James 2:5 – 5 Listen, my dear brothers and sisters: Has not God chosen those who are poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom he promised those who love him?
Poor in the eyes of the world?
What comes to my mind when seeing these words?
Humility for one. If the world is looking at someone like they are poor in the world I don’t sense a lot of worldly pride going on with these individuals. The world is full of pride. Satan was full of pride.
What’s the next thing I see when looking at poor in the eyes of the world in the above scripture? I see people looking at those sacrificing for the Lord and thinking to themselves I have a taste for the finer things in life to settle for less while I’m here. I am a hard worker and should be rewarded for being so while here on this earth.
Missionaries don’t bring in a lot of pay. Neither do most pastors. They should never get rich while they’re here and I think the ones who have will have a little chat with the Lord from what I read.
Do I think we all should be pastors? No.
Do I think we should all be missionaries? Absolutely. It starts with the home, your immediate family, and the ones you are close to.
I believe if you are capable of making a lot of money, you have two choices. You can spend it on yourself, or you can commit most of it after your needs (not wants) to the Kingdom of God and be “rich in faith”, like the scripture says. It does take a lot of faith to store away for what you cannot yet see.
Why do I bring up wealth? Because money and positions of power are really considered the areas of being rich in the world.
The scripture definitely falls under the “choose God not the world” category. We can’t serve two masters.