Ministry of Grace Church

but the rich one in his humbling, because like a flower of the garden he will pass away.

Truth to Learn

Riches cause pride and harm our relationship with God. Some day we will pass away and have to give an accounting to God.

Behind the Words

The word translated “rich one” is the Greek word plousios, which means “one who has great possessions.” This is someone who we would say is rich, or wealthy.

The Greek word translated “humbling” is tapeinosis, which is from the same root as “lowly” in the previous verse. It means to be humbled or brought low.

“Garden” is from a form of the word chortos which originally meant “court or garden.” In later usage it also came to mean “a pasture or grassy field”

The word translated “pass away” is a form of parerchomai, which is a compound word made up of para, meaning “near” and a form of erchomai, meaning “to come” or “to go.” So, literally it means to come near or to go close to something. Metaphorically, however, here it means “to pass away, to perish, or to cease to exist.”

Meaning Explained

Since this is a continuation of the sentence started in the previous verse, we need to look and see what the verb is in relation to, “but the rich one in his humbling.” The verb in the previous verse, which applies to “the rich one” in this verse is the one which is translated “let … glory.” So we could interpret the first of this verse as, “but let the rich man glory in his being humbled.”

It’s pretty easy for us to see why the poor people are to glory in being raised-up by Christ and put on an equal footing with all others in the church. But why would someone with great possessions glory in being humbled? When we are humbled before God we realize that we owe everything we have to God, because it has all come from Him. After all, we are not on this earth to gain possessions; rather we are here to glorify God.

Worldly riches have a way of causing us to feel proud and self-sufficient. But this does not draw us closer to God; instead, it leads us away from Him. When we are in need, we get on our knees and seek God’s face. When we have wealth, we have no reason to seek God’s assistance. Those who have riches should recognize that such riches ultimately come from God and belong to Him. Therefore, God should receive glory and praise for them, but this only comes from a heart filled with humility.

One day, like the beautiful flowers in the garden, we will pass away. In the final analysis, what we have done for God is all that will matter. Riches that we have amassed to ourselves make us proud. Riches that are used for God’s glory, on the other hand, will produce eternal reward.

Application

Look at the poor widow in Luke 21:1-4. She gave a mere two small coins to the temple treasury. That’s equal to about 2/5 of a cent today. Jesus said that she gave more than all the others combined, because she gave all that she had. They gave out of their riches because they didn’t need it all. She needed all that she had and yet she gave it all to God.

What are you giving to God?