Great Riches

Gold was discovered in Australia in 1851, a year after the gold rush of California. One month after it was discovered, "a thousand diggers were tunnelling, cursing and exulting on the banks of Summerhill Creek, and the road over the Blue Mountains was choked with a footsore, sluggishly winding column of men...stumbling toward unheard of wealth in mud-balled boots under the driving rains of the Australian autumn. It was as though a plug had been pulled and the male population of New South Wales had emptied like a cistern, in a rush toward the diggings. Business...was utterly paralysed...a complete mental madness appear[ed] to have seized almost every member of the community." (from The Fatal Shore, The Epic of Australia's Founding by Robert Hughes)I've always been of the opinion that it's not that great of an advantage to be rich. Oh, it would be nice to have a little more...but who needs to have it all???

That's why I was intrigued when I came to Psalm 119:14: "I rejoice in following your statutes as one rejoices in great riches."

So chewing on this idea...if I had great riches, there is a certain amount of joy I would have because I would be free from worrying about how I would pay the bills. And realistically, if suddenly somehow I would become filthy rich, I probably wouldn't be UNhappy.

Anyway, I thought it was a good analogy: to be as happy in following the Lord as I would be happy about receiving wealth. And not only being happy, but pursuing that wealth as the gold diggers did - with total abandon. Only one thing was important - to get to the gold and become rich.

Do I follow the Lord that wholeheartedly? Because being God's child leads to infinite spiritual wealth?!
2 Peter 1:3 ~ "His divine power has given us EVERYTHING we need for life and godliness."