4 Do not wear yourself out to get rich;
do not trust your own cleverness.
5 Cast but a glance at riches, and they are gone,
for they will surely sprout wings
and fly off to the sky like an eagle.
Not Getting Rich
Many students in the world focus on getting an education to get a good job. A good job for many is getting financial security. The security of finances though is a false security. It can be taken away. Also, there are many stories that show how those who pursue finances can lose their family relationships, their health, and their character. Why should we get an education, then? Why should we earn a salary? Where should our security lie? The answer to these questions is the same. I needn’t spell out that God is the aim of our education, our salary, our very lives. However, how do we do this? A simple reflection every morning would help. “What is today going to be about?” or “Who … ?” If it is about money, family, or anything other than God it is sin. Sin falls short of the mark. Our lives sin when they fall short of the pursuit of God.
Questions
- What should not wear you out?
- In what should you not trust?
- How does the end of James 4 reiterate this principle in the New Testament?
- Why don’t people think that going about their business without any thought for God is a problem?
- How could financial security as a goal be healthily replaced?
Plymothian 