“Charge them that are rich in this world, that they be not highminded, nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God, who giveth us richly all things to enjoy.” (I Tim. 6:17)
He used the term “uncertain riches” indicating that riches themselves are not as great as they appear. Yet most people live under the impression that all of life’s troubles would be fixed if only they had a million dollars. That’s why the lottery and those big-money game shows on television are so popular.
People think riches are like a magic wand. They think that life is magically made all the better if one can just get his hands on a lot of money. According to the Bible, that isn’t true. That notion is a magic wand from the devil, and it cannot be trusted.
Consider the lives of some of these people who won the lottery . . .
Evelyn Adams is a two time winner of the New Jersey state lottery, in 1985 and 1986. In all, she’s won over $5 million . But she says, “Winning the lottery isn't always what it's cracked up to be.” Today, her money is all gone and she lives in a trailer.
William "Bud" Post won $16.2 million in the Pennsylvania lottery in 1988 but now lives on his Social Security.
In 1993, Suzanne Mullins won $4.2 million in the Virginia lottery. She used the promised yearly lottery payments as collateral for a loan and is in terrible debt today.
Ken Proxmire once won $1 million in the Michigan lottery. Within five years, he had filed for bankruptcy.
Willie Hurt of Lansing, Michigan, won $3.1 million in 1989. Two years later he was divorced, broke, a cocaine addict, and charged with murder.
Charles Riddle of Belleville, Mich., won $1 million in 1975. Afterward, he got divorced, faced several lawsuits and was indicted for selling cocaine.
The magic wand didn’t work for them. Satan and his salesmen told them it would work wonders in their lives, and they believed it, but it only left them worse than it found them.
Friend, if you think money is the answer—the thing that makes life so enjoyable and fulfilling—then I suggest you spend some time around wealthy people. You’ll see that most of them aren’t happy, they don’t have close and happy families and marriages, and they have very few real friends.
There’s an old proverb that says the wise man carries his possessions with him. That is, his real wealth is on the inside, not on the outside.
Do you have the character to stay in a marriage and make it work? If so, you have some wealth. Do you have the character to train your children up in the ways of God and firmly correct them when they need it? If so, then you have even more wealth. Do you have the character to be an active member of a Bible-believing church—to labor in its ministry and to sit under the straight teaching and preaching of the word of God week after week without getting offended and leaving? If so, you are rich, my friend, very rich indeed. You have something that Bill Gates and Warren Buffet do not have, and they couldn’t buy it with all the money that they do have. They have a defective magic wand. You have the “true riches” of Luke 16:11.
Material wealth is coveted by people in all walks of life, but it doesn’t work the magical wonders that that folks expect. It amounts to defective merchandise promoted by Satan’s salesman. Don’t buy it. Don’t be the devil’s fool. If riches increase, okay, but don’t set your heart upon them (Psa. 62:10). They simply cannot be trusted.
- James L Melton
