O To Be A Rich Man

How many of us have ever thought or even made the statement, "I wish that I could be rich." Have you ever wished that you had all the money that you would ever want to spend? How many of you have ever felt that if you had all that you wanted, then you could be happy?

Let me introduce you to a man by the name of Jack Whiacher. Some time ago, he was the winner of the world's richest undivided lottery in history. He hit the powerball jackpot for $314 million dollars. On Christmas day 2010, he took the lump sum of $113 million dollars after taxes. He gave $7 million to all the Churches in his community and donated money to a little league and other children charities. But his wife claims the money did not enhance their lives. She said, "I wish we had never won the money, I wish we would have just torn up the ticket." Last year, the family told the Associated Press that they had been bombarded with requests for money and now the fame was taking a toll on the family.

Isn't that an amazing story? But it is also not surprising. Greed and money can be powerful forces. They eat away at our hearts and minds like acid. But Jesus warned us time and time again about the evil influence of money. In Luke 18, beginning in verse 18, Jesus tells us a story of a rich young ruler. He wanted to know what he needed to do to inherit eternal life. Jesus told him "to sell all that he had and distribute it among the poor and thou shalt have treasure in heaven and come and follow me." But the Bible said that he went away sorrowful for he had great possessions.

Mr. Whiaker's train wreck began when he felt like he needed more and so he bought a lottery ticket. What makes us think that we would wind up any differently? Why can't we learn from the Apostle Paul when he wrote in Philippians 4:11, "For I have learned in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content."