Why Not Getting Rich Quick is Good

This revelation has been a long time in the making.  There is a lot of teaching out there in the world that goes something like this:

• richer is better
• riches will increase happiness
• getting rich quicker is better than getting rich slowly
• he who has more riches is has accomplished more in this world
• the amount of riches is equal to your value on the earth
• and so on

Unbelievably (although not really if you read Revelations and other prophecies because it’s predicted in vivid technicolour), many of these teachings have crept into the church.  They look like this:

• God wants you rich
• the more riches you have, the more blessed you are
• there is a direct correlation between amount of riches and your faith level

Essentially, it’s the same story in the church and out which is more than somewhat disturbing.

But I was victim to it.  I came from a path of seeking riches and fame to the foot of the cross where I met Jesus.  I was immediately greeted by teachings in the church that supported this way of being so I was never really led to question it.

Until today.

Today God started opening my eyes about riches and within a few seconds of searching I came to this page which summarizes the entire book of Proverbs and what it has to say about riches.

First, the book of Proverbs is, for all intensive purposes, God as Wisdom speaking to us and imparting the way we ought to live if we want to be successful both in the earth and the afterlife.  It’s bar none the most practical book for daily living and building up a good foundation.

Somehow I glossed over the scriptures on riches until today when this one jumped off the page and whack-slapped me left, right and up.

“He that hasteth to be rich hath an evil eye, and considereth not that poverty shall overcome him. ” – Proverbs 28:22

Now in the King Wayne Version (KWV)

“A dude who rushes to be rich for the sake of being rich is an evil dude, and didn’t stop too think that poverty is about to run up from behind him, trip him, stomp on him, and then body slam him (followed up with a whack-slap while he’s down)”

Hmm.

This confirms everything in my life.  I have been seeking riches for some other motive that wasn’t for the glory of God.  In addition to that, I’ve been always frustrated why the path has been horribly ‘slow’ and full of much painful learning.  I have often questioned God’s presence in the midst of it.

Slowly, I am coming to the ‘full’ revelation that the slow and painful path is in fact the way to true riches, not just spiritually but also in the world. And this makes all the sense in the world.  If God had’ve dropped a bag of gold on my lap five years ago, I would have made hasty and incorrect decisions that would have not been seasoned with wisdom.  Now that I used friends and family money to lose it all, I am going through a long period of having nothing extra.  And this is good.  Yes, you read that correctly.  Nothing could have been better for my soul than this intense suffering.

Wide is the road that leads to destruction.

Many go down it.

Narrow is the road that leads to life.

Few find it.

Conclusion of this matter is as follows:

1. The slow way is the better way to riches
2. The hard way is the better way
3. The narrow path is the better path
4. Above all, if our motive is not for the glory of God, we need to get that part right first