The real question is not about what a person possesses, but about what possesses a person.
Lot, who had plenty wanted more. The “love of money” possessed him, causing him to make a terrible decision that ultimately cost him everything.
On the other hand, it was fellowship with Jehovah (not wealth) that possessed Abraham’s heart. Though rich in possessions, he lived in a wilderness tent and there enjoyed the presence of God (Gen. 18).
The Bible is clear. In 1 Timothy 6:6-19, it is not money that is “the root of all evil”; rather, it is the love of money that pierces through with many sorrows.
“They that will be rich” is a warning directed to those who, not being content, are possessed with a desire to get goods. What they receive is not abundant possessions, but abundant grief (1 Tim. 6:9).
“Them that are rich” is directed towards those who have wealth and possessions. God expects them to use their prosperity for the good of those who have not.
But the danger is that believers with very few possessions may begin to view those with much as unspiritual. Such thinking may come from unjudged spiritual pride or secret covetousness. If we find our full delight and satisfaction in the Lord Jesus, what others have or don’t have will be of little concern to us, and we won’t be making judgments about spirituality based on others’ material possessions.
The Apostle knew both “how to be abased” and “to abound” how to “abound and to suffer need.” He wasn’t possessed by wealth or the lack of it. He was possessed of Christ (Phil. 3:12).
Ed.