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“Many who seem to be struggling with adversity are happy; many with great affluence, are utterly miserable.” – Tacitus (Roman Historian)
AFFLUENCE is the state of having a great deal of money; wealth. Wealth includes an abundance of possessions, plentiful supplies of a particular resource, and material prosperity. I’ve often been in the company of people and organizations of affluence. It happened this past week and is always really interesting to me. I wonder how they feel about their position. Do they see themselves as self-made? What will they choose to do with affluence? For Christians, how is the Kingdom positively affected by God’s choice to allow them great means? Paul instructs, “Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who provides us with everything for our enjoyment. Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life.” (1 Timothy 6:17-19)
Paul extols the virtues of PHILANTHROPY – the desire to promote the welfare of
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others, expressed especially by the generous donation of money to good causes. You may not believe it, but in the world most Americans are affluent. According to globalrichlist.com, someone in the US making the Median income in Cincinnati $34,000 is in the top 0.88% of the richest people in the world by income. According to a 2015 CNN article, 71% of the world lives on less than $10 a day…or $3,650 per year! That definitely gives some perspective, and hopefully will inspire you to think of ways you can use your affluence to help at least one other person on the globe.
In the US, we compare our lives with each other and generally find ourselves lacking. We too often say that we’re ‘poor’ and ‘broke.’ Not only is this not true for most of us based on the data, but it’s also unwise. Our America-centricity and lack of world view causes us to be ungrateful. We are the rich: that brings with it responsibility. If you still think you’re in a bad place, King Solomon issued perspective on how to think about our financial state and our relationship with God. “Better a little with the fear of the LORD than great treasure with turmoil.” (Prov. 15:16) “Better a little with righteousness than great gain with injustice.” (Prov 16:8) “The little that a righteous man has is better than the riches of many wicked.” (Prov. 37:16)
Solomon’s thoughts on the transfer of affluence have always caused me to yearn and look forward with hope to be able to be a conduit of blessing. “A good man leaves an inheritance to his children’s children and the wealth of the sinner is laid up for the just.” (Prov 13:22) “Whoever increases wealth by taking interest or profit from the poor amasses it for another, who will be kind to the poor.” (Proverbs 28:8)
