Document: /pub/resources/text/Our.Daily.Bread: db931205.TXT
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    OUR DAILY BREAD                       Monday, December 6, 1993
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    Read:  1 Chronicles 29:1-20

                         BAD AND GOOD OF WEALTH

                 Give me neither poverty nor riches ...
                  lest I be full and deny You, and say,
                           "Who is the Lord?"
                            --Proverbs 30:8-9

    The  other day I received a letter saying that I am still in  the
    running  to win the Reader's Digest Sweepstakes.  I imagine  that
    all the millions of people who received this notice would like to
    be the winner.  But winning it might not be good for some of  us.
    Sudden wealth could hurt us spiritually.

    Agur,  the writer of Proverbs 30, didn't ask God for  wealth.  He
    was afraid that if he were rich he might feel self-sufficient and
    try to live without God.

    Yet some very godly people in the Bible were rich.  Moreover,  it
    was  because  many of the Israelites had great wealth  that  they
    could  provide  lavishly for the building  of  the  temple.  This
    realization  led  David to declare, "Both riches and  honor  come
    from You" (1 Chr. 29:12).

    We can be thankful for what some wealthy Christians do with their
    money.  A  family  with whom I am acquainted  gives  hundreds  of
    thousands  of  dollars to Christian causes  annually.  What  good
    their riches accomplish!

    The fact remains, however, that not all of us can be trusted with
    great wealth.  So don't set your heart on it.  Instead, thank God
    for  what you have, and be content.  Then use what He  has  given
    you as a sacred trust.

    Author:  Herbert Vander Lugt

                   If we've been blessed with riches,
                        We must be rich in deeds;
                       God wants us to be generous
                    In meeting others' needs.  --Sper

    THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:
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    Wealth  is a double blessing when it's used for the  blessing  of
    others.

    THE BIBLE IN ONE YEAR:  Colossians 1-4

   





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