Almost everyone at one time or another thinks about being rich. They might define rich as wealth, substance, unlimited income and being able to purchase anything they desire. That definition may be acceptable to the world’s concept of being rich. However, the Bible talks about something greater than worldly wealth. In God’s Word we see another definition of being rich. Luke 10:11-12 (NLT) tells us, “If you are faithful in little things, you will be faithful in large ones. But if you are dishonest in little things, you will not be honest with great responsibilities. And if you are untrustworthy about worldly wealth, who will trust you with the true riches of heaven?”
To attain the true riches of heaven must be the goal of every person on earth. Everything we do, as we live on this beautiful earth God created, is a time of preparation for eternal life with our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. The true riches of heaven will be living for eternity with joy, peace and health as we worship our God and His son Jesus. Yet I believe we can experience here on earth a glimpse of the true riches God has prepared for us in heaven. No, I am not referring to financial wealth. The riches we can enjoy on earth are the fruit of the Spirit we read about in the book of Galatians 5:22-23. This is where the Holy Spirit explains the true riches of the fruit He produces in our lives such as love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.
You may be asking how the “true riches” of heaven relates to our financial position here on earth. We must look back to the first Scripture I brought up in this article. In Luke 10:11-12, we are instructed by the Holy Spirit to be faithful in both little and in large things. Then we are warned that if we are dishonest with little things, we won’t be honest with great responsibilities. Then it goes on to refer to worldly wealth. How will we receive the true riches of heaven? You see, the Lord is warning us that if we are not faithful with the little financial blessing here on earth, we will most likely not be faithful with a greater financial blessing. I believe that Scripture is also telling us that if we are faithful and we are trustworthy in our finances, we will receive the fruit of the Spirit in our life. We will experience love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control in our finances.
As we learn to be good stewards of the finances we currently have, the Lord will desire to bless us with a greater financial reward. That means if we budget, control expenses, avoid impulse purchases and put the Lord first in our finances by giving from our income to our church, we will become trustworthy. Please do not misunderstand; I am not trying to compare the blessings we can receive on earth here financially with anything that we will receive in the true riches of heaven.
We must believe in our heart that God desires to bless His people in every way He is able. He is not limited in the ways that He can bless us. God is not limited in His ability to bless us financially. However, we limit the blessings of God in our life when we do not line up our financial decisions according to the instructions given to us in God’s Word. We must be faithful where we are today financially; and our God will be faithful to give us His true riches in heaven and on earth.
Listen to Quality Christian Living with David C. Friend on Charisma Podcast Network now for more teaching on blessed finances. Also, visit davidcfriendauthor.com. {eoa}
David C. Friend was the founder and pastor of North Scottsdale Christian Church in Scottsdale, Arizona. He has served as the president of the Paradise Valley Chamber of Commerce and was chairman of the Grand Canyon University Foundation Board. Before answering God’s call and accepting the full-time position as pastor of North Scottsdale Christian, David spent 14 years in banking and owned a real estate development company for 20 years. He taught banking operations at Arizona community colleges. David resides in North Scottsdale with his wife, Sharon, and together they have two married children and six grandchildren. David is an award-winning author, veteran, entrepreneur, pastor, banker and teacher.
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