Wherefore Levi hath no part nor inheritance with his brethren; the Lord is his inheritance, according as the Lord thy God promised him. – Deuteronomy 10:9, KJV

Although it is not always the case, dedicating one’s life in service to The Lord often requires sacrificing earthly wealth. This is a hard thing to do, and it is easy for sacrificial Christian workers to become jealous of those who have not had to give up their stuff. Asaph pined about the seeming injustice of this trade-off when he wrote in Psalm 73:3, “For I was envious at the foolish, when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.” Korah and his minions also wanted more than what they had, esteeming little “that the God of Israel hath separated you [Korah]…to himself to do the service of the tabernacle of The Lord.” (Numbers 16:9, KJV). And, of course, the rich young ruler went away sorrowful when Jesus made him choose between Himself and earthly riches (Matthew 19:16-26, KJV). It’s just so easy to want what we see, and it’s just so hard to value what we don’t.

When confronted with jealousy, sacrificial Christian workers must remember that the reason they have no earthly inheritance is that The Lord is their inheritance. And what an inheritance He is! As Deuteronomy 10:14 (KJV) puts it, “Behold, the heaven and the heaven of heavens is the Lord’s thy God, the earth also, with all that therein is.” Psalm 50:10 (KJV) reminds us, “For every beast of the forest is mine, and the cattle upon a thousand hills.” 1 Chronicles 29:11-12 (KJV) teaches us, “Thine, O Lord is the greatness, and the power, and the glory, and the victory, and the majesty: for all that is in the heaven and in the earth is thine; thine is the kingdom, O Lord, and thou art exalted as head above all. Both riches and honour come of thee, and thou reignest over all; and in thine hand is power and might; and in thine hand it is to make great, and to give strength unto all.”

When we cringe at having the Lord’s abundant life rather than the world’s abundant riches, we do greatly err. What an awesome inheritance God is! Should He make us choose a path of earthly want in return for service to Him, we ought not fret that; we ought embrace that, for the riches of this Earth cannot compare to the riches of God both here and in the hereafter. In reality, no sacrificial Christian worker should covet earthly riches; rather, it is the non-sacrificial Christian worker who should covet the victorious life that only a sold-out, abandoned-for-God Christian can know.

How sad it is that our priorities get so skewed! May The Lord help us to esteem rightly the most valuable of all inheritances: the God of all Creation!