sunday when his Son arose completing the work for your salvation.  That is the richness of God.