Bible Society of South Africa

Many people see the accumulation of wealth and possessions as their main purpose in life. However, the Bible clearly teaches us that the desire for material possessions can dominate our lives if we are not careful. We cannot serve two masters. We cannot serve God and money. We need to work as God intended us to and so obtain true wealth which is lasting. The Bible calls this storing up treasures in heaven. We don’t need to worry about our daily needs f we put God first in all we do.

"You cannot be the slave of two masters! You will like one more than the other or be more loyal to one than the other. You cannot serve both God and money." Matthew 6:24

"Don’t store up treasures on earth! Moths and rust can destroy them, and thieves can break in and steal them. Instead, store up your treasures in heaven, where moths and rust cannot destroy them, and thieves cannot break in and steal them. Your heart will always be where your treasure is." Matthew 6:19-21

"Don’t worry and ask yourselves, “Will we have anything to eat? Will we have anything to drink? Will we have any clothes to wear?’’ Only people who don’t know God are always worrying about such things. Your Father in heaven knows that you need all these. But more than anything else, put God’s work first and do what he wants. Then the other things will be yours as well." Matthew 6:31-33

However, the Bible does not say that it is wrong to have earthly wealth. See what King Solomon, one of the richest men of his time, teaches us about earthly wealth.

"It’s much better to be wise and sensible than to be rich." Proverbs 16:16

"God blesses everyone who has wisdom and common sense. Wisdom is worth more than silver; it makes you much richer than gold. Wisdom is more valuable than precious jewels; nothing you want compares with her." Proverbs 3:13-15

Today, don’t spend so much time and energy worrying about things at work that you forget that your first task is to campaign for the kingdom of God.

Prayer: Heavenly Father, help us to remember that you always have to come first in our lives. Give us the wisdom and insight to work in such a way that everything we do, we do to the glory of your name. Amen