My general feeling about money and anything I own is that, what I have belongs to God.
Being rich can mean different things to different people. A millionaire might feel he needs just one more million to be rich. A family might feel they are rich when they get to buy that first home. I felt quite rich when I went to Ethiopia.
To me, being rich is when Jesus is number one in life. Being content in the place that God puts me is the best feeling. If God is first, then life is really worth living. Everything is a gift and a blessing from God, including money. I am thankful that He provides.
However, the question, do you think being rich is a good thing? is specifically a financial one.
Money is a tool that can be used and misused. It can be a blessing and a curse. It can cause pride to blind the real state of a person and/or family. Money is not the root of all kinds of evil, but the love of money IS the root of all kinds of evil (see 1 Timothy 6:10). It is easy to fall for it and start loving it.
When I was shopping around for a car I met a number of sales people. As I went for test drives I asked them about their families. One salesman told me he worked late every day and made good money, his eyes lit up when he talked about it. But when I asked about his family he said that he was divorced. He had kids but he sounded bored talking about them. My sense was that he was spending so much time on the job that he neglected his family. What is his money good for if he is on his own? Maybe he can live in a fancy home, drive a fancy car, for what? to impress people that don't even care about him? Maybe it gives him a sense of worth and some sort of rush, I don't know. This example may be the extreme, but I think that the love of money can lead to that.
The Bible speaks about money ALOT. God gave instructions on how to handle money wisely and how to prosper. I don't believe God is calling us to be poor but rather to be wise stewards of what was entrusted to us, regardless how much or little it is.
See this link for Bible verses:
and other great resources by Crown Financial Ministries: http://www.crown.org/FindHelp/Church/LifeGroups.aspx
I know an older gentleman who is VERY wealthy. He loves God so much! He has a huge sticker on the side of his car, an advertisement, talking about Jesus. He brings cookies with tracts about Jesus, which he makes himself. He is one of the founders of a non-profit organization that specifically helps missionaries in Africa. He is like a walking living light. His 'wealth' is not in the way of his living for Christ, instead he uses it to spread the word about God.
Another person that I'm thinking of is Brady, my boss. One time, we were discussing something important and time sensitive. He suddenly realized that it was lunch time and told me, "we'll have to finish this after lunch, I promised JoJo (his daughter, Jordan) I would take her out to lunch." He dropped everything and left, even though what we were working on needed to be done asap. Yes, he also makes pretty good money, but he doesn't let it control him. His priorities are seen by his actions, he doesn't have to say that family comes first, actions consistently speak loud.
My brother Peter always says, "деньги никогда не мешают" and "it's easier to live when you have money." He says this because he has a family and understands that it's not easy. He knows how difficult it can be when there is no money. I understand where he's coming from and agree.
Do I think being rich is a good thing? It depends on the rich person's perspective on his or her wealth.
I'm also thinking of an example that someone, don't recall who, once said. A father says to his young son, as they are sitting at a booth eating fries, "let's give some of the fries to that homeless man." The boy pulls the fries closer to himself and says, "these are mine." He does not realize that his dad can buy him more fries than he can eat. Sometimes we hold on to our stuff in the same way, not realizing that God loves us so much and provides for all of our needs. He wants us to let go sometimes, to think of others.
When God is first and we live by His word, then everything else falls into place.
By Vera Chosenko
The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it.
Psalm 24:1
Psalm 24:1