Read
–7–
4Give up trying so hard
to get rich.
5Your money flies away
before you know it,
just like an eagle
suddenly taking off.
Reflect
“Give up trying so hard to get rich.” Today the advice of this ancient wise man is simply quaint. What do you mean, give up? I haven’t even gotten started! My credit card is maxed out. My student loan is still nagging. Or is it that I am trying to save for a down payment? Everywhere there are hands out asking for my money. So I need to keep earning a living wage.
Yet the experience of the ages confirms this wise advice. Wealth is fleeting and a poor substitute for the true goods of life. The currency of the kingdom is love and right relationships. It cannot be monetized or measured in economic terms. But this kind of thinking butts up against powerful cultural currents. And in doing so creates turbulence in our lives.
No one knew this better than Jesus. He was steeped in the scriptures that he studied as a teenager. When an eager and successful young man came to him for advice the conversation went something like this – “Teacher, what is the next good thing that I can do for the security I am seeking?” Jesus’ answer surprised and dismayed him. The secret he learned was to give up his hold on fleeting wealth. In the end Matthew reports that rather than following he went away sadly (Matthew 19:22). What a loss.
The kingdom story cuts across the dominate narrative of our culture. It asks us how we will measure our lives. The missionary to the Aucas, Jim Elliot, once wrote, “he is no fool who gives up that which he cannot keep, to have that which he cannot lose.” And he lived a counter-cultural life. (See his biography, The Shadow of the Almighty by Elisabeth Elliot.) The old wisdom of Proverbs is surprisingly contemporary. It will leave you with riches that won’t fly away.
Respond
Lord, you have richly blessed us with all things. Teach us to focus on the true riches of life. And to find our heart’s desire which rests with you. Turn our thoughts from fleeting fancies to your one true word, we pray in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen.
John Wood
Dr. Wood is Professor of Biology and Environmental Studies at The King's University and Dean of the Natural Sciences Faculty. His research is on urban ecology, campus sustainability and food insects. John was born in Japan, grew up on a clear-cut in western Washington State and attended North Park University in Chicago. He has written and spoken widely on caring for creation to church and campus groups. His recent publications include: How Then Shall We Eat? Insect-Eating Attitudes and Sustainable Foodways; Stewarding the gift of land: Christian campuses as land management models; and Sustainable Missions: Ethical Principles for Holistic Practice in a Broken World.