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Side Effects May Include...
Wealth has some pretty powerful side effects. If wealth were an over-the-counter medicine, there would be bold warnings printed on the packaging. Warning: May cause arrogance. While taking this medicine, extra precaution should be taken not to offend people. If taken for prolonged periods, may impair perception, causing hope to migrate. If you saw a commercial for wealth on TV, it would show pictures of happy people holding hands in the park. Meanwhile, the announcer would be listing all the ways it can ruin your kidneys, rot your stomach, cause sudden heart failure, and destroy your life.
So what can you do to offset these terrible side effects?
With some medicines, the side effects can be reduced by taking them with food, by starting off with small doses, or by combining them with additional drugs. The side effects of wealth can be mitigated in a similar way. Not by drinking milk, but by exercising a particular routine on a regular basis. Paul explained it to Timothy this way:
"Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment." (1 Timothy 6:17)
Did you see it? The way to offset the side effects of wealth ... to avoid being arrogant and putting your hope in wealth ... is to put your hope in God. That's the short answer anyway.
Haven't you met people who are good at this? There are some rich people who, no matter how much God sends their way, never seem to put their hope in their riches. Some are "middle-class" rich. Some are multimillionaires. And some only seem rich when you compare them to a third-world country. But no matter how rich they are, they don't trust in their riches. They trust in God.
An amazing thing can be observed within this group of rich people. Since their hope is in the Lord, they never seem to suffer from the first thing Paul cautioned about: arrogance. Despite being rich, they're humble and thankful and generous at heart. They don't worry if they'll have enough or if the stock market will recover or if the merger will go through. Their hope is in the Lord. So their hope remains steady in every circumstance they face.
Wealth has some pretty powerful side effects. If wealth were an over-the-counter medicine, there would be bold warnings printed on the packaging. Warning: May cause arrogance. While taking this medicine, extra precaution should be taken not to offend people. If taken for prolonged periods, may impair perception, causing hope to migrate. If you saw a commercial for wealth on TV, it would show pictures of happy people holding hands in the park. Meanwhile, the announcer would be listing all the ways it can ruin your kidneys, rot your stomach, cause sudden heart failure, and destroy your life.
So what can you do to offset these terrible side effects?
With some medicines, the side effects can be reduced by taking them with food, by starting off with small doses, or by combining them with additional drugs. The side effects of wealth can be mitigated in a similar way. Not by drinking milk, but by exercising a particular routine on a regular basis. Paul explained it to Timothy this way:
"Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment." (1 Timothy 6:17)
Did you see it? The way to offset the side effects of wealth ... to avoid being arrogant and putting your hope in wealth ... is to put your hope in God. That's the short answer anyway.
Haven't you met people who are good at this? There are some rich people who, no matter how much God sends their way, never seem to put their hope in their riches. Some are "middle-class" rich. Some are multimillionaires. And some only seem rich when you compare them to a third-world country. But no matter how rich they are, they don't trust in their riches. They trust in God.
An amazing thing can be observed within this group of rich people. Since their hope is in the Lord, they never seem to suffer from the first thing Paul cautioned about: arrogance. Despite being rich, they're humble and thankful and generous at heart. They don't worry if they'll have enough or if the stock market will recover or if the merger will go through. Their hope is in the Lord. So their hope remains steady in every circumstance they face.
Scripture
About this Plan
You might think, rich is the other guy. Rich is having more than you currently have. If that’s the case, you can be rich and not know it. You can be rich and not feel or act like it. In fact, most of us are richer than we think. We just aren't very good at it. It’s one thing to Be Rich. Andy wants to help us all be GOOD at it!
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We would like to thank North Point Ministries and Andy Stanley for providing this plan. For more information, please visit: www.andystanley.com
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