If I Were Rich...

So the other day I was talking with my younger sister (who, by the way, is about to be not so young anymore--22 years old--making me realize how much older I'm becoming). Regardless, we were talking about nothing in particular, you know, brother and sister stuff, you know, everything, anything, and nothing. Then we were talking about how it would feel like to be the relative of a famous person, for example, Tiger Woods, Michael Jordan, President Obizzy, I mean, Obama...

Check it: A friend invites you to a party his uncle is having.
You're like: Cool!
Your friend is like: Cool!
So you go.
As you get there you're like: Dude (or dudette) your uncle is ballin'!
He (or she) shrugs it off.
You're like: Whatever!
Your friend is like: Duh!
Suddenly your friend is calling a surgeon 'cuz your jaw fell when you realized this uncle is none other than Denzel Washington!

That'll NEVER happen. To me. At least. I wish.

As we spoke she said something that made me think: "I wonder how it would feel like to be rich for one day, to just wake up and not worry about paying bills or what to eat or any other problem relating to not having money. Instead, worry about where to vacation or what to buy..." Although I told her that I wouldn't want to be THAT rich, I too wondered, for that moment, how sweet it would be to wake up one day and just be so rich that I feel poor...

...then I snapped out of it.

I'm pretty sure my sister and I are not the only two people in the world who have thought about what our lives would be like if we were rich..... C'mon, admit it.... you just thought about it as you were reading what I've written so far.

It's cool!

I ain't mad at ya!

BUT, on some real, that'd be pretty nice; to say the least.

1 Peter 2

Peter said some pretty interesting stuff in this chapter.

Duh! What else did I expect, right?

"So get rid of all evil behavior. Be done with all deceit, hypocrisy, jealousy, and all unkind speech. Like newborn babies, you must crave pure spiritual milk so that you will grow into a full experience of salvation." 1 Peter 2:1,2

Like I said, pretty interesting stuff.

Then Peter mentions that we: you, me, are "living stones in God's temple", belonging to Jesus, who is The Living Cornerstone of God's temple, thus making us Jesus' holy priests.
Great.

What does that have to do with being $$$$?

For now, nothing. But maybe this might guide us:

"...for you are a chosen people. You are royal priests, a holy nation, God’s very own possession." 1 Peter 2:9

NICE!

To ease what you're about to experience, let a brotha' break it down fo' ya:

God's very own possession: this means that we: you, me, belong to Him; which means that we: me, you, are His; meaning that whatever He has we: me, you, has; meaning that if He's ballin' we: me, you, are ballin'...

GET IT?

And the Man is ballin'!

Check it:

"In My Father's house are many mansions..." John 14:2

"The angel who talked to me held in his hand a gold measuring stick to measure the city, its gates, and its wall. When he measured it, he found it was a square, as wide as it was long. In fact, its length and width and height were each 1,400 miles. Then he measured the walls and found them to be 216 feet thick (according to the human standard used by the angel). The wall was made of jasper, and the city was pure gold, as clear as glass. The wall of the city was built on foundation stones inlaid with twelve precious stones: the first was jasper, the second sapphire, the third agate, the fourth emerald, the fifth onyx, the sixth carnelian, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth chrysoprase, the eleventh jacinth, the twelfth amethyst. The twelve gates were made of pearls—each gate from a single pearl! And the main street was pure gold, as clear as glass." Revelation 21:15-21

I don't even know what half of these things look like! All I care is that HE got 'em. And some.

So might be thinking: "OK. This is all stuff to come when I go to heaven. But what about here and now? I ain't got all that stuff!"

I'm glad you asked:

"Be careful to obey all these commands I am giving you. Show love to the Lord your God by walking in his ways and holding tightly to him. Then the Lord will drive out all the nations ahead of you, though they are much greater and stronger than you, and you will take over their land. Wherever you set foot, that land will be yours. Your frontiers will stretch from the wilderness in the south to Lebanon in the north, and from the Euphrates River in the east to the Mediterranean Sea in the west. No one will be able to stand against you, for the Lord your God will cause the people to fear and dread you, as he promised, wherever you go in the whole land." Deuteronomy 11:22-25

Dudes, these are just a few examples of how much of a High Roller God is; and I didn't even mention that "In the beginning, God created the heaven and the earth", meaning He owns this world!

Think of the richest person in the world.

God is so rich that He makes whoever that is look poor! As a matter of fact, the dude is poor compared to EVERYTHING God has!

Now I may sound a bit materialistic. True. But that's not the point.

Read this: "I warn you as 'temporary residents and foreigners' to keep away from worldly desires that wage war against your very souls. Be careful to live properly among your unbelieving neighbors." 1 Peter 2:11,12

Get it?

One of the most commonly used phrases (excuses) of our time is blah blah blah, you know the economy is bad, so boo hoo hoo. But Peter is reminding us that we are temporary residents and foreigners of this world, that our home is in one of those mansions being prepared for us right now somewhere on that street of pure gold, as clear as glass, aka, this is not going to last.

Materialistic? Yeah, if that's the way you want to see it.

But I was told "Don’t store up treasures here on earth, where moths eat them and rust destroys them, and where thieves break in and steal. Store your treasures in heaven, where moths and rust cannot destroy, and thieves do not break in and steal. Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be." Matthew 6:19-21

But we can only get to enjoy these riches and treasures in heaven if we "commit yourselves wholeheartedly to these words of mine. Tie them to your hands and wear them on your forehead as reminders." Deuteronomy 11:18

Enjoy this song by the Miami Mass Choir "What God Has For Me, It Is For Me"

Never mind the fact that nothing interesting is happening in the video. Simply enjoy the music