Great Wealth

"Get all you can, can all you get, and then sit on the can." In a world driven by the relentless pursuit of material wealth, this quote, attributed to Andrew Wommack and often quoted by our Senior Pastor, Pastor Dami Oguntunde, resonates deeply. As Christians navigating this same world, we must daily confront the challenge of how to live without being consumed by these unending material pursuits. To this end, the Apostle Paul, inspired by the Holy Spirit, in his admonishment to Brother Timothy in 1 Tim. 6: 6-10 (NLT), gave us an eternal pattern with which we should manage our affairs: "Yet true godliness with contentment is itself great wealth. After all, we brought nothing with us when we came into the world, and we can’t take anything with us when we leave it. So if we have enough food and clothing, let us be content. But people who long to be rich fall into temptation and are trapped by many foolish and harmful desires that plunge them into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. And some people, craving money, have wandered from the true faith and pierced themselves with many sorrows." The first lesson we must come to terms with is that wealth isn't the aggregation of material substance in great proportions (Prov. 11: 24). On the contrary, true wealth is the supernatural ability to be at peace with what God, in His divine mercy, has enabled us to have, and possessing a feeling of peace and fulfillment while maintaining a posture of pursuing increase only in a manner consistent with Godliness (Prov. 10: 22 NIV). When one begins to carry out their affairs in this manner, such a person is said to possess great wealth. To live otherwise, even in the abundance of possessions, is to be actually bankrupt. The next lesson we see in that passage is the fact that the sum total of our material possessions at the point of entry into this world was zero, absolutely zero. Hence, the only thing we truly possess at the entrance into the world, and what we will also possess at our exit, is that which was given to us by God Almighty. Our time here on earth should be spent in reverence to Him alone, especially with all that we've managed to acquire and accomplish here as we journey through this phase of eternity. Based on this premise, it is therefore expedient that we must rein in our carnal desires to accumulate material possessions by being content with what we have at any given time (see Phil. 4: 11-13). We should always look up to God for the very essence of our survival and preservation. This posture of humility keeps us firmly in Him as we journey. Lastly, we see a stern warning against misdirected LOVE. God has indeed asked us to be a people of Love (1 John 4: 7). But when we take that sacred command and misdirect its focus away from God and His people to money and material possessions, the end is catastrophic. Using God's command in a way that He does not intend means that the grace that enables one to achieve results consistent with God's plan isn't made available. This means that the only result that such a pursuit will birth is evil, whose by-products are sorrows. Therefore, it's essential that we adhere to this counsel. In conclusion, we see that it's God's idea that we have great wealth, but the path to that wealth must be God's. He also doubles as the destination that we all should be headed to, because to possess God and to be possessed by Him is what great wealth truly means. If we were to rephrase the opening quote to align with His agenda, it would read this way: "Get all God can give, and give all you can in your service and reverence to Him." To live this way is what amounts to great wealth, indeed. Shalom.