YOUR RICHES ARE TO ENRICH

Saturday: February 1, 2020

Reference: 2 Samuel 12:7-20

2 Samuel 12:4 One day a guest arrived at the home of the rich man. But instead of killing an animal from his own flock or herd, he took the poor man’s lamb and killed it and prepared it for his guest.”

In a summary, the parable spoken by Nathan to David said: ‘a rich man with many sheep and cattle chooses to claim the single ewe lamb of a poor neighbour to prepare for his visitor.’ About this action, one does not have to be a moral champion to know that it was not right. Rather, it was unjust, an exhibition of greed and clearly unfair. It prompts one to wonder what the real purpose of power and wealth is?

One key thing that caught my eye while reading this text was the type of animal the poor man purchased: ‘an ewe lamb’. This purchase was made with a long term plan in mind, one that looked towards future potential for expansion through reproduction. But the actions of the rich man killed off that dream.

Beloved, our wealth, whether material, spiritual or intellectual, should be directed towards enriching others not impoverishing them. We ought to become people who support, nurture and cherish the dreams of others, not those who kill them off to satisfy our own desires. That is the purpose for our ‘wealth’ – to also enrich the lives of others.

#sly