Exercise your legal right to be rich

Everyone can be rich, if they so desire. Unfortunately, not everyone desires to be rich and this is a matter of choice or personal conviction. Jesus said, “the poor you will always have among you” (Matthew 26: 11). I believe He was referring to the multitude who, for many reasons, will remain poor. It was not an endorsement of poverty by the Son of God. Far from it.

There are several Biblical passages that support wealth as a covenant right of all Christians. So, no one should justify poverty for religious reasons. God’s purpose is not served by anyone’s poverty. Therefore, it is up to you to exercise your right to be rich, provided you accumulate wealth in a legitimate way. The covenant of wealth is a legal agreement between God and His people.

We need money to build churches, send evangelists to the mission fields to win souls, pay for telecast of the good news, develop social amenities, sponsor the education of financially-challenged students, etc. Personally, my vision as a Christian is to accumulate huge fortunes so that I could lift many out of poverty, build free schools and develop poor communities. How can I do that if I am not very rich?

Let no one deceive you, go ahead and make money. God is not offended at all if you are rich; it is what you make of your wealth that matters to Him. We need a lot of money to combat poverty and rampaging killer epidemics. Money is needed to provide potable water to many communities across the world.

Money is a good messenger. But we are not to worship it. Some people turn money into an idol or the object of worship. That’s why the Bible warned against the “love of money.” The love of money is the root of all evil. It is not money itself that is evil, but the “love” of it. The devotion some give to it, almost to the point of idolatry, is wrong. You can’t elevate money to the level of God. That is a sin!

It is not a sin to seek riches. It is a legitimate desire, if done within the bounds of moderation and decency. So, folks, shake off that complex that holds you back from pursuing ventures that can make you rich. Money is such a crucial resource you need to do some good in the world.

The important point I want us to grasp here is that you have a right to be rich. Even if Jesus said, “The poor you will always have among you,” why must it be you? Those who are poor are that way for various reasons. Some are poor because they are lazy, ignorant, or lack opportunity. Some are poor because they have taken a vow of poverty, just to serve God. That’s okay. To climb out of poverty, however, you should be able to identify opportunities for investment at whatever level and take advantage of them.

Sometimes, opportunities appear as problems. Only those who are financially educated can understand this. What you call problems may actually be opportunities for you to make money, if you are able to solve the problems through provision of service or products. Power failure is rampant in Nigeria. If, for instance, you can provide reliable power supply through an alternative energy device, you’d be rich in a matter of weeks, ceteris paribus. If your service or product solves a problem, you are guaranteed to be rich.

Any solution provider is a potentially wealthy person. It does not really matter in which field you operate, just solve a problem and you are on your way to riches. Every individual has the ability to solve problems, if they are properly trained and nurtured with the right orientation needed for wealth creation. Mindset is a crucial factor in the quest for wealth creation. If you have been programmed to believe that it is “worldly” or “immoral” to pursue wealth, you may remain poor till you die.

Most poor people tend to despise the rich. They claim that wealthy folks are cheats, exploiters or slave drivers. You better stop thinking like this because you can’t attract what you despise. If you want to be rich, you must love the rich; you should also think and act like the rich. You must envision yourself as a rich person so that this thought can be fully registered in your subconscious and translate into reality.

Whatever you want to be, you first think about. You stir faith for riches in your thoughts and then you work toward it before you can have it. Anyone who wants to be rich must have no inhibitions about it at all. You must have a strong mentality. Riches won’t just fall on your laps, you have to work hard and work smart to acquire wealth. If you desire huge wealth, you must be bold to take great risks in business.

Huge wealth is not for the lily-livered. You must be very daring. We can’t cover the whole of this subject in this article. I hope, with this, you can at least exercise your legal right to be rich – with no apologies to anyone.

Weekend spice: Show me a happy loser, and I will show you a loser – Vince Lombardi

Ok folks, stay motivated.

•Ayodeji is an author, rights activist, pastor and life coach. He can be reached for mentoring and counselling on 09059243004 (SMS and WhatsApp only).