Living a life with God is not always a guarantee of worldly success and untold riches in the traditional sense of the word. Certainly the Lord blesses us and takes the time to share in our joys. In spite of this, there are a number of people in this world that are loaded with riches, money, fame, fortune and worldly things that are not living a Godly life. How is this fair to those people that walk with God?
Scripture says that God will bless us and that the meek shall inherit the earth. Repeatedly throughout the Bible, it is said that the Lord will bless us if we only believe and welcome His presence in our lives. The truth is, we are not talking about the same blessings and riches. For an example, let us look at the Israelites as they head towards the Promised Land.
Moses led them and they struggled mightily on their trip to the Promised Land. The Lord had told Moses that he would be with them if they only believed. As they approached the Promised Land, and begin to take it over, God has angels watching over them. They are able to overtake any and all enemies in taking the land. Eventually, the Israelites begin to falter in their relationship with God. They begin to take on the religions of their fallen enemies, and they start to drift away. Quickly, God’s presence begins to fall away. As the beliefs waxed and waned over the years, God’s influence did as well. He still loved them, but He waited for them to come back to Him.
So it is with us today. We live our lives in various ways. Some are highly successful by the measure of the societies that we live in, yet they are barren in the eyes of followers of Christ. Others live God fearing lives and struggle with earthly possessions.
Have you ever noticed that a true believing Christian who has God in their lives is always happy? While they may not have possessions every time, they have the eternal promise of riches in heaven. More importantly, they have the unyielding love of the Almighty. That is the riches that the Bible is speaking of. Earthly riches come and go at the drop of a dime, but the eternal promise of the Lord is forever. Which would you rather have?
It is certainly possible to have both riches on Earth and in Heaven, though it is not a common thing. It takes a very special type of person to have both and not let them get in between one another. For example, the man who runs porn sites and has a million dollars in the bank doing so made a choice. He chose earthly riches over Godly living. This is an example of why it is possible to have earthly riches without God’s presence. People have the right to choose one over the other.
