One of my favorite stories is about the Texas rancher who was doing
agricultural consulting for a farmer in Germany. He asked the German farmer
about the size of his property, to which he replied, “About a mile square.”
When the German asked the Texan about the size of his ranch, the rancher
explained that if he got in his pick-up truck at dawn and drove until sunset he
would still be on his ranch. Not to be outdone, the farmer replied, “I used to
have an old truck like that!”
All joking aside, it’s important to have the right perspective.
Unfortunately, the Christians in Laodicea had the wrong perspective about
wealth (Rev. 3:14-22).
By all appearances, they were rich. They had plenty of earthly goods and
thought they needed nothing—not even Jesus. But Jesus had a different
perspective. In spite of their material prosperity, He saw that they were
“wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked” (v.17). So He invited them to
become truly rich by seeking what only He could provide: purity, character,
righteousness, and wisdom.
Let’s not make the Laodicean mistake. Instead, let’s keep our
perspective right about what it means to be rich. True wealth is not measured
by what you have but by who you are in God.
The poorest person is he whose only wealth is money. (RBC)
