Seth Udinski, FISM News
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On Thursday, Forbes reported that Tesla, SpaceX and Twitter CEO Elon Musk temporarily lost his title of “world’s richest person” before retaking the top spot on Friday.
Elon Musk Starts And Ends Thursday As World's Second Richest Person https://t.co/jhBRPoHVBa pic.twitter.com/Ern9kiQSCh
— Forbes (@Forbes) December 8, 2022
Last year, Musk supplanted Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos and held the top spot for over a year.
On Wednesday, at two different times, Musk momentarily lost the title to French business mogul Bernard Arnault, with both men hanging around $185 billion in net worth.
By the end of the day Wednesday, Musk regained the top spot at $185.4 billion, with Arnault trailing behind at $184.7 billion.
Then on Thursday, Musk ended the day again behind Arnault, with the Frenchman at $186.2 billion and Musk trailing behind at $185. On Friday, Musk appeared to jump ahead of Arnault again, sitting at $190.7 billion according to Forbes Now.
Musk has dominated news headlines as of late with his recent shake-up of Twitter in an effort to remake the platform more friendly to freedom of speech and to hold the platform more accountable in general.
In some of the latest Twitter news, Fox Business reported Friday that Musk is planning to delete 1.5 billion Twitter accounts, including those that have not logged in or tweeted in years, while also offering more features for users on the site.
Author’s Biblical Analysis
For many of us, it is an enticing topic to consider the richest people in the world, and ponder what we would do if we had that kind of wealth. I have often wondered what house I might live in, how generous I could be, and how many “toys” I could have if I had even a fraction of the amount of wealth these business tycoons have.
Friends, there is a great reminder for us in this report as we consider the attractions and trappings of wealth — We must value eternal treasure over material treasure.
The scripture is clear. Wealth in itself is not necessarily evil. We read about many in the Bible who were simultaneously wealthy and righteous: Abraham, Job, Joseph in Egypt, David, Josiah, Esther, Joseph of Arimathea, Lydia, and many others throughout church history who are in glory today. Wealth is not a guarantee of damnation, nor is poverty a guarantee of salvation.
But the scripture is also clear — Wealth can be a deadly trap, leading many to ever seek satisfaction in the pursuit of monetary gain. Wealth can therefore be one of the great obstacles of salvation.
And again I say to you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God. – Matthew 19:24
Jesus said these words of warning to His disciples, who had just witnessed a “righteous” young man reject Jesus because he would not part with his wealth.
The lesson for us here is that we who are wealthy should take great caution to not allow our wealth to become a stumbling block. We must hold what we have with open hands, knowing it all belongs to the Lord, and He can take it away in a moment if He so chooses.
We must ponder these words of warning from Jesus. If it is this hard for a rich man to enter heaven — and most, if not all, of us would qualify as “rich” by the world’s standard, even if we are not upper class in the United States — who can enter heaven?
When His disciples heard it, they were greatly astonished, saying, ‘Who then can be saved?’ But Jesus looked at them and said to them, ‘With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.’ – Matthew 19:25-26
It is here we must immerse ourselves in the gospel. Can any of us enter heaven on our own merits? Not a chance!
Praise God, therefore, that we have the Savior of our souls, the Lord Jesus Christ, who was perfect on our behalf and applies His perfect righteousness to us. We who believe in Jesus will enter heaven because He was perfect on our behalf. God looks upon us and sees the righteousness of His Son, and in this He is well-pleased.
Friends, this is the eternal treasure! The gospel, the good news of salvation, is far more valuable than any amount of earthly riches. It is on the good news of Jesus Christ that we must place our emphasis, not on worldly wealth.
Seek this treasure, and in it you will find true satisfaction.
Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. – Matthew 6:31-33