When we think of being rich, often the first thing (maybe the only thing) we think of is having plenty of money. But what’s God’s idea of being rich? God wants us to be ‘rich’ in our relationships, in our health, in our peace of mind, in our careers, and in everything that concerns us. It goes much further than money – God wants to bless us in every area of our lives. That doesn’t mean He’s against us having money. But what we need to remember is that God expects us to be good stewards of the resources He’s trusted us with. Take a look at the Parable of the Three Servants in Matthew 25:14-30. Each servant was trusted with a different amount of money, depending on their ability to look after it. Imagine if the third servant had been given the largest amount of money, and then did nothing worthwhile with it. (We could also think of the money as being some other sort of gift that God’s given us, and the return on investment being the number of people we’ve helped through that gift.) Matthew 25:29 goes on to say: ‘To those who use well what they are given, even more will be given, and they will have an abundance. But from those who do nothing, even what little they have will be taken away’ (NLT). When God blesses us with a gift, whether that’s money, or a skill, or something else, we need to be thinking about how we can use that gift to bless and help others, and maybe even bring them to Christ. It’s quite a challenge, and maybe it’s very different from the way we’ve thought before, but we can be confident that God will help us. We just need to ask.
