Use Your Money to Get People into Heaven By Rick Warren
“Use your worldly resources to benefit others and make friends. Then, when your possessions are gone, they will welcome you to an eternal home.”Luke 16:9 (NLT)
There’s no better way to use your money than helping people get to heaven.
Jesus says, “Use your worldly resources to benefit others and make friends. Then, when your possessions are gone, they will welcome you to an eternal home” (Luke 16:9 NLT). It’s a verse that many people find confusing.
What Jesus is saying is this: Just like the shrewd manager made friends he could count on later, you should use some of your money to make eternal friends—people who will be in heaven because you gave, and who will welcome you when you arrive.
He’s not saying you can buy your way into heaven, because you can’t. Jesus has already paid the price on the cross. And he’s not saying you can purchase your salvation, because you can’t. Salvation is a free gift of grace.
Jesus is telling you to use your money to build friendships that will go on and on for eternity. When you use your money to help others meet Jesus, you make friends for eternity and gain rewards for eternity.
When you get to heaven one day, imagine there are a hundred people standing at the entrance, clapping and cheering and saying, “We’ve been waiting for you! We’re here because you spent some money to tell us the Good News. We’re now friends for life—no, for eternity! If it weren’t for the way you used your money, we wouldn’t have heard about the way to get to heaven.”
Are you using your money that way? Is anybody going to be in heaven because of your generosity?
When you buy a Bible and give it to somebody who doesn’t have one, you have stored up treasure in heaven. When you support a program that shares the Good News around the world, you have stored up treasure in heaven. When you help build a church, you have stored up treasure in heaven. When you provide monthly support for a missionary, you have stored up treasure in heaven. It’s the highest and best use of your money.
You can’t take it with you, but you can send it on ahead by investing your resources in people who are going to heaven.
Rick Warren is an innovative pastor, renowned author, and global influencer known for founding Saddleback Church, the Purpose Driven Network, the PEACE Plan, and Hope for Mental Health. He has written several best-selling books, including The Purpose Driven Life, which has sold over 35 million copies in 200 languages. Time magazine named Warren the most influential spiritual leader in America and one of the 100 most influential people in the world. Since stepping down from the lead pastor role at Saddleback in 2022, Warren has continued to inspire people through his Daily Hope Devotional and podcast Pastor Rick’s Daily Hope. His first book in a decade, Created to Dream, was released in April 2023.
For more Daily Hope with Rick Warren, please visit pastorrick.com!
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