Proverbs 10 :22
The blessing of the LORD, it maketh rich, and he addeth no sorrow with it.
There are many rich people on Earth who are poor in the Lord, and therefore have no inheritance in eternal life. Unless they turn to God for salvation, sorrow awaits them after death. just as it happened in the story of Lazarus and the rich man - Luke 16 : 19-31
To be rich in God may include physical and material blessings, but the absence of it does not always mean you are without God's blessings. Lazarus the beggar was rich in God's sight. The widow who gave her widow's mite as an offering to God was richer in God than the seemingly wealthy ones who gave much more - Luke 21: -4
And He looked up and saw the rich putting their gifts into the treasury, and He saw also a certain poor widow putting in two mites. So He said, “Truly I say to you that this poor widow has put in more than all; for all these out of their abundance have put in offerings for God, but she out of her poverty put in all the livelihood that she had.”
When you have the blessing of the Lord you are called BLESSED. Most often we equate being blessed to having wealth. However God has a much bigger picture of what it means to be blessed. In Matthew 5 :3 -10, Jesus outlines the type of people He considers blessed :
“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.
Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.
Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.
Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
To be poor in spirit is a state of the heart, mind and soul when one is ready to fully embrace God regardless of whatever they stand to lose. When you are poor in spirit, you may be physically rich, but should God allow you even to be stripped of your physical wealth like Job in the book of Job, you will still praise God and trust in Him. When you are poor in spirit, you are ready to even give up the best of relations in order to gain God. One who is poor in spirit has his or her mind on God all the time, and such kind are regarded blessed, according to the Words of Jesus.
Jesus goes on to tell us that God regards those who mourn as blessed. This may not sit well with many people's definition of who is blessed. However, in the Book of Hebrews when the heroes of faith were mentioned, those who greatly suffered persecution and probably mourned when not left out. These were blessed people - “Still others had trials of mockings and scourgings, yes, and of chains and imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sawn in two, were tempted, were slain with the sword. They wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, tormented– of whom the world was not worthy. They wandered in deserts and mountains, in dens and caves of the earth (Heb. 11:36-38).”
The meek were also considered blessed. Those who hunger and thirst for righteousness are considered blessed. The merciful are considered blessed, so are the pure in heart, the peacemakers, and lastly those who are persecuted because of righteousness. From these verses popularly known as the Beatitudes, we are exposed to blessings that do not necessarily consist of material wealth. Material wealth is a part of God's blessings, nevertheless if God bestows on you a cup of suffering like He did to Jesus and Paul, it does not negate your blessing, because blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the Kingdom of God. Better the end of a thing than the beginning thereof. In the end, there shall be no sorrow for you, for there is no sorrow in Heaven.
May we allow God to strip off from us filthy riches of earth in order to gain the riches of Heaven. And by this I do not mean we ought to live in poverty, as I have already mentioned material wealth as being part of God's blessing. Filthy riches of earth are riches devoid of God and all He stands for - wealth without salvation, peace, joy, and love. Don't end up rich but poor. Make God your priority and be rich and rich, the only kind without sorrow in the end.
God bless you!
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