Rich in All the Wrong Ways | Jesus Smart X, Ep. 375

Some are rich — just in all the wrong ways. Jesus had something different in mind.Let's unpack what it means to step off the expressway of self and into the off-road adventure of Kingdom generosity. From investing in relationships to leveraging resource for others, living rich toward God is not just a posture. It's a path toward the greatest treasures on earth and beyond and in the New Heavens and New Earth on the horizon.----------See the full episode transcript below.👉 Explore more episodes: JesusSmart.com/podcastIf this episode gave you a fresh perspective on Kingdom Living, share it with someone who needs encouragement.Be sure to follow the podcast. Each episode is designed to help you think more clearly and pursue the kind of life only Jesus makes possible.Stay current via The Smart Edit newsletter—Elevate your faith. Live smart. Make an impact. Free. Weekly. 5 minutes to grow. Sign up at JesusSmart.com/smartedit.----------EPISODE TRANSCRIPT: Rich in All the Wrong Ways. Are You Rich Toward God?Friend, welcome to Jesus Smart X. I'm Brian Del Turco, your host.What does it mean to be rich toward God? Jesus coined that phrase. We're going to touch on it today in this short episode. Being rich toward God points to a lifestyle that yields the highest harvest, both now and forever.This episode is based on a guest post by Matt Peterson, a pastor in North Carolina, published on JesusSmart.com. It might just change how you invest your days and weeks.A quick encouragement: check out the last episode, Willing and Obedient: The Blessing Is in Motion, a Jesus Smart 180. We looked at obedience as the on-ramp to God's blessing. Today we're staying in that neighborhood, unpacking what it means to live rich toward God.The question on the table: are you rich toward God? Am I? What does it mean?Before we get into it, subscribe to the Smart Edit newsletter for weekly Kingdom insight at jesussmart.com/smartedit.The Parable of the Rich FoolJesus was teaching in Luke 12 when someone in the crowd said to him, "Teacher, tell my brother to divide the family inheritance with me." Jesus replied, "Man, who appointed me a judge or arbiter over you?" And then he said to them, "Beware, and be on your guard against every form of greed, for not even when one has an abundance does his life consist of his possessions."He told them a parable. The land of a certain rich man was very productive, and he began reasoning to himself. Notice what he said to himself. He never once thought, I have a superabundance. Maybe I should give some of it away and help the poor.Instead he said, "This is what I will do. I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I will say to my soul: you have many goods laid up for many years to come. Take your ease, eat, drink, and be merry."But God said to him, "You fool. This very night your soul is required of you. And now who will own what you have prepared?"Then Jesus concludes: "So is the man who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God."There's the phrase.The Expressway of MeJesus knows that a lifestyle of generosity and sowing reaps the highest harvest, in this life and in the age to come. The question worth sitting with: will our future self thank our current self for how we lived?Jesus is not saying don't prepare for the future. He's not saying never spend anything on yourself or enjoy life. Paul told Timothy that it is God who richly supplies us with all things to enjoy.What Jesus is sharing is a secret more important than self-preservation or self-increase. It's the secret of stepping off the wide expressway everyone's racing on. Call it the expressway of me. Onto an off-road adventure of living as a giver of riches.What does it mean to live rich toward God? It means living on a path where you discover the greatest treasures on earth. And what are the greatest treasures on earth? People. Jesus came and gave it all for people.It's a journey with constant opportunity: encourage the wilted, give water to the thirsty, celebrate the successes of others, ask how you can add value, multiply value, enhance someone's progress. Weep with the suffering and find ways to free the oppressed.You can find the full show notes for this episode at jesussmart.com/375.Serving the KingWhat we're really doing when we live this way is serving the Kingdom of Heaven. In effect, we are serving the King himself.Being rich toward God means joyfully volunteering in the mission of serving the purposes of the Kingdom, and that is fundamentally an investment in people. When I invest in relationships, serving my now-adult children, my wife, brothers and sisters in Christ, even those outside the Kingdom, I am being rich toward God.The world defines success as being rich toward yourself. And those who go all the way down that road will tell you, if they're honest, that it's empty. Depressing. There's no real fulfillment in it. No peace.But when we leverage our resources, our energy, our prayers toward others in need, we are richly lavishing on God. Remember what Jesus said: when you've done it to the least of these, you did it to me.When I spend the best part of my day conversing with God, walking with him, listening to my Father, I am being rich toward him. And out of that intimacy, that conversational relationship, I will be rich toward God by investing in others.Give What You HaveLiving rich toward God means giving what we do have instead of waiting for more to give. You have time. You have energy. You have some money, some talents and giftings, some material things. We don't wait until we have more before we start giving. We start with what we have.It means finding ways to make another life richer with intentional words of encouragement. What if we took up the habit: every day, do something intentional. Text somebody. Email someone. Call someone. Go analog and tell someone face to face. Give a word of blessing. Give a word of encouragement and support, rather than being fixated on our own needs and our own quest for pleasure.Here's the thing: we will enjoy life better when we are rich toward God, which means being rich toward others for whom Jesus died.Investing in EternityLiving rich toward God means making the most of our time now, with eternity in view. Ten thousand years from now, in the new heavens and the new earth, what the Bible calls the age to come, we will gather with the thousands of lives we touched on earth. Our future selves will be grateful for how we chose to live in this age: serving others, blessing others, living rich toward God instead of building bigger barns, hoarding it all up, and eating, drinking, and being merry.The Rich Young Ruler was invited by Jesus onto that off-road journey. He couldn't release what he had. He declined.We can say yes. We can live rich toward God.About Matt PetersonI'm grateful for this content from Matt Peterson. He is the Lead Pastor at Awake Church in North Carolina and the founder of Hydrating Humanity, an organization working in the poorest areas of the world with water, economic, social, spiritual, and physical development. Look them up. Links are on the show notes page at jesussmart.com/375.This is a wrap on Episode 375. Show notes and links at jesussmart.com/375. And if you haven't yet, subscribe to the Smart Edit newsletter. It's free, comes out weekly on Thursdays, and is packed with Kingdom-focused content. 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