I tell you, use worldly wealth to gain friends for yourselves, so that when it is gone, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings. Luke 16:9
“The very fact that we have the leisure time to read a book or watch television means that we are wealthy. We do not need to be ashamed of our wealth or try to hide it from ourselves and others. It is only as we admit our wealth and quit trying to run from it that we are in a position to conquer it and use it for God’s good purpose.”
Richard Foster in The Challenge of the Disciplined Life: Christian Reflections on Money, Sex, and Power (HarperOne: San Francisco, 1979) 33.
I enjoyed the last book by Foster so much, I’ve moved to another classic. This is a must-read if you have never read it. Today’s exhortation is to use whatever wealth God has entrusted to you to make friends for eternity.
My great grandfather (before my time) would say, our wealth is like a cup. God filled it so we’d have something to enjoy and share. But if we leave it in the cup, He cannot refill it. We must put it to work, use it for Him.
Today’s charge is to take inventory of what you have and put it in play to accomplish God’s good purposes. If fear holds you back, it reveals your trust is misplaced in that wealth. Don’t let your story end there.
Write a new ending. Put it to work. Use worldly wealth to make friends for eternity. And the welcome you will get in heaven will be unfathomable. You’ve got this. God’s got you.