Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Home
Evangelical
Don’t Miss Out on the Right Kind of Riches

Don’t Miss Out on the Right Kind of Riches

Last updated on: October 19, 2026 at 1:00 pm by Randy Alcorn

0 Comments

Don’t Miss Out on the Right Kind of Riches 2026-09-25T13:02:27-08:00 Randy Alcorn

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

I have a friend who observes my adult daughters, my sons-in-law, and my grandchildren (two of them now married) and tells me, “You are a rich man.” He’s absolutely right. I value that kind of wealth far more than financial riches.

By telling us to be rich in good deeds, God is likewise encouraging us to redefine our view of riches: “Command them to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share” (1 Timothy 6:18).

Being rich as the world defines it is merely an illusion. We fail to recognize true and lasting riches as compared to false and fleeting ones. Someone can have great earthly riches, as the rich fool did or as Ebenezer Scrooge did, and have a profoundly impoverished soul. And someone can have almost no earthly riches, like the poor widow and countless others, and have a vibrant, thriving soul.

When we give, we don’t surrender riches. Rather, we trade one kind of riches for another. The first kind we can’t take with us when we die. According to Jesus, the second kind of riches will go before us and await us in Heaven after we die (Matthew 6:19-20).

If I take Jesus seriously and choose a smaller house and less expensive cars here on Earth so I can invest the savings in God’s Kingdom, my Lord will give me eternal treasures in Heaven that, in retrospect, will make a big house and nice cars seem utterly trivial.

But why not believe Jesus now rather than wait until Heaven—when it will be too late to reverse our choices—to believe what He said was true all along? We might ask ourselves, Why settle for an expensive necklace or a deluxe entertainment system now when by giving away the money we could contribute to an imperishable treasure in eternity?

God has given us the gifts, opportunities, and resources we need to be rich in good deeds. We were “created in Christ Jesus” (Ephesians 2:10)—not to do random or insignificant good works, but to do works prepared for us from eternity past. But God doesn’t only prepare works for us to do; He also continually prepares us to do those works. What a thrilling concept!

Years ago, when I was still a pastor, Nanci and I opened our home to Diane, a pregnant teenager who had previously had an abortion. While she lived with us, she gave birth and placed her baby for adoption. There were many tough times for Diane and for us, including late nights when I drove through town trying to find her. We had a two-year-old daughter at the time, and our second daughter was born shortly after Diane delivered, so our own stresses were multiplied.

But we had the joy of seeing Diane come to Christ and later become a terrific wife and mother. Over the years she has also had a powerful ministry to others. Nanci and I remained close to her, and we regularly reaped a harvest of joy that vastly outweighed the initial trials.

Diane once told me, “Abortion filled me with grief and regret. But when I think of the child I placed for adoption, I’m filled with joy, because I know he’s being raised by a wonderful family that wanted him.” We had the privilege of being with Diane when she was joyfully reunited with the son she surrendered for adoption thirty-three years earlier.

I recall one evening, when Nanci was sick with cancer, that Diane drove nearly an hour to bring us dinner, nearly forty years after she lived with us. The meal was great, but the real payoff, both now and forever, is in our precious relationship, which will outlive this world and be our treasure in the next.

Does doing good and ministering to others involve sacrifice? Absolutely. Often we see payoffs in this life, though sometimes it takes a while. But even when we don’t see the return on our investments now, Jesus promised we will see them in the next life, when He will make sure we “will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous” (Luke 14:14, NIV).

Previous Post

October 15, 2026

What Will We Be Able to do on the New Earth?

Recent Comments

0 | Leave a Comment

"The biblical references and examples make the message easy to follow, while the focus on ..."

harry085drop

Being with God Is the Heart ..."

"As we do good works (no matter how small), and struggle to live holy lives ..."

Tom Hering

How Can We Be Ready to ..."

"Katy Faust's "articles" are junk science at best."

Roger J.

Every Child Is Known and Loved ..."

"People can feed their thoughts or a few notes into AI and be delighted with ..."

rrhersh

AI, Ghostwriting, and the Ethics of ..."

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category About Me Animals Books Books and Resources Christ Christian Life Christians Past and Present Church Creation Culture and Worldview Doctrine and Theology Eternal Perspective Ministries Fun Grace and Truth Grief Happiness Heaven Marriage and Family Missions Money and Giving Persecuted Church Politics Prayer Prolife Salvation Sexual Purity Sovereignty and Free Will Suffering and Evil Uncategorized Writing

Select a Month October 2026 September 2026 August 2026 July 2026 June 2026 May 2026 April 2026 March 2026 February 2026 January 2026 December 2025 November 2025 October 2025 September 2025 August 2025 July 2025 June 2025 May 2025 April 2025 March 2025 February 2025 January 2025 December 2024 November 2024 October 2024 September 2024 August 2024 July 2024 June 2024 May 2024 April 2024 March 2024 February 2024 January 2024 December 2023 November 2023 October 2023 September 2023 August 2023 July 2023 June 2023 May 2023 April 2023 March 2023 February 2023 January 2023 December 2022 November 2022 October 2022 September 2022 August 2022 July 2022 June 2022 May 2022 April 2022 March 2022 February 2022 January 2022 December 2021 November 2021 October 2021 September 2021 August 2021 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz