Proverbs 13:22 speaks of a wonderful opportunity that God takes to bless people of faith. "A righteous person leaves an inheritance for his children's children, but the wealth of the sinner is stored up for the righteous.' This passage is playing out and being fulfilled before our very eyes. God is taking the wealth of the unrighteous and using it for the overall good of the Kingdom, while at the same time challenging the righteous people to lay up spiritual gifts to be passed into eternity; even unto their children's children. By the way, the only way to earn righteousness is by faith!
The reality before us is that the wealth of people like Bill Gates, Warren Buffet, Brad Pitt, Oprah, Bono, and 40 other billionaires who recently pledged half their wealth to charity, is now being used to take care of many of the social woes that the church has been tending to for some time. Let's put it in perspective, in 2010 philanthropists gave approximately $60 billion in charitable contributions to feed the hungry, dig water wells, fight aids, stomp out poverty, as well as many other social needs of our day. As a reference point ... the Gates foundation is required to give away $3 Billion a year just to maintain their tax exempt status; and they are using it to fight malaria, aids, and poverty as well as help education.
What does this mean? This means God is taking the money of the World and taking care of the very things the Church has been trying to take care of, but using the World's money to do it. He is transferring the wealth to take care of the physical and social needs of humanity. This allows the righteous to take the gifts of salvation and other spiritual gifts so we can be prepared to dispense them in unprecedented proportions. The world has more money than the church has, but the church has more gifts than the world has. What a combination when both worlds finally collide under God's promise.
God has allowed both systems to collide to speed up His last day fulfillment of all things. The world cannot reproduce what the church is able to do through the special gifts that we were given. No matter how much money the world gives to fight the temporal causes of society; they cannot exercise the spiritual wealth that the Church has. The gifts such as salvation, healing, faith, prophecy, knowledge, and wisdom are the church's gifts that will be passed on for generations, even into eternity. Unfortunately, money cannot be passed on into eternity, no amount of money can purchase even one drop of blood that was given for humanity through Christ! Therefore, God lays it up for the righteous to use so they can speed up the spiritual gifts that will speed up the fulfillment of all things. We must let the world fulfill their part while the Church fulfills their part, collectively. The secret is to recognize that Bill Gates, Bono, Oprah, Warren Buffet, and Brad Pitt all work for us; they just don't realize it yet! They work giving away the money we don't have, so we can give away eternal gifts to the world; and if done correctly many of these people may receive their salvation through the church's gifts when we dispense them in their fullness.
In summary, the world is spending wealth in a measure that the Church does not possess; but at the same time the church will be investing spiritual gifts at a measure world doesn't possess. Imagine the greater things yet to be done if we allow God to fulfill His Word and use the money of the world to advance the material things required to feed societies woes; so that the Church can start building up the spiritual gifts that will be passed on from generation to generation.
The world is truly in God's hands, and He has the right to use and dispense all that is His without worrying who is offended when it doesn't seem fair. The reality is God must and will fulfill his Word so that everything foretold in scripture will come to pass ... so that He can honor His Word.
This passage in Proverbs (13:22) and the understanding unfolding before our eyes correlates perfectly with the parable of the shrewd steward in Luke 16: 1-24. The shrewd steward is unrighteous (the World), but God uses his shrewdness to do wisely to bless the righteous for generations to come. The exact words at the end of the parable read "The world is more shrewd with dealing with their own kind, than the people of light. I tell you the truth use worldly wealth to gain friends for yourselves, so that when it is gone, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings." Luke 16:8-9. God is letting the world feed the poor, give water, and fight poverty because they know how to do it better than the children of light, but the children of light are to use the gifts of salvation and faith so that we have something stored up for our children's children ... right on into eternity. The realization that money will eventually perish and all that remains is what we as righteous people have laid up for eternity.
I bet you never thought of it this way ... but you will now!!
