The teaching of Jesus Christ is noteworthy for emphasizing a reversal of values, especially as they regard the carnal manner in which most people look at life and its fortunes.

The beatitudes, for instance, emphasize the benefits of virtues such as mourning, meekness and poverty of spirit rather than the more popular attitudes of boastfulness and self-confidence. Jesus frequently challenged the wealthy and powerful to consider sacrificing the sources of their pride in the interest of devoting themselves more fully to God (see Mark 10:17-22).

The apostle Paul broadly commented on this subject in his letter to the Roman Christians, “For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. To set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God's law; indeed, it cannot. Those who are in the flesh cannot please God” (Romans 8:5-8 ESV).

It is not true, however, that this concept originated in the first century and is absent from the Old Testament. In fact, it was always there, often ignored, just as it is today, because people tend to follow their passions and indulge their more carnal ambitions, even at the expense of their souls, the happiness of the people around them, and eternity itself (James 4:1-5).

Wisdom profoundly argues in Proverbs 13:7 that, “There is one who makes himself rich, yet has nothing; And one who makes himself poor, yet has great riches.”

Whether such a person is striving and sacrificing all else to make himself wealthy or is merely pretending to be, there is a certain, very real, but obviously spiritual state of poverty encroaching upon him. Some overwork to be rich, estranging themselves from their families through excessive hours at the office and on the road, in the name of greater riches and important promotions (see Proverbs 23:4). Some of them succeed, but in the process, lose what matters most—the affection and dependence of wife and children. Money spends, but love is difficult to recover once it is gone.

Others appear to be well-off by virtue of pretense, often financing the illusion of prosperity with credit cards and impossible mortgages. Their self-worth is measured in ever-declining dollars and cents while their spirits wallow in bankruptcy.

True wealth is found in the one who is willing to share and sacrifice and even to risk it all in the interest of his convictions and brethren (see Revelation 2:9, 2 Corinthians 9:12-15, Galatians 6:6-10).