For the first time ever, more than 50 percent of American households invest in the stock markets. Given the opportunities for online trading and the lure to get-rich-quick investments, some young families are selling family heirlooms to invest the proceeds in the market. Some even take out second mortgages on their homes with a view toward quickly doubling their money on Wall Street. Others make plans to make enough money to enable them to retire by fifty years of age at the latest. Such is the state if financial frenzy in which many live during prosperous times and bull markets! King David lived in very different days. There was no stock market, and even charging interest was looked upon with disfavor. But David recognized that “trying to get rich: (Ps. 62:10) was on the minds of at least some of his contemporaries. He warned them about trying to get rich by “extortion and robbery”. For those who had no intention of engaging in fiscal illegalities, David added, “And if your wealth increases, don’t make it the center of your life.” In saying this, the great king put his finger on a sensitive spot. Wealth has its own fascinating allure. It holds out the promise of the best “best of everything”-the best seat in the stadium, the best table at the restaurant, the best car in the lot, and the best school in the suburbs. It beckons with offers of untold delights, it suggests it can cure all ills and satisfy all desires, it whispers that it can open doors otherwise closed, and it boasts that it can solve intractable problems. Is it any surprise that people look to wealth as their savior and make it the center of their lives? There is nothing intrinsically wrong with wealth. How can there be when God is the one who gives people the ability to get wealth (see Deut. 8:18). It is the prominence that wealth is afforded in the heart that is often wrong. Wealth-or the search for it, or the control of it, or the expenditure of it-does not belong in the center; it is at best peripheral. Powerful as wealth is-and who can deny its power?-wealth can do nothing about a fundamental aspect of human existence. Human beings are extremely fragile. “If you weight them on the scales they are lighter than a puff of air” (Ps. 62:9). Not only is wealth incapable of solving this “unbearable lightness of being,” but when a man for whom wealth is central is wafted into eternity, he goes minus his center. He is hollow. And standing before the one who is the center to all life, he sees his error-but too late. “There’s been plenty of times that I’ve said, ‘man I wish I was wealthy. I wish I had it all.’ But when I think about it I am blessed and wealthy already; I’m saved, I have God guiding me, I have Jesus in my life who died for my sins. That has got to be the wealthiest thing someone can have. Eternal life away from the evils that burden our lives. Oh yes I know I still ponder over how much money I will have and if I can strike it rich but I should never panic because God gives me the strength and a strong will to succeed. I know what’s in my heart and that is to be first and foremost a Godly person and I am working on that extremely and that’s one of those things we always have to work on whether you’re a preacher or not. I am glad to say I’m getting stronger in the word and it will take time to understand so much out the bible. It’s a lifelong journey which is a fun one if we make it. I know God has a plan for me, I know I’ve fallen by the wayside, which we all do at times and I know he believes in me to be successful. To me being a godly man, doing your job to the fullest, helping others, raising your family in accordance to way God wants you to, and loving life is the richest thing a man or woman can ask for. God wants us to be successful. He wants us to prosper but sometimes it’s not as easy as it seems. It takes a little work and always use guidance from the Lord. I promise he want steer you away from success. I love all you guys and girls that are on here and ones I don’t know. You are all creations of the Lord. I will never hate you, I may hate your ways but we should always love one another and that’s how I feel and I pray and have faith that God’s guidance will keep my heart, soul, and mind on this set of feelings about you all.” Shaun F. Hawkins
Posted on: Tue, 27 Aug 2013 13:26:21 +0000
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