For a Christ-follower, is it okay to be rich or to seek to be rich? The answer is found in answering another question first: What is your life story?
Abraham, the model of faith, was super rich, as were many godly personalities in the Bible. How much was Abraham worth in today’s valuation of money? Fifty to 100 million dollars. So, he was incredibly wealthy. He had influence. He even met with the pharaoh of Egypt. He had status to go along with his financial abundance.
But if I asked you, what was Abraham’s life story about? Would you say he was a great businessman? That he sought riches and got them? That he was a man of status and wealth? That’s probably not what you would focus on in the life of Abraham. If you were writing his life story and developing his character, what points of his personality would you highlight?
As we read about Abraham in Genesis, and then the references made about him in the great “Hall of Faith” in Hebrews 111, we see the plot of Abraham’s life. Abraham was a man of God. He was a man of faith, so much so that God entrusted Him to be the father of all those who believe.
Did Abraham aim to be rich? The Bible never says he did, but I can tell you this, to have 100 million dollars worth of assets, he did not take a vow of poverty. Surely, he had some money-making skills, but it was not the substance of his life story. Money and the pursuit of it did not occupy the lion’s share of his passion and his heart. God did. And that’s how trusting God became the center of Abraham’s life story.
As Christ-followers, we err when we get so scared of money that we actually take steps away from it, as if this is the godly thing to do. It’s godly to move away from anything that would steal our heart and love. But if we aim to make following God the story of our life, then making money is more than acceptable. It’s needed. Just lay it all before Him: your money, your assets, your children, and your life. Everything. It all belongs to Him. We are His—body, money, and soul.
So is it okay to be rich and seek to be rich? Yes, as long as we seek first the Kingdom of God.2
