Jesus Wants You to Be Rich
By: Chris Craft
Tags: Economics, Advice, Faith, Religion, Life

Jesus Wants You to Be Rich

Listen, respond, give, and be patient

Photo by Matt Lamers on Unsplash

Jesus wants you to be rich. Do you believe that? I know that statement sounds controversial or sacrilegious.

But yes, the same Jesus that said, “It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.” will lead you to unimaginable riches. The same Jesus who chased the money changers out of the temple for cheating people will give you great wealth.

Jesus wants you to be rich. The questions are how will He help you get rich, what you have to do, and when will you start living in the lap of luxury?

What does being rich mean to you?

Is being rich to you all about having a ton of money in this life? If so, then Jesus’ approach to obtaining wealth may not be right for you.

Truly being rich depends on your relationship with Jesus. Jesus is the man who owns everything, who genuinely wants to be friends with you and share everything that He owns with you. He also wants you to know that being rich is ultimately rooted in truly knowing God and living in His presence.

Money in itself isn’t bad. The LOVE of money is the root of all kinds of evil. If you view and use money as a tool for doing good, your mindset will change for the better.

The cool thing is that Jesus will give you all the bling in due time if you seek to have a good relationship with Him. Just trust Him and wait a little bit. He really wants to share it all with you.

“But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” — Jesus

Listen and Respond

The first thing that you have to do is keep your eyes and ears open. Jesus gives the best advice, but will you follow it?

Jesus is divinely creative in how He invites you to have a relationship with Him. I guess He has to be since he’s not physically here right now to ask you to be His friend. But look, He’s using silly guys like me to tell you about Him. And that’s just it. Jesus knows that people love to share good news. So listen out for the news and believe it when it crosses your path because faith comes by hearing.

Faith

If a person came up to you and said that they were a chef, they had you follow them to their restaurant, and then they prepared a wonderful full course meal for you, you likely would have faith that they are a chef. Faith is ultimately about trusting the unseen, but it’s a lot easier to have faith in someone who talks the talk and walks the walk — a person who keeps their promises.

Believing who Jesus says He is (the Way, the Truth, and the Life) is the catalyst to walking down the path of true prosperity. When you follow Jesus, you follow the Person who owns it all. The key is to not put your faith in money and resources but to put your faith in the Person who owns it all.

“No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.” — Jesus

Give

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, if your household income is $80,000, that would put you in the top quarter of all U.S. households. And if your individual income is $47,500, that would put you in the top quarter of all U.S. citizens. These numbers are based on income and not asset ownership or net worth. Either way, many people erroneously think that you have to make millions of dollars to be considered rich. The numbers tell a different story.

If you give, that means that you had something to give.

God is a giver of all good things. Giving good things (time, talent, treasure) with good intentions is a godly thing to do.

Oh, and giving in this life is a great investment for the future. Give what can be wasted, stolen, or destroyed now in exchange for an infinitely more valuable reward in the future.

“Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom. Sell your possessions, and give to the needy. Provide yourselves with moneybags that do not grow old, with a treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches and no moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” — Jesus

What does your bank statement say about your giving?

Be Patient

If you choose to follow Jesus and His directions, there’s no guarantee that your life will be peachy. As a matter of fact, there’s a good chance that you’re going to face a lot of struggles and temptations to go against His commands. There are people and powers that want you to trade eternal wealth for immediate “gain.” Yup, your enemy essentially wants you to sell your soul. Don’t take the deal.

Be patient. Everything that Jesus has said will come to pass has. He will keep His promise to come back for His friends too. And it will be at the perfect time.

“My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.” — Jesus

Following Jesus involves a lot of “right now, but not yet.” His friends get to enjoy glimpses of great things to come in the future. If you can hold on a little longer though, those glimpses will turn into glory. Yes, good ol’ delayed gratification.

This life is short and what you do within it matters. For right now, listen, respond, give, and be patient.