If I Were a Rich Man (part 1)

The brother in humble circumstances ought to take pride in his high position. But the one who is rich should take pride in his low position, because he will pass away like a wild flower. For the sun rises with scorching heat and withers the plant; its blossom falls and its beauty is destroyed. In the same way, the rich man will fade away even while he goes about his business. —James 1:9–11

We spoil our entire lives trying to accumulate money. We ruin our vacations, health, marriages, children, and friendships—and for what? In the end we wither and die and leave our wealth behind. That’s why money, no matter how much we have, is a bad investment.

There’s more to money, however, than the fact that we leave it behind. The greater problem is that it can ruin our lives right now. It makes us believe that money, when we have enough of it, will make us secure and significant.

In the introduction to his book Money and the Meaning of Life, Jacob Needleman wrote, “I have always pictured poverty as associated with fear and anxiety about the future, fear of abandonment, fear of physical danger, and fear of loneliness. I see the poor as trapped, tense, cunning, harsh. I see them bored, empty of hope, or consumed by absurd fantasies.” The answer, he continued, is to make money, for money talks and tells us we’re very significant.

Money does talk, but mostly it lies to us. It really isn’t true that money will make us feel successful and secure. The well-heeled know it isn’t true. Enough is never enough. Having money is just a goad to get more.

Furthermore, money also deceives us by telling us we’re wise and powerful. As Tevya, the fiddler on the roof, mused, when you’re rich it doesn’t matter if you answer right or wrong, “ ’cause when you’re rich they think you really know.” But isn’t it odd that rich men, stripped of their wealth, are often considered great fools?

Financial ruin can make you look foolish, but it can also be an occasion to gain great wisdom. It teaches us James’ odd inversion: “The brother in humble circumstances ought to take pride in his high position. But the one who is rich should take pride in his low position” (James 1:9–10).

Poverty can enrich us because in it we learn the secret of true wealth. Being rich isn’t about money, you see; it’s a state of mind. There is a wealth that leaves us poverty-stricken and a poverty that makes us fabulously rich.

Money, if we love it, will impoverish us, for it will turn our hearts from good. “If your eyes are bad,” Jesus said, “your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness!” (Matthew 6:23).

Taken from Seeing God, © 2006 by David Roper. Used by permission of Discovery House Publishers, Box 3566, Grand Rapids MI 49501. All rights reserved.