The Moral Imperative to Become Rich

The Moral Imperative to be Rich

Each and every person has a moral imperative to become rich.  That sounds weird because we are taught "the meek shall inherit the Earth".  That's all based off Psalm 37:11 and Matthew 5:5.

In context so we don't miss something,

Psalm 37:11 NIV

But the meek will inherit the land and enjoy peace and prosperity.

Matthew 5:5 NIV

Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. 

Going with the "meek shall inherit the earth" theme is pretty simple.  Misguided people use it to justify why YOU and not them should be poor.  But, they are wrong because they use the Bible out of context to justify why people shouldn't try and succeed.

I say out of context because they ignore several important bits.

Psalm 24:1 NIV The earth is the Lord's, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it.

Also, 1 Corinthians 10:26 NKJV for "the earth is the Lords's, and all its fullness."

What does that tell me, and this is what the Bible really means by "the meek shall inherit the earth". 

MONEY IS NOT YOURS.  POSSESSIONS ARE NOT YOURS.

As Jesus put it... 

Luke 20:20-25
Keeping a close watch on him, they sent spies, who pretended to be sincere. They hoped to catch Jesus in something he said, so that they might hand him over to the power and authority of the governor. So the spies questioned him: "Teacher, we know that you speak and teach what is right, and that you do not show partiality but teach the way of God in accordance with the truth.  Is it right for us to pay taxes to Caesar or not?"

 He saw through their duplicity and said to them, "Show me a denarius. Whose image and inscription are on it?"

"Caesar’s," they replied.

 He said to them, "Then give back to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s."

Here, Jesus harkened back to Psalm 24:1.  Render unto Caesar what is Caesar's, and to God what is God's is a statement designed to see if those religious teachers actually believed and followed the law of God.  Fun fact: they didn't. To clarify so there is nothing left to chance: everything is Gods.  As I heard from Dave Ramsey one time, "he owns the cattle on a thousand hills, and the hills too."

Being meek is the understanding that everything I have has been given to me through the grace of God and his blessings.  It's an understanding that I can do nothing without God.  It's also an understanding that

Ok, so the money I go out and work for isn't mine.  So what am I supposed to do with it?  Give 10 percent to God and use the rest as you see fit.  You need to think differently about money, wealth, and possessions.  You need to think as if you were an employee of a major corporation, using their money and items. 

Most people don't treat their work equipment like they treat their own equipment.  But that's the way you have to think about it.  I have a business cell phone.  I treat it like a business cell phone.  I know at any time, I may have to give it up and potentially get a new cell phone.  The laptop I use is a work laptop.  I spend so much time at work, my laptop bleeds into my personal life.  But I still know this laptop belongs to my company.  If they want it back, they will take it back. 

I try to think about all my possessions in that way.  I try and manage money as if I am managing it for someone else.  As such, I spend a lot of time budgeting and figuring out how the cash will flow and the bills will get paid.  All that has to happen for the company (you, INC) to stay in business.  I might go into budgeting later.  But a lot of others have said much better things than I have.  Check out Dave Ramsey, Larry Winget, or Jim Cramer.

Now, if you don't believe in God, then this probably isn't going to help you.

But, if you don't believe in God then you might as well acquire as much as you can because being broke sucks. 

Next time, unless I get distracted...  more on the moral imperative to become rich.