Priceless Treasures We Can Enjoy Now

After saying that we should rest our hope “on God,” Paul continues that it is ‘God who furnishes us all things richly for our enjoyment.’ (1 Timothy 6:17) Besides the daily necessities of life, the Most High lovingly provides priceless treasures for those people whom he approves. What are such treasures?

Note what Proverbs 3:13-18 says: “Happy is the man that has found wisdom, and the man that gets discernment, for having it as gain is better than having silver as gain and having it as produce than gold itself. It is more precious than corals, and all other delights of yours cannot be made equal to it. Length of days is in its right hand; in its left hand there are riches and glory. . . . It is a tree of life to those taking hold of it, and those keeping fast hold of it are to be called happy.” So “wisdom” is a treasure that surpasses the value of all the world’s riches.

Wisdom is the application of knowledge in the right way. It is the ability to use knowledge and understanding successfully to solve problems, to avoid, or avert, dangers, to attain certain goals or to help others to do so. Do you not agree that today we need such wisdom in order to deal with life’s trials successfully and to maintain a good standing with God?

In describing wisdom, Proverbs 3:13-18 highlights happiness. Is happiness not a treasure that all of us desire? Godly wisdom will give us this happiness because true happiness can come only from its Source, Jehovah God. Experience has proved that true happiness cannot be attained apart from obedience to the Most High and yielding to the operation of his spirit. The happinesses promised in the Bible depend on our proper relationship, or approved standing, with our heavenly Father. (Matthew 5:3-10) Therefore, by applying what we learn from study of the Bible, we will be displaying “the wisdom from above” that will give us the happiness that all the riches in the world cannot procure.

Recall also, though, that Proverbs 3:16 states: “Length of days is in its right hand.” This is understood to refer to the right hand of protection, the hand that is ready to help and safeguard a person at critical times. Today many engage in loose living, sexual immorality, drug abuse, and so forth. Likely you have read that AIDS (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome) is linked to such practices. From what you have observed, are people who practice those things truly happy? Or do they bring upon themselves and others much sorrow and pain, even death?

In contrast, the application of the wise counsel from God’s Word will always be at our “right hand” to protect us from such dangers. Therefore, wisdom can lengthen our life, guarding us from a course that would lead to a premature death. Thus, godly wisdom is certain to make our present life a more pleasant one.

Walk Wisely Now

The evidence all around us shows that we are living in “the last days” of this system of things. (2 Timothy 3:1-5) Hence, it is vital that we be on guard against succumbing to the spirit of the world. Such a spirit emphasizes material things by appealing to selfish desires. One charge brought up concerning Job, a faithful man of Bible record, was that this man served God for selfish considerations, for material gain. (Job 1:9-11) Could such a charge truthfully be brought against us?

If we answer no, we might be successfully resisting today’s materialism. But this danger, materialism, is one of the most subtle that we face. Jesus Christ said that “the anxiety of this system of things and the deceptive power of riches choke the word.” (Matthew 13:22) Clearly, we must constantly be on guard against “the deceptive power of riches,” for these are not truly valuable.

We need to remind ourselves of the relative worth of material things. God’s Word says: “The valuable things of the rich are his strong town, and they are like a protective wall in his imagination.” (Proverbs 18:11) Yes, the security that riches can provide is sheer imagination, a deception. It is not that the material things in themselves are bad. What is wrong is the centering of our lives around them rather than on gaining God’s approval. Jesus, who is recognized as one of history’s wisest teachers, pointedly said: “Even when a person has an abundance his life does not result from the things he possesses.”​—Luke 12:15.

So let us pursue a course in life that will make us “rich toward God.” (Luke 12:21) Nothing is more valuable than an approved standing with the Creator. All efforts to maintain it contribute to our ‘treasuring up for ourselves a fine foundation for the future, in order that we may get a firm hold on the real life.’​—1 Timothy 6:19.

The Blessing of Jehovah Makes Rich

“It will be a difficult thing for a rich man to get into the kingdom of the heavens.”​—MATTHEW 19:23.

1, 2. What contrast can be drawn between types of riches?

WHAT if someone notified you, “You have become rich”? Many would be thrilled to be told this if it meant that they were rich with money, land, or luxury possessions. But consider the matter of riches from this standpoint: “The blessing of Jehovah​—that is what makes rich, and he adds no pain with it.”​—Proverbs 10:22.

² As God dealt with the ancient patriarchs and the nation of Israel, he blessed their faithfulness with prosperity. (Genesis 13:2; Deuteronomy 28:11, 12; Job 42:10-12) King Solomon was one so blessed. He became immensely wealthy. Yet he learned by experience that a life centered on material riches “was vanity and a striving after wind.” (Ecclesiastes 2:4-11; 1 Kings 3:11-13; 9:14, 28; 10:10) So when Solomon wrote, “The blessing of Jehovah​—that is what makes rich,” he was not stressing material riches. He was stating the truth that if you have God’s blessing, your life is incomparably richer than that of those not serving him. How so?

3. In what ways are you truly rich if you have God’s blessings?

³ If you are a Christian, you can enjoy Jehovah’s approval now and receive from him blessings such as godly wisdom. You can be accepted into a familylike congregation of Christians who are basically happy, trusting, and interested in you. God’s laws shield you from many diseases and dangers. You also have reason to hope for divine protection through the “great tribulation” that lies ahead for this wicked system​—and then for life in the endless Paradise to follow on earth. So, you see, with such marvelous blessings and prospects, you can truly say, “I am rich!”​—Matthew 24:21, 22.

4. How could you jeopardize your being spiritually rich? (Revelation 3:17, 18)

⁴ Your being “rich” with Jehovah’s blessings could, though, be jeopardized by other riches​—money or material wealth. Few of us (whether financially secure or of limited means) would readily admit, ‘I face a real danger of being led astray by the love of money.’ Recall, however, the warning: “The love of money is a root of all sorts of injurious things, and by reaching out for this love some have been led astray from the faith and have stabbed themselves all over with many pains.” (1 Timothy 6:10) That was written at a time when all approved Christians were anointed with God’s spirit as a token that they could become heavenly rulers with Christ. Likely many had personally met apostles and others who had walked with Jesus. If money “led astray” some of them, how great the danger is for us!​—2 Corinthians 5:5; Romans 8:17, 23.