If you seek to make yourself rich on this earth, in reality you have nothing, though you may obtain and possess many physical things. On the other hand, if you make yourself poor on this earth, by giving your things and money away, you will have great riches in heaven. Both states cannot be true. As Jesus says, “No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.” [Mt 6:24]

We should not be tied down to this life, seeking to gather more and more. Rather, we should be seeking to be less and less tied to this world, giving away our things and living below our means so that we may bless others. Proverbs says,

"There is that maketh himself rich, yet hath nothing; there is that maketh himself poor, yet hath great riches." [Prov 13:7]

And Jesus said,

"Sell that ye have, and give alms; provide yourselves bags which wax not old, a treasure in the heavens that faileth not, where no thief approached, neither moth corrupteth. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also." [Lk 12:33-34]

We should not be worried about providing for ourselves. Jesus promises us that The Father is not ignorant of our needs and will provide for us if we just seek Him first. He says in Luke,

"And seek not ye what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink, neither be ye of doubtful mind. For all these things do the nations of the world seek after: and your Father knoweth that ye have need of these things. But rather seek ye the kingdom of God; and all these things shall be added unto you." [Lk 12:29-31]

Since God will provide for us those things which we need, we don’t have to worry about it. And therefore we can sell what we have, we can give away our things, and give away our money. The Lord wants us to be generous. He says, “give to every man that asketh of thee; and of him that taketh away thy goods ask them not again.” [Lk 6:30]

When we have less riches because we are giving them away, in addition to more heavenly reward, we also will have less worry and stress here on earth. This world will have less pull on us. Proverbs says,

"The ransom of a man's life are his riches: but the poor heareth not rebuke." [Prov 13:8]

And Solomon says,

"When goods increase, they are increased that eat them: and what good is there to the owners thereof, saving the beholding of them with their eyes? The sleep of a laboring man is sweet, whether he eat little or much: but the abundance of the rich will not suffer him to sleep." [Ecc 5:11-12]

When you have lots of money or lots of stuff, there is lots to worry about. And what you’re worrying about is, in effect, useless. What good do riches do for you? Solomon says that in the end, not much. You get to look at them with your eyes while you still have them and while you’re still alive. But after that, when you die, they’re worthless. So it’s better to give them away – that will bring more joy on earth and in heaven. For Jesus says, “It is more blessed to give than to receive.”

CONCLUSION

As good soldiers of our Lord Jesus Christ we ought not to “entangleth [ourselves] with the affairs of this life; that [we] may please him who hath chosen [us each] to be a soldier.” [2 Tim 2:4] And so, in accordance with godly living, we ought to be very generous, not storing up goods for ourselves on this earth.