Dear Brethren,
As I was reading the story of two famous people in the newspapers recently, I was reminded of what the Word of God says about power and riches of man. We can easily be drawn to love power and riches of this world but may the story of these 2 men cause us to see the vanity of it all.
Power of man almost gone – Egyptian President
It seems to be out of the blue that demonstrations in Egypt started about 2 weeks ago for Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak to quit. No one would believe that this would take place as President Mubarak has ruled the country for 30 years with absolute control. While men can boast of their authoritative or military power and believe that no one can wrest this power away from them, they ought to take heed to what God’s Word says in Proverbs 21:1 “The king’s heart is in the hand of the LORD, as the rivers of water: he turneth it whithersoever he will.”
A study of the history of this world will tell us that man’s kingdom rise and fall and is never forever. Man in power seems so invincible and unconquerable and yet they fall and disappear as quickly as they came. A word from God is sufficient to bring down the power of any King or President no matter how powerful is their rule and what military might he possesses.
Only God’s Kingdom is forever and only God is from everlasting to everlasting (Psalm 90: 2). Let us then truly worship our Heavenly Father who is Almighty and Eternal. Let us also set our affection on things above and not on things below which are temporal and will perish away one day. Remember power is of God and we can trust Him in all circumstances in life as He is in control, and not men.
Riches of man almost gone – Macau’s Richest Man
Stanley Ho is sometimes nicknamed “The King of Gambling”, as his company controls most of the casinos in Macau. He has built his riches through the casinos for the past 40 years. He is Macau’s wealthiest person with a net worth of more than US$2 billion and is amongst the wealthiest in Asia.
Today, Stanley Ho is 89 years old and his health is failing. Worst of all, some of his family members are fighting for his riches and assets and recently, law suits were filed against them by Stanley Ho. The question asked by everyone is “How long can Stanley Ho hold on to his riches?” I am sure everyone knows the answer.
Listen to what the Bible says in Proverbs 23:5 “Wilt thou set thine eyes upon that which is not? for riches certainly make themselves wings; they fly away as an eagle toward heaven.” As Christians, we should work hard and thank God for material blessings that are bestowed on us from God. However, we must never set our heart on riches and trust our riches to be our security and hope in life. Only God is our hope and our everlasting joy.
In conclusion, let us all take heed to what God’s Word says in Isaiah 40:5-7 “And the glory of the LORD shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it. The voice said, Cry. And he said, What shall I cry? All flesh is grass, and all the goodliness thereof is as the flower of the field: The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: because the spirit of the LORD bloweth upon it: surely the people is grass.”
Elder John Leong
