I was reading a little bit in Timothy today and I found a verse that is strikingly timely for the U.S. today.
“Instruct those who are rich in this present world not to be conceited or to fix their hope on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly supplies us with all things to enjoy.”
1 Timothy 6:17 (NASB)
Whether you realize it or not, if you are reading this on a computer you probably are part of the “rich” that Paul was referring to in this book. The truth is that if you make $50,000/year, you are part of the top 1% wealthiest people in the world. Now maybe you don’t make $50K a year, but even if you are at the poverty line in the U.S., you are still in the top 12% richest in the world (Check for yourself). So, no matter how you define “rich” it is probably tough to argue that Paul isn’t referring to someone like yourself.
The U.S. has been so incredibly blessed over the last couple hundred years. And since so many of us haven’t known anything else, it has been easy to fix our hope on our ‘”riches”. The recent economic downturn may just be a warning bell and it would be wise of us to heed the instruction of this verse, and transfer our hope back to God.
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Boy, what an eye opener! I am so blessed and so rich in comparison to most of the world. Our country’s current recession is such an object lesson in not putting our trust in the riches of this world. If only the recession would turn our people back to God, how wonderful it would be. The sooner we learn that God is our Provider, and not Uncle Sam the better off we will be.
Great post!
Awesome stuff! This is so good for us to think about especially in America where sometimes we feel the American Dream is a right. I am doing a few posts on 1 Timothy 6 and taught through it at church a few months ago! Great passage of scripture in relation to our riches.
Redeeming Riches
The pursuit of earthly riches destroys marriages, friendships, and your ultimately your faith. Jon and Kate Gosselin are perfect examples of what fame and fortune will do to you if you let it control your life. Good stuff, and great verse.
well – living in nyc is a lot different than living in the slums of India. 50k in nyc will get you nothing, while 10k in certain parts of India will allow you to live like a king. Just b/c someone with 50k is top 1% in the world does not necessarily mean they are living more lavishly. It all depends on location.
This is so true! THANK YOU for starting my morning with such a positive message. We truly are blessed if we are fed and have a roof over our head, good health and family and friends who love us. God is good! Loving your blog.
Wonderful words! So very true.
This is a time when the church, and more importantly, the people in the church to be out there telling people the Good News and giving them LASTING hope and joy! A lot of people are hurt, broken, and desperate right now. If we’re not there to lend a helping hand, guess who will be? Satan and his thug friends.
Great post, as usual!
There is a major fallacy in this article. What the article doesn’t discuss the cost of living between the United States and places such Rwanda or Republic of Congo. It would be wiser to evaluate different countries on their purchasing power parity. Purchasing power parity measures what you can buy with an allotment of money. For instance the purchase of food in the Unites States is much higher than countries in Western Europe and Russia.