Tevia, You're Not the Only One Who Wants to Be Rich

My husband and I were riding home last night from his hometown Jena, a town about an hour and a half from where we live. All of a sudden, I gasped, “I have a great idea for an invention: battery operated coffee mugs that will keep the coffee warm the entire time you’re drinking it.” The idea seemed so fresh, so right. With a subtle smirk, I leaned back in my seat; closed my eyes; and envisioned a luxury kitchen with stainless steel appliances, granite countertops, and a convection oven that we would soon be able to afford because of my invention. Earlier that day we had complained about our coffee getting too cold too fast, but in a matter of time, we would be cashing in on the most brilliant idea ever to be introduced to modern day society.

To be certain that someone had not already thought of my idea, I took my husband’s phone and Googled “Battery Operated Coffee Mug.” But to my dismay, someone had indeed beaten me to the gold mine. There it was. Plain as day. The patent on MY invention.

Suddenly, my visions of a luxury home dissipated into a vision of a tiny, one-bedroom shack. I stuck out my bottom lip, much like a kid at Wal-Mart who didn’t get that toy, and said, “I want to be rich.”

“I don’t,” my husband responded. “I just want to be comfortable.”

I stuck my lip out even further. “Well, I do.”

Is it wrong to desire wealth? Should we feel bad for wanting to be prosperous? I have always believed God wants us to live meek, humble lives, without any material wealth or societal status; but let’s look at the matter more closely. In Mark 10:35, James and John approach Jesus and ask him to place them in a position of high authority and status. Jesus does not respond to their request “You fools, no one shall be prosperous…EVER!!!” His response is quite the contrary. He explains that he is not in the business of awarding places of honor and that only through servanthood will people earn these places of respect.

After reading this passage, I began to question what that could possibly mean. I have always been told and preached to that this means that we should “be servants” in the church by picking up trash, cleaning toilets, washing the cars of various preachers, running errands for the pastor, and the like. But doing this in the church suggests that there is a church hierarchy that people should aspire to climb. And I personally don’t believe there is such a hierarchy. Who’s to say that the pastor of a church or a member of the board is any more vital to the kingdom of God than the person who keeps children in the nursery during service and vice versa? By nature, we humans place these roles on a hierarchy, but I don’t believe that God does the same.

So what was Jesus talking about? I believe that he wants us to be servants of the lost, the hungry, and the hurting, not servants of those who have already achieved great wealth or those who are already saved.

To be considered great among people, we must be the servants of those people. We have selfish human desires to be great. The desire for greatness will never go away, but it’s important that we channel those ambitions in the right direction. We must ask ourselves whom we are trying to impress. Are we trying to look good in the eyes of corporate executives, church board members, or any other given “who’s who” figure? If so, then we’re trying to impress the wrong people.

Jesus sought to impress the lost. He wowed them with his miracles and offered them mercy that was both undeserved and uncommon. Believe it or not, he was indeed impressing these people. He didn’t worry about what any of the “who’s who” had to say.

I believe that the spiritual side of the issue is quite similar to the secular side. If we are good stewards of our time, money, and resources, then we will be more deserving of wealth and success. God is not in the business of helping us to win the lottery. He is in the business of awarding good stewardship. When Jesus healed or blessed people in the Bible, he always required an action of some sort beforehand or he petitioned a particular behavior after their interaction.

So I will probably not attain wealth by inventing the next greatest thing. I know that some people do attain wealth this way, but Jesus points out that this goes to people’s heads. But perhaps I will attain wealth by taking care of what God has given me, working diligently, and honing my God-given talents.