About
staying faithful during times of plenty…
Luke
6:20 Looking at his disciples, he said: "Blessed are you who are poor, for
yours is the kingdom of God. 21Blessed are you who hunger now, for you will be
satisfied. (NIV)
As
difficult as it is to keep our faith during times of poverty and suffering, it
can often be more difficult to stay faithful to God during times of plenty. We
can see in the lives of famous people who have incredible wealth the impact of
losing faith and slipping into lifestyles of sin. When a person is rich and can
buy any material thing needed, on the surface, faith is not needed. On the
surface, the power of money can replace the power of faith. On the surface, the
power of money can replace or buy off the worries ordinary people have about
food, shelter, paying the bills, and having security for the future. However,
when times of wealth and plenty arrive, there comes with the power of money and
wealth the risk of a consuming emptiness. With the consuming emptiness
associated with the power of wealth comes the high risk of alcoholism, drug
abuse, and the need to engage in sinful behaviors to take away the inner torment
produced by wealth’s emptiness. During times of plenty we must work to
continually count our blessings. During times of plenty we must continually be
on our knees praising God and seeking His guidance and forgiveness for our sins.
It is the sinfulness of greed during our times of plenty that can consume us. It
is God’s love during our times of plenty that can shield us from the harm
produced by our sinful greed. It is God’s love during times of plenty that can
help us survive our wealth.
