In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life. 1 Timothy 6:19

Money, and lots of it.  That’s what Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, Bernaud Arnault, Bill Gates and Warren Buffet all have in common.

Like the poor who Jesus said would always be with us (Matthew 26:11), we’ve also had the rich going back to Bible big-names like Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Job and of course, King Solomon.  He was so rich the Queen of Sheba came to visit just to take in his wealth. There are potential pitfalls to having more than you need; the Bible says, “Teach those who are rich in this world not to be proud and not to trust in their money, which is so unreliable. Their trust should be in God, who richly gives us all that we need for our enjoyment” (1 Timothy 6:17).

It’s not just the rich that obsess over and trust in money.  In times of want, I’ve been as consumed with anxiety over my need, as a rich person would be over a crash in the stock market.  Whatever money we do have should be used to do good, the Apostle Paul wrote.  We should be generous to those in need, always being ready to share with others.

I’ll never forget my dad telling of a woman in the inner-city of Manila, Philippines who, grateful for the ministry he had done in the community, gave him a gift of a tiny packet of soap. She was, in Paul’s words, “storing up [her] treasure as a good foundation for the future so that [she could] experience true life” (1 Timothy 6:18-19).

The next time you check your bank balance remember this: Wealth is unreliable but generosity of any proportion, leads to true life!