A man may be lifted up because of his wealth to sit among princes; but if he has not a living connection with the Lord Jesus Christ, he has a cheap mind, for he has lost eternity out of his reckoning. In the sight of God he is accounted of the earth, earthy and degraded, the slave of lust and ambition. He has sold himself to his riches, which will soon pass away. He has bowed himself down to an idol that can no more bless him than can the gods of wood and stone. All ungodly gain brings with it a hidden curse, and all well-gotten gain is intrusted to the man as so much capital to be employed in doing good to others. Rich men have the responsibility laid upon them of feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, educating the fatherless, and helping the widows in their necessity. If they neglect this work, they neglect Christ in the person of his saints.
The destiny of souls will be decided by that which we have done or left undone. Jesus says: "When the Son of Man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory; and before him shall be gathered all nations; and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats; and he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left. Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; for I was a hungered, and ye gave me meat; I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink; I was a stranger, and ye took me in; naked, and ye clothed me; I was sick, and ye visited me; I was in prison, and ye came unto me. Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee ahungered, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink? When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee? Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee? And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me." Matthew 25:40
The larger the intrusted wealth, the greater the responsibility. He who had large supplies yet who failed to succor the needy, will have large retribution. Justice will come upon the possessor of wealth if he has selfishly withheld it from those who needed its benefit. The condemnation that will come upon him who had great gifts will be that it was in his power to do good, to relieve the suffering, and he failed to do it. If men would keep the commandments of God, they would practice mercy and the love of God. Man would be upright in his dealings with his fellow-man; but he who serves not God places no restrictions upon his ambitions, and gives himself up wholly to covetousness, and thus he ruins his soul. He becomes miserable and discontented and unsatisfied, because he would grasp more of the world's wealth than he can get in his possession; and thus the more the covetous rich man has, the more miserable he becomes. The Signs of the Times, June 25, 1894
A man with an evil eye hastens after riches, And does not consider that poverty will come upon him. Proverbs 28:22 (New King James Version)