I am rich

Psalm 49:13-15 This is the way of those who are foolish, And of their posterity who approve their sayings. Selah 14 Like sheep they are laid in the grave; Death shall feed on them; The upright shall have dominion over them in the morning; And their beauty shall be consumed in the grave, far from their dwelling. 15 But God will redeem my soul from the power of the grave, For He shall receive me. Selah

I have had the world come at me recently with the idea of the pursuit of the wealth of the American Dream; I have had God laying on my heart the reality of letting go of prized possessions. These two are in direct contradiction to one another; this is of no surprise for one is of Satan and one is of my Savior. Sadly we define others and even ourselves by our possessions; this has been around since sin and the beginning of time. We look up to the wealthy and look down on the poor. There is incredible proof in how deep sin is rooted in our character from the fall of man at the Garden of Eden in that understanding. That outlook on life is a character trait you were born into. Only by the grace of God, the work of Christ, and the lifelong process of sanctification frees you from that bondage that condemns. A spiritual marker in your journey is the point at which “stuff” just does not have the hold on you that it once did; when attaining stuff is no longer your pursuit in life. This inner change is a work of the Holy Spirit, but this change is a life-long process that He continually puts before you. “What do you place before me?”

There is striking similarities between this Psalm and the book of Ecclesiastes that was written by Solomon. The book of Ecclesiastes is very pertinent to how much value we place on our careers and all that we seemingly attain from them. Solomon wrote 1:2 “Vanity of vanities,” says the Preacher; “Vanity of vanities, all is vanity.” In contrast though, Solomon did not write this Psalm. The Sons of Korah did, and if you have not heard of them, they wrote about 25 of the Psalms, and their lineage is a powerful story of the power of God. I have included a link here.
http://www.gotquestions.org/sons-of-Korah.html

Part of the reason I do not play the lottery is the fear of winning the lottery. What does the Bible tell us about being rich? Read about Jesus and the parable of the rich young ruler; Luke 18:23 But when he heard this, he became very sorrowful, for he was very rich. 24 And when Jesus saw that he became very sorrowful, He said, “How hard it is for those who have riches to enter the kingdom of God! 25 For 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.” You might say, “I would give it all away to the poor.” Would you, could you? Sanctification is the work of the Holy Spirit for all of your life conforming you into the image of Jesus Christ. The greater the work He does in you, the greater the work he does through you. You become a living testimony to the power of God to save the sinner and to attain heaven all through the Gospel. You begin to see this life as the preparation for the eternal life, and that is where true riches lie. Revelation 21:21 The twelve gates were twelve pearls: each individual gate was of one pearl. And the street of the city was pure gold, like transparent glass.