Garwood Presbyterian Church

Is It OK to Be Rich?

Proverbs 10:22, Proverbs 19:17, Luke 12:15-21, 33-34, I Timothy 6:17-19
#4 In "God's Guidelines For Financial Success"

Introduction Is it OK to be rich? What do you think? You better hope it is, because by both Biblical & world-wide standards, we are! The answer is "Yes" it is OK, but the Bible says that there is also great danger in being rich. Secondly, it is OK to be rich, but only if we fulfill one special condition.

1. The Bible Says that Part of God's Blessing for Our Obedience to Him Out of Love Is Wealth
   1. Proverbs 10:22
      1. Deuteronomy 28:2, 11
      2. Proverbs 3:9-10
   2. Our country, which was founded on and still carries out many Christian principles out of love and obedience to God, is an example of this prosperity.
2. We Are Rich by Both Biblical and World-Wide Standards
   1. Do you know you are? Do you thank God for it? You should.
   2. The gross national income per person in our country is $44,970.
   3. But the Bible says that God only promises to give us food, something to drink, and clothing.
   4. Many people in the world do not even have this for themselves.
      1. About 900 million people every day go to bed hungry and are malnourished.
      2. Also, over 3 billion people live on $2.50 a day or less.
      3. In Uganda where our missionary Helen Willcox serves the Lord, people there have to live on less than $1 per day, for a total of $300 for a whole year.
3. God Warns Us that Being Rich, Besides Being a Blessing, Is Also Very Dangerous
   1. Luke 12:15-21
      1. I Timothy 6:9-10
   2. Most people can not handle being rich as they go on to selfishly live for their money and things.
4. As a Christian, How Do We Handle Being Rich?
   1. By fulfilling the one Biblical condition of how we are to use our monetary riches.
      1. That condition is - the more we get, the more we are to give.
      2. We are to use the Lord's money that we have to unselfishly live by lovingly giving it to those who have much less than we do in Jesus' name.
   2. I Timothy 6:17-19
      1. Luke 12:33-34
   3. The good new is that Proverbs 19:17 said that when we give to the poor, that we are also giv-ing to God, and that He will repay us by rewarding us for it later.
   4. When the Civil War was coming to an end, the smart people exchanged their Confederate money, which was about to become worthless, for Union money which would continue to have full value.
      1. In the same way, before our life here on earth comes to an end, we should exchange our money here, which will be worthless in heaven, for treasure in heaven (before we go there), by using it to help the poor and any other people who have much less than we do.
   5. How much should we give?
      1. As much as there is love in our heart. See 1 Cor. 13:3 and 2 Cor 9:7.
      2. The minimum, however, should be 10% of our total income. See Lev. 27:30 and Mat. 23:23.

Conclusion: We already learned in this series that the key to financial success is to live below our income, instead of in debt. One of the main reasons for this is so that we have money left over that we can unselfishly give to others who have much less than we do in the name of the God of love. I will exchange at least 10% of my income here for eternal treasure in heaven. ____ I will not. ___