If I Were a Rich Man....

March 27 2011[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jJ_-CmwHWPo&w=420&h=315]“SPOKEN:) Dear God, you made many, many poor people. I realize, of course, thatit's no great shame to be poor... but it's no great honor, either. So what would have been thedifference if I had... a small fortune?If I were a rich man,Daidle deedle daidleDaidle daidle deedle daidle dumAll day long I'd biddy-biddy-bumIf I were a wealthy man.I wouldn't have to work hard,Daidle deedle daidleDaidle daidle deedle daidle dumIf I were a biddy-biddy rich,Daidle deedle daidle daidle man.I'd build a big tall house with rooms by the dozenRight in the middle of the town,A fine tin roof with real wooden floors below.There would be one long staircase just going upAnd one even longer coming down,And one more leading nowhere, just for show.” …(“If I were a Rich Man,” from “Fiddler on the Roof.” by Zero Mostel)Most of us have sung a similar tune, if only in our minds, and we would in all likelihood have different dreams and lyrics than Tevye, the character singing “if I Were a Rich Man.” His dreams included his wife, Golde, “looking like a rich man's wife, with a proper double chin.” Times and tastes change, so how would you fill in the blank to “If I were a rich man/woman, I’d ________? I suppose to some degree it would depend on how rich you were “biddy-biddy,” or super rich. Nevertheless, my guess is that you didn’t have too hard of time filling in the blank.There is in an interesting little prayer recorded in Proverbs 30:8-9, “O God, I beg two favors from you; let me have them before I die. First, help me never to tell a lie. Second, give me neither poverty nor riches! Give me just enough to satisfy my needs. For if I grow rich, I may deny you and say, “Who is the LORD?” And if I am too poor, I may steal and thus insult God’s holy name,” (NLT). There is danger of succumbing to the desperation, the weariness of poverty leading to behaviors that insult God, and there is the temptation of riches to hubris and arrogance that declares God obsolete, also leading to behaviors that insult God.I wonder if Tevye would change his song after being rich for a while? Or would he stop conversing with God altogether? Would he forget about the truth that “… not even when one has an abundance does his life consist of his possessions," Luke 12:15 (NASB)? I wonder how much I would benefit from me reminding myself, of these and other words Jesus spoke regarding wealth, possessions, and money.Did you know that according to www.globalrichlist.com you are in the top 10% of all the people in the world in regards to income if you make just over $25,000 a year? At $48,000 you are in the top 1%! For me that is both humbling and a cause to be deeply grateful. Of course in an American context making $25,000 doesn’t put you on any official rich list; in fact you might have to budget very wisely to make things work. But it does let you know that 90% of all other people live on less, very often far less.Tevye, at the ends his song asks God, “You decreed I should be what I am-- would it spoil some vast, eternal plan, if I were a wealthy man?” Maybe not. But why do we want to be rich? To have a big house with frivolous amenities? A double chinned wife? So all day long we can be a “biddy-biddy bum”? TO be considered somebody? Or do I want to be wealthy so I can participate in working against poverty, injustice, hopelessness, and spiritual lostness, - to help lift real people out of abject poverty, because that is the heartbeat of God all throughout scripture, as well as the example of Christ. “Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share,” 1 Timothy 6:17-18 (NIV).“For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich,” 2 Corinthians 8:9 (NIV).What will our song be if God so decrees for us to be rich men and women? Would the rest of the world be glad to hear it or simply be jealous? Would God love it? I pray it to be so.To God be all glory, love you Pastor Hans