Rich In This Present Age

She considers a field and buys it; from her profits she plants a vineyard.

Proverbs 31:16

According to a report released by the US Department of Agriculture, it now costs as much as $282,480 to raise a child to age eighteen. That’s the standard amount for those in the northeast. For other parts of the country, the figure drops to an average of $245,340. But that doesn’t include college.

It takes a lot of money to live, and that’s why the Bible tells us to manage our money as wisely as we can. The wise woman in Proverbs 31 is a hard worker, a careful saver, and an astute investor. She provides for today’s needs and stores up for tomorrow. The Lord doesn’t necessarily want all of us to take a vow of poverty as Francis of Assisi did. Many of the heroes of Scripture are well off. But the Bible says that those who “are rich in this present age” should not be haughty nor trust in uncertain riches but in the living God who gives us all things to enjoy (1 Timothy 6:17). God will provide for us.

It’s not our pocketbooks but our perspective that makes us truly rich.

The real measure of our wealth is how much we should be worth if we lost our money.

J. H. JOWETT