Rich or Poor?

As a child in primary school, I remember playing a game with my fellow friends called ‘Orang kaya, Orang miskin’ [directly translated as ‘Rich man, Poor man’]. One person would stand apart from the rest. That lone person was the Orang kaya, and we were the poor ones. Basically, we would chant a song which would require the Orang kaya to choose people to join him and become fellow Orang kaya. The last one left as the Orang miskin would be declared the loser.

I remember how we thoroughly enjoyed that game, and how we fervently hoped that we wouldn’t be left as the last Orang miskin. And now that I consider it, it is very obvious that even in the real world, we still play this game.

No one wants to be the poor man. We all want to cross over to the rich man’s playground. We want to be rich. We want to have the spending power to buy whatever our hearts’ desire is. Frankly, there are very few of us who would not want to be as rich as, say, the billionaire, Bill Gates, if we were given the opportunity.

Among the students in Kolej Teknologi Timur, I trust that many will go on to become successful dentists and doctors, and if you go into the private sector, you might be able to make a lot of money. And I believe that it is common knowledge that there are some of us who chose this profession for its monetary benefits, above all else.

But ask yourself, is it really worth it to slog day and night just so that you can see the figures in your bank account multiply? Is it really necessary to own that dream Ferrari that you have always wanted, just so that you can show off to others? Is this what life really is about? If it is, then what else is there left to live for once you have accomplished it all?

There certainly is nothing wrong with being wealthy. In fact, God Himself wants to ensure that we live our lives comfortably. But what are our motives?

Jesus gave us a parable concerning a rich man who stored up treasures for himself:

¹⁶ And he told them this parable: “The ground of a certain rich man yielded an abundant harvest.¹⁷ He thought to himself, ‘What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.’

¹⁸ “Then he said, ‘This is what I’ll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store my surplus grain. ¹⁹ And I’ll say to myself, “You have plenty of grain laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.”’

²⁰ “But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’

²¹ “This is how it will be with whoever stores up things for themselves but is not rich toward God.”

Luke 12:16-21 [NIV]

The rich man in the parable did not have the right motives, and his heart was chasing after something that was material. He was chasing after riches for the sake of it. What he did not realise was that the very day that he gathered those riches would be his last day on earth. How then would he enjoy those riches?

Jesus teaches us that it would be far better to store our riches somewhere where ‘moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal’ [Matthew 6:20].

And that place is Heaven.

Being rich in material things will get you nowhere. It will only serve to gain you the attention of robbers, the envy of others, the awe of the public, and the headache of having to maintain that rich lifestyle and reputation.

But storing treasures in heaven works on a different plane. Storing treasures in heaven gains you eternal life. It takes you so much closer to God. It gives you so much more joy and completion than the things of the world can give you. The things and people in this world can hurt you and break you and tear you apart, but God will never ever do that to you, because He loves you too much to hurt you.

So where will you store your treasures? What riches are you chasing after?

It’s your call.

 

Rich and poor have this in common:
   The LORD is the Maker of them all.

Proverbs 22:2 [NIV]