Rich Man, Poor Man by Adrian Rogers

JULY 29

Rich Man, Poor Man

“Two things have I required of Thee; deny me them not before I die: Remove far from me vanity [falsehood] and lies: give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with food convenient [needful] for me: Lest I be full, and deny Thee, and say, Who is the Lord? Or lest I be poor, and steal, and take the name of my God in vain.” - Proverbs 30:7-9

To pass the test of life, one test you may have to pass is the test of poverty. If so, the Lord has some advice for you. See your poverty in the proper perspective. Because in the Lord Jesus Christ you are highly exalted, no matter how poor you are. Having Christ, you are richer than the richest man on earth without the Lord Jesus Christ. As a Christian, you have gone from rags to riches.

Did you know that many of you would do better being poor than being rich? Some people can stand almost anything but prosperity. This is what our passage in Proverbs is saying.

Actually, it’s very hard to be poor and it’s even harder to be rich. The rich man may have an easier time in life, but he has a harder time passing the test.

The Lord does not tell the rich man to renounce his riches....just to properly assess his riches. It’s not wrong to have money. Some of God’s choicest of saints were extremely wealthy. Abraham is an example. But the rich man is to see his riches from a proper perspective.