READ: Ezekiel 28:1-5
“…Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble.” – James 4:6
Labour not to be rich because riches can make you very proud. God resists the proud. Why should you spend your life labouring for something that will most likely make you proud? Why should you spend your life labouring for something that will make God resist you and fight against you?
Riches can harm you! Giving money to someone can destroy him. The prodigal son’s money destroyed him. “There is a sore evil which I have seen under the sun, namely, riches kept for the owners thereof to their hurt” (Ecclesiastes 5:13).
Labour not to be rich because riches are hidden and will require your whole life to find them. “And I will give thee the treasures of darkness, and hidden riches of secret places, that thou mayest know that I, the Lord, which call thee by thy name, am the God of Israel” (Isaiah 45:3).
Riches are often unusable. Riches are often never really enjoyed by their owners. Why is this? Many rich people are unhappy. Many rich people have bad marriages and difficult relationships. Many rich people have warped personal lives.
Research has shown that earning more than a certain amount of money does not change your life significantly. For instance, you simply cannot use the extra toilets and bathrooms in your house all at once. Therefore your life does not change much with the extra toilets and bathrooms.
“A man to whom God hath given riches, wealth, and honour, so that he wanteth nothing for his soul of all that he desireth, yet God giveth him not power to eat thereof, but a stranger eateth it: this is vanity, and it is an evil disease” (Ecclesiastes 6:2)