Purchasing Power

Revelation 3:18 “I counsel you to buy from Me gold refined by fire so that you may become rich, white garments so that you may be clothed and your shameful nakedness not exposed, and salve to anoint your eyes so that you may see.”

For all of you economists, the thought of purchasing power might be up your alley. For me, economics was never a strong point but when I read a scripture like the one in the book of Revelation, I quickly discovered that God incorporated these principles into a spiritual context long ago.

The purchasing power of currency is the quantity of goods and services that can be bought with a monetary unit. Because of rising prices, the purchasing power of currency deteriorates over time.

Now, I’m not too excited about digging much further into an economics lesson so I’ll leave it at that, but the thought of spiritual equity intrigues me…particularly in respect to God’s Word.

If you hold a sum of cash and bury it in the ground, that money loses value over time. The inflation of goods and services tends to go up over time and yet cash doesn’t grow interest. If you were to dig up the hidden reserves you would find it doesn’t have the same purchasing power as it used to. The money you dug up has actually lost value….Your purchasing power diminishes when your currency value diminishes.

Revelation 3:17 “Because you say, ‘I am rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing’—and do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked—

For those that spend their lives acquiring wealth, the prospect of dying rich and without any needs seems to be the objective. What does being in a position without any needs look like to you? Is limitless food the key to happiness? What about the nicest car, house, or toys for entertainment?

Is the goal to acquire all the ‘things’ this world offers thinking that it will bring fulfillment and joy?

Matthew 6:19-21 “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

~Eternal Value~

Not one item in this world can purchase you one minute in Heaven.

All that the world can offer…power, wealth, honor, fame, position…none of these have one iota of value eternally. So why do we work so hard acquiring worldly value? So many people think that if they can just get that one promotion, buy that nicer car, or win the lottery, everything will just be better. But if you acquire your greatest hope and dreams and you are still not happy, then what?

How long do you think you are going to live? This question, if posed in the midst of a group of people, could be quite the downer. If we consider the way we live our lives and the amount of energy we put into temporal thing, it might just bring a dose of reality that many want to avoid.

Many times doctors in the midst of treating someone hear patients refuse to stop smoking, stop drinking, stop doing drugs, and lose weight….the discomfort associated with denying the flesh is more than they want to consider, even if it means an early death.

Looking beyond self-satisfaction is a way to be found content.

Victory belongs to the ones who are eternally minded.

So, how do you buy gold, refined in the fire, so that you might become rich? What can you give that has enough value that God is willing to exchange His riches for what you offer?

1 Peter 1:7 “so that the proven character of your faith—more precious than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory, and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.”

When you place your faith in Jesus Christ, you invest into a future that has endless reward.

How do you invest in your faith?

The way to eternal reward is not by gaining, but by losing…..everything!

Revelation 3:12 “The one who is victorious I will make a pillar in the temple of My God, and he will never again leave it. Upon him I will write the name of My God, and the name of the city of My God (the new Jerusalem that comes down out of heaven from My God), and My new name.”

By investing in God’s Kingdom, you place your life in the hands of the One who holds all the keys to life—but you can’t do it on your own, you need a lot of help, Jesus’ help. Jesus’ life was given for every person who would trust in Him. Jesus sacrificed His life, that His people might gain everything.

When your faith is placed in Christ, you have invested into an eternal reward already purchased on your behalf. The value is more than anything the world can provide, it is heavenly gold. Your place in God’s Kingdom is secured when you allow your life to be conjoined with God’s glory and Jesus is the standard of that glory.

Isaiah 55:1 “Come, all of you who thirst, come to the waters; and you without money, come, buy, and eat! Come, buy wine and milk, without money and without cost!”

As a believer in the Son of God, your purchasing power never diminishes because His value never diminishes, you are kept by the power of God unto salvation.

It’s never too late to realign your worldly values with God’s value. The first step is as simple as a prayer, the second is a change of heart, the third is then a change of direction. Any great change requires a conscious decision to take that first step, then, when you set your mind on things above, you find your values aligning with Godly interest rather than the worlds.

Matthew 13:44 “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and in his joy he went and sold all he had and bought that field.”

When you find the treasure that is in Christ, your interest in temporal things begins to diminish, what was thought important no longer is and then you realize your perspective has changed.

It is then that you gain everything.