Want to Be Richer than Bill Gates?

What’s true wealth? Is it gold that glitters under the sun? Or is it wealth that no one and nothing, not even death, can take away from you?

Let’s consider material wealth for a moment. We can have everything we want in life: huge mansions, fancy cars, ever-expanding wardrobes, and a sailboat or two to boot–but should our lives be measured by monetary values? Is the worth of our lives so calculable that we can consider ourselves wealthy simply by adding up our material possessions? Even if we feel wealthy by owning great possessions, what good would such wealth do us when natural calamities take them away from us? And when we die, could we take our wealth to our graves? Thus, our lives shouldn’t “consist of the abundance of the things [we possess].” (Luke 12:15, WEB)

What’s true wealth then? Jesus our Messiah and future King once told a parable that answered this question:

The ground of a certain rich man brought forth abundantly. He reasoned within himself, saying, “What will I do, because I don’t have room to store my crops?” He said, “This is what I will do. I will pull down my barns, and build bigger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. I will tell my soul, ‘Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years. Take your ease, eat, drink, be merry.'” But God said to him, “You foolish one, tonight your soul is required of you. The things which you have prepared–whose will they be?” So is he who lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God. (Luke 12:16-21)

So true wealth is being rich toward Yahweh God Almighty, the very Creator who has given us the precious gift of life. Being rich toward God is establishing and maintaining a sacred and intimate relationship with Him.

But why is a relationship with Yahweh true wealth?

Because what’s created has been created from nothingness, and can therefore return to nothingness. On the other hand, since Yahweh is the Creator, only He is real, unchanging, and stands forever; therefore, only He can provide solid reliance in life, Someone we can hold on to now and forever.

Thus, God is who enriches our lives. When we know Yahweh, our knowledge and intimacy with Him helps us align our walk with His perfect will. We’ll have peace of mind, knowing we’re moving in the correct direction with the right support. Otherwise, we’d be like travelers in the wilderness without maps and a compass to guide us to our destination.

A relationship with Yahweh will last forever, for when we love God and His Son Jesus Christ, we will live with them in an everlasting paradisiacal world of sheer love, joy, peace, prosperity, and perfect health after our future resurrection. A sacred relationship with our Creator will never grow old; it’ll be “a treasure in the heavens that
doesn’t fail, where no thief approaches, neither moth destroys.” (Luke 12:33)

Achieving true wealth–richness toward God–will be your lifelong goal, a goal that cannot be accomplished overnight. It can be achieved only through teamwork: your Heavenly Father empowering you with the strength and courage to be faithful to His commandments, and you cooperating with Him by trusting Him for your every need and want and by seeking His Kingdom and righteousness first.

And when you seek His will first, all other things will be added unto you, and with Him will your heart be, for “where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” (Luke 12:34)