Energy creates value. When man discovered oil and ways to reach it, mine it, refine it, and use it, the world instantly became fabulously wealthy. Imagine an animated graphic: as oil was brought from the depths to the surface, buildings rose from the surface into the clouds. Cities exploded. Trails became superhighways. The globe is criss-crossed with roads and bridges to everywhere and nowhere.
And the night sky is never dark. Seen from space, our cities glow like diamonds spread across black velvet on the glass-topped counters of a jewelry store. During the last century, remote places grew into world-class cities: Cairo, Kuala Lumpur, Mumbai, Rio De Janeiro, Perth, Jakarta, Singapore, Denver, Calgary, Dubai, and of course, Houston (the oil capital of the world). Meanwhile, the most populated cities are bigger than anyone could have imagined: Tokyo, Delhi, Shanghai, Sao Paulo, Mexico City, Cairo, Mumbai, Beijing, Dhaka, Osaka, New York. Here are the world’s cities with the most millionaires: New York, Tokyo, San Francisco, London, Singapore, Los Angeles, Chicago, Houston (Houston has 132,000 millionaires).
And one day it’s all gonna burn.
The Bible uses “Babylon” to describe man’s ultimate sin.
“Babylon the Great has fallen… The kings of the earth and merchants have grown wealthy from her excessive luxury. Her sins are piled up to heaven… The kings will weep over her when they see the smoke of her burning… The merchants will weep and mourn because no one buys their merchandise any longer… gold, silver, jewels, pearls, fabrics, marble… In a single hour such fabulous wealth was destroyed” Revelation 18.
There is nothing wrong with wealth. God used it to bless Abraham, Jacob, Joseph, and many others. But money can be “the root of all sorts of evil.” James warns us: “Come now, you rich, weep and howl for the miseries which are coming upon you…. You have lived luxuriously, you have fattened your hearts….” James 5:1,5.
Wealth is sometimes connected to God’s judgment. BE CONTENT.
“Do not wear yourself out to get rich, be wise enough to restrain yourself” Proverbs 23:4.
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