Real Riches

It is fun to play with pretend money. You can take out your toys and play store. But when you really need to buy something, play money is worthless. It would be silly to carry a bag of it to the store and try to buy food or clothes with it. It is just pretend! And that’s just the same with collecting a lot of earthly riches.

Having a nice house and lots of money might seem like a good idea. But our lives aren’t just about what we have. Most important of all is who we are—the person inside us, called our soul.

Is your soul rich? When you need something in your soul, money and things can’t help you. You might think that a bag full of money makes you rich, but in times of trouble you will find that it is all worthless. That’s what happened to one man. He got so much stuff that he decided it was time to build big storerooms to keep it in. “Now I can take life easy and enjoy myself,” he thought. “I don’t have to work hard any more, because I have everything I need.” He thought he was very smart, but he was fooling himself. That night it was time for him to die, and when he looked at all his riches he suddenly realized that they were worthless. You see, he had been living to please himself and hadn’t made peace with God. All his earthly stuff couldn’t buy him what he needed most! He had never stored any treasures in the heavenly bank, and so now he had nothing at all!

Jesus said that it will happen to us just like that, if we try to get riches for ourselves instead of being “rich toward God.” In the end all this earth and the things in it will be burnt up. Only the treasures in heaven and the things that God has done will last. Do you want to learn about the true heavenly riches, and how to live so you won’t die bankrupt?

The Heavenly Bank

What if your family had a bank full of money, and you could take some any time you needed it? Every time something broke, or you needed groceries, or you wanted to go somewhere, there would be plenty of money!

That is how it works with God’s riches. If we are children of God, then we get a bank account in heaven that never runs out. Instead of hoping we will have a good day or trying really hard to have a good attitude, we just go to the bank! God’s promises in the Bible are like a checkbook or credit card. Whenever you need something, the riches are there for you to use.

So this is how it works. I wake up in the morning and I remember my friends are coming over today. How exciting! Right when I’m planning for all the fun, they call to cancel. It suddenly seems like someone stole all my happiness. I feel really, really poor. What can I do? I remember that there is plenty of happiness in the heavenly bank. How do I get it? By taking out one of my promise cards and asking for the exact amount I need—“Please help me to rejoice in the Lord always. I feel all gloomy and I need a lot of cheerfulness and thankfulness. Thank you so much!” If you have an account with the heavenly bank, it will really work. Instead of living like a poor penny-pincher, you can have a day overflowing with blessings! I know it is true, because I’ve tried it.