Riches and Eternity

Psalm 49:16-17, 20 NIV
Do not be overawed when others grow rich, when the splendor of their houses increases;  for they will take nothing with them when they die, their splendor will not descend with them.  People who have wealth but lack understanding are like the beasts that perish.

There's a sobering thought in the verses quoted above. The issue has never been with riches or wealth; it has always been with the attitude we put up with it or the place we give it in our hearts. We spend our  whole lives working and striving to make money and gather riches; we look around us and see our 'mates' who seem to have moved on and moved ahead; we admire and respect the wealthy, without much thought as to the source of the wealth or the erernal state of the holder of that wealth. We spend our entire lives chasing a mirage, thinking that if only we are rich, then our problems will be solved.
There's just one small issue with that thought: riches are temporal, ephemeral and earthly, nothing leaves this side of eternity. Solomon was the richest man in history; he testified that there was nothing his eyes saw that he did not get for himself; in fact, by biblical calculations in the Dakes study bible, his daily feeding cost was over six million dollars. What could be more pleasing? Yet he reflected on his life at a point and concluded: 'All is vanity'. There's a place for riches and if we are to live strong, purposefully directed lives, we must know its place and keep it in its place.
The other side of the verses above is the man who does not know what he enjoys in Christ. There's a promise that says that God has given us ALL things that pertain to life and Godliness. Why then do we struggle to survive? Why does it seem as if we just cannot make it, no matter how hard we try? God has released to us the riches of his storehouse and the contents are all ours. We cannot draw from it without fulfilling the condition: knowing and accepting Jesus as Saviour and Lord. That is your access key. All things are freely given in Him and the knowledge of him opens up your treasure. If you are struggling with debt, lack and pressure, check your relationship. If its cordial, make a demand on heaven's resources. God only responds to the demand of faith from his own children. If you remain ignorant of your entitlement in God, then you are like the man described above, who is in honour, yet without understanding. Such a man will perish in ignorance and lack, not because there was no supply, but because there was no awareness of his entitlement. The Word holds the keys to our upliftment and favour, read and believe its contents, then hold God to the words he has spoken. His time of favour has come.