Piyush Jain and Ambrish Jain are perfume makers, who learnt their art from their father who was a chemist. They expanded their business from Kanpur in Uttar Pradesh to many places including overseas too. They stashed cash of about two thousand million rupees (200 crores: With average yearly income of Rs 135000 for 15000 people) in their modest home with five hundred lockers. Piyush used to go around in a scooter to give an impression to people he was not so rich. They evaded paying taxes and got this ill-gotten wealth. Tax officials getting an intelligence report raided his home and factory, confiscated all cash and put him in jail. (NDTV news, 28 December 2021)
1) Mammon god? One politician said: “Money is not god, but it is not less than god.” Satan personifies himself as wealth or money or termed mammon. (Matthew 6:24) Anything that consumes our passion, vision, time, energy and resources is given a status of god.
2) Deceitful riches: Riches are deceitful that will not allow the Word of God, the seed to grow. (Matthew 13:22)
3) Vain trust: It is not possible to cross a river riding on a mud horse. Money is like a horse made of clay. All who trust in riches will fall. (Proverbs 11:28)
4) Rotten: The treasures in the world could be rotted or rusted or corrupted and rich garments moth eaten. (James 5:2; Matthew 6:19-20) Thieves also can steal, that could be the fall of share market or even confiscation by governments.
5) Ruin and destruction: “But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction.” (I Timothy 6:9)
6) Good life? Lord Jesus Christ taught in the Parable of Foolish Richman that Good, meaningful, and purposeful life is not amassing wealth or abundance of riches. (Luke 12:15)
7) Trap: A bird caught a huge fish with its claws and flew. Within a few minutes the dead fish pulled it down to drown in the lake.
Do I guard against deceitful riches?