I got my first suit when I was 17 years old – creamy white in color with contrasting maroon stitching on the lapel. I wore it with a maroon shirt and a red, white, and blue tie. Give me a break; it was 1974.

I can’t remember how much my first suit cost, but I remember stating emphatically at the dinner table one night that I would wear a $100 suit to work every day when I was grown up. I remember because my father’s immediate response was that he was ashamed to think that a son of his would spend money so wastefully.

My adolescent aspirations missed the mark; I have never worn a suit to work every day (and certainly not one that cost $100). I have, however, lived frugally as my father taught me.

Frugality has served me well. Without ever having a remarkable income, I have become wealthy. Don’t get me wrong, I have earned a very good income during parts of my working life, but, for example, I’ve never drawn the paycheck of an executive in a large company.

What has enabled me to become wealthy is that I have always been happy to live on less than I make, to save money, and to invest. And I married well. I married a girl who, like me, is happy to live on less than we make, save money, and invest. And, oh yeah, we’re both smart, hard-working professionals in the United States where it is relatively easy for smart, hard-working professionals to accumulate wealth.

My wife does not “feel” wealthy and she expresses discomfort when I talk about being wealthy. I do not feel wealthy either, but know that I am; most Americans are wealthy compared to many people on this planet. And an American who has accumulated assets, like we have, is fabulously wealthy.

I talk about being wealthy because I want to help similarly wealthy people become self-conscious of their wealth and to start behaving as wealthy people are supposed to behave.

The Bible gives very specific directions to wealthy people: “Command those who are rich in the things of this life… to place their hope, not in such an uncertain thing as riches, but in God, who generously gives us everything for our enjoyment. Command them to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share with others. In this way they will store up for themselves a treasure which will be a solid foundation for the future. And then they will be able to win the life which is true life (1 Timothy 6:17-19).

The Bible says repeatedly that God rewards people who give generously to the poor… “When you give to the poor, it is like lending to the Lord, and the Lord will pay you back” (Proverbs 19:17). “Give to the poor and you will never be in need (Proverbs 28:27). “Give… freely and unselfishly, and the LORD will bless you in everything you do” (Deuteronomy 15:10). “God is able to give you more than you need, so that you will always have all you need for yourselves and more than enough for every good cause” (2 Corinthians 9:8).  “He [God] will always make you rich enough to be generous at all times” (2 Corinthians 9:11).

The Bible is very clear about the importance of behaving generously…  “If… one of your brothers should become poor… you shall not harden your heart or shut your hand against your poor brother, but you shall open your hand to him and lend him sufficient for his need, whatever it may be. Take care lest there be an unworthy thought in your heart and … your eye look grudgingly on your poor brother, and you give him nothing, and he cries to the Lord against you, and you be guilty of sin. You shall give to him freely, and your heart shall not be grudging when you give to him, because for this the Lord your God will bless you in all your work and in all that you undertake. For there will never cease to be poor in the land. Therefore I command you, ‘You shall open wide your hand to your brother, to the needy and to the poor, in your land’” (Deuteronomy 15:7-11).

The economy has been in terrible shape for several years. Everyone is spending less and saving more if they can. Breaking even in business has become a constant challenge. Cutting back on giving in times like these is tempting. Those of us, who are wealthy, however, are supposed to give generously in times like these. Many of our neighbors are unemployed. Now is the time to give, now, when we must trust God about the future, now, when we really must depend on God to “bless us in all our work and in all that we undertake.”

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