I Started Out with Nothing, and I Still Have Most of It

The apostle Paul reminded us that you really cannot “take it with you” when he wrote these words to Timothy: “For we have brought nothing into the world, so we cannot take anything out of it either” (2 Timothy 6:7). This truth should help us to put material things into proper perspective. Everything associated with the material universe is temporary and will exist only as long as the universe exists. Thus, to put all our time and efforts into accumulating material things is what Solomon described as “vanity and striving after wind” (Ecclesiastes 1:14).

So, how should we view the “things” of this world? Well, we should recognize that they’re really not worth much in view of eternity. We should use them but not hold on to them with our hearts. We should also be generous with them; that is, we should use them in serving or helping others. Those who try to “store them” up usually forfeit them, like Achan or the rich man who built bigger barns. You can never keep them forever. They are designed by God for the “here and now” and must be spent in the “here and now.”

It’s really not a matter of how much you have or don’t have, but how you view what you have. When you add it all up, it really amounts to nothing that will last.