Rich Man, Poor Man

16 And he spake a parable unto them, saying , The ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully :
17 And he thought within himself, saying , What shall I do , because I have no room where to bestow my fruits?
18 And he said , This will I do : I will pull down my barns, and build greater; and there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods.
19 And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease , eat , drink , and be merry .
20 But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be , which thou hast provided ?
21 So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.

I have heard people say, "If only I were rich, then I would give to others." Well, are you rich towards God? If you do not share what you have now, you will not share if you are rich. We have heard of people who have won the lottery or suddenly inherited great wealth who squandered it all on themselves and they have ended up in debt.

Mat 5:3 Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

What do we have to be poor to go to heaven? no, but we are to have a heart towards doing the will of God. To be poor in spirit is to hunger and thirst for more of God; to hunger and thirst for righteousness.

Mat 5:6 Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.

Wealth apart from God, is poverty. Use what God has given you as he directs you by the Holy Spirit. Be rich towards God; rich in his word, in obedience, in His spiritual family and in a right relationship to God through Jesus Christ. Be a blessing, for all we have belongs to God and we are to be good stewards, good servants until we are with him.

Mar 10:23 And Jesus looked round about, and saith unto his disciples, How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God!

We are not to put anything ahead of God. We are to trust in him, for all we have can be taken away, even our life.

Luk 9:25 For what is a man advantaged, if he gain the whole world, and lose himself, or be cast away?