The Bible Edge
Practical Points to Ponder from Proverbs
Proverbs 13:7
There is that maketh himself rich, yet hath nothing: there is that maketh himself poor, yet hath great riches.
To anyone who has given up great riches for ministry, this verse is for you.
To anyone who has obeyed the Scriptures to the diminishment of their earning potential, this verse is for you.
To anyone who gave it all away, this verse is for you.
To anyone who gladly suffered the loss of all things for His sake, this verse is for you.
To anyone who has toiled in obscurity, not coveting the spotlight of popularity or fame, this verse is for you.
To anyone who thinks that they have wasted their life in walking humbly before their God, this verse is for you.
For anyone who is not poor due to laziness or bad choices, but rather, by choice, this verse is for you.
For all the anyone’s who think they are a failure because they have not riches, a million-dollar retirement, or earthly financial security, yet have worked diligently on the behalf of others, this verse is for you.
This verse is not for everyone, it is for the ‘anyone.’ It is for the ones who maketh themselves poor.
If you are one of these anyone’s, you are rich. You have great riches. You have invested in Heaven; you have laid up your treasures in your future eternal hometown. You have earned rewards few will ever obtain; you have done wisely. The banker will not agree, the stock gurus won’t agree, the financial planners won’t agree, your family may not agree, the world in general who measures everything by dollars and cents won’t agree, and sometimes you may be tempted to not agree. But it is true. God sent this devotion to you today to encourage you to keep on, give more, sacrifice continually, serve others, die to self-daily, and live for Him and Him alone! By doing so you are heaping up treasures in Heaven.
R.G. Lee, a Baptist pastor, once preached a message titled Payday Someday. This sermon was greatly used by God and warned unbelievers of the terrible fate of dying without Christ. But like almost everything his title could have another meaning. Yes, there is a payday someday for sinners, but there is also a payday someday for all the saved. For anyone who chooses to make themselves poor there is also a payday someday. Just wait!
Making yourself poor is a choice, one that not all can make. But for those who do, this Bible edge is for you. You have great riches. Never doubt it for a second.
William T. Howe, Ph.D.
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