Rich Is Not a Dirty Word
by Gloria Copeland
Ever since the Garden of Eden, the devil has been trying to steal God’s Word from people. And over the past few generations there’s one word in particular he’s endeavored to take away from the Church
.
It’s the word rich.
The devil has done his best to convince believers that word belongs to him. He’s told so many lies about it and given it such a negative connotation, many Christians today would be as uncomfortable saying, “I’m rich,” as they would be to curse. The devil has actually deceived them into believing that rich is a dirty word.
In reality, it’s the exact opposite.
Rich is a Bible word. It’s a blessing word. It’s God’s word.
That’s right. God is the One who first came up with the idea of financial riches. He’s been making His people rich ever since time began.
It must have been God who told Adam and Eve, for instance, about the gold in the Garden. If it hadn’t been for Him, they might not have even realized it was precious. They might not have known it was valuable.
Even after Adam and Eve sinned, and opened the door for the curse to come on the earth, God still kept finding ways to make His people rich. He made covenants with them and promised if they’d only obey Him, He’d protect them from the curse and BLESS them.
To make sure we understand material wealth is included in that BLESSING, God later spelled it out in the Bible. He said: “The blessing of the Lord, it maketh rich, and he addeth no sorrow with it” (Proverbs 10:22).
Clearly, God wouldn’t have said that if rich were a dirty word. If He were opposed to riches, He wouldn’t have made Abram “very rich in cattle, in silver, and in gold” (Genesis 13:2). He wouldn’t have BLESSED Isaac with “more and more until he became very wealthy and distinguished” (Genesis 26:13, "The Amplified Bible"). He wouldn’t have increased Jacob so much that he “became exceedingly rich, and had many sheep and goats, and maidservants, menservants, camels, and donkeys” (Genesis 30:43, "AMP").
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