WISDOM FOR LIVING DAILY DEVOTIONAL
MARCH 29, 2026
TOPIC: RICHES WITHOUT SORROW
BY T. O. BANSO
“The blessing of the Lord makes one rich, and He adds no sorrow with it” (Proverbs 10:22 New King James Version).
Recently, I was having a discussion with a man over 60, and to support what I was saying, he told me that he used to drive a commercial vehicle and would sometimes skip church on Sundays to earn extra income. Each time he did that, he would make more money than he had made on any day during the week. However, in the new week, something would always happen that made it impossible to account for the money he had made the previous week. Because of this recurring experience, he convinced himself to stop acting penny-wise, pound-foolish! He stopped missing Sunday services. Hebrews 10:25 says, “Some people have given up the habit of meeting for worship, but we must not do that. We should keep on encouraging each other, especially since you know that the day of the Lord’s coming is getting closer” (Contemporary English Version).
An artisan came for maintenance work in a Pastor’s house some time ago. He inflated the price of one of the items he wanted to buy for the repair he wanted to do. From his attitude, the Pastor and his wife knew that he wanted to cheat them. Nevertheless, they gave him the money. However, less than twenty minutes later, he returned, sweating because he couldn’t find the expensive smartphone that he had taken along. It was missing. He had searched everywhere for it, but he couldn’t find it. What he lost was far more than what he gained through his dishonesty!
I also recall the story of a politician, a local government chairman, who was alleged to have corruptly enriched himself while in office. After his tenure, it was said that some people introduced him to a business that he thought was genuine. But they swindled him. He did business with dishonest people just like himself! Easy come, easy go! He was back to square one. As the saying goes, “If a cunning man dies, a cunning man will bury him.” In other words, dishonest people are often outwitted by others as cunning as they are. Birds of a feather flock together. What you sow is what you’ll reap.
It is possible to become rich through dubious means, but those who follow such a route will have themselves to blame later because of the unpalatable consequences. They may gain the riches they want, but they will also cause themselves pain and sorrow.
If you’re a child of God, don’t pursue riches by any means. Don’t try to become rich through ways that violate the Word of God. If you do, you may lose more than what you have made. Such riches may cost you something more than what you have made. Be careful.
As Paul says in 1 Timothy 6:9, those who desire to be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and harmful lusts which drown men in destruction and perdition. He goes further to say the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows (verse 10). Beware of greed. Don’t pierce yourself through with many sorrows.
If you’ve given your life to Jesus, let Him be the Lord of your life in everything, including your financial prosperity. Don’t pursue riches in ungodly ways; otherwise, you will experience sorrow that goes with such a pursuit of wealth. Proverbs 10:22 says, “The blessing of the Lord makes one rich, and He adds no sorrow with it” (New King James Version). Getting rich by other means will add sorrow to anyone’s life. But when the Lord blesses you, He won’t add sorrow with it. Let the Lord bless you; don’t devise your own means. There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death (Proverbs 14:12; 16:25).
In Genesis 12:2, the LORD promised Abraham that He would make him a great nation, bless him, and make his name great, and he would be a blessing. The blessing of the LORD made a difference in Abraham’s life just as it will in anyone’s life today. When Abraham later left Egypt, Genesis 13 says that Abram (as he was then) was very rich in livestock, silver, and gold. The blessing of the Lord makes one rich; He adds no sorrow with it.
When the oldest servant of Abraham spoke about him in the house of Bethuel, while on a mission to find a wife for Abraham’s son, Isaac, he noted that the LORD had greatly blessed Abraham. “So he said, ‘I am Abraham’s servant. The Lord has blessed my master greatly, and he has become great; and He has given him flocks and herds, silver and gold, male and female servants, and camels and donkeys’” (Genesis 24:34-35 King James Version). In other words, the LORD fulfilled His promise to Abraham.
The LORD also blessed Isaac such that the famine did not affect him in Gerar. Genesis 26:12 says that Isaac sowed in that land, and reaped in the same year a hundredfold, and the LORD blessed him. “The man began to prosper, and continued prospering until he became very prosperous; for he had possessions of flocks and possessions of herds and a great number of servants. So the Philistines envied him” (verses 13-14 New King James Version). The blessing of the Lord is superior to the economy of the world. The blessing of the Lord is what you need, not riches from ungodly schemes.
Proverbs 15:27a says that he who is greedy for gain troubles his own house. The covetousness of Achan, by taking what the Israelites had been forbidden to take in Jericho, brought sorrow upon him and his family. He couldn’t enjoy the beautiful Babylonian garment, two hundred shekels of silver, and a wedge of gold weighing fifty shekels, which he had taken and hidden in the ground inside his tent. Achan was stoned to death and burnt. His sons, daughters, oxen, donkeys, sheep, tent, and all that he had were also burnt. “So all Israel stoned him with stones; and they burned them with fire after they had stoned them with stones” (Joshua 7:25b New King James Version).
Also, Gehazi got the ‘blessing’ he wanted: two talents of silver in two bags, with two changes of garments. But sorrow was added to it. The leprosy of Naaman cleaved to him and his descendants forever (2 Kings 5:20-27).
Ahab and Jezebel dispossessed Naboth of his vineyard after Jezebel had ensured that he was killed. But they only succeeded in inflicting themselves and their posterity with sorrow (1 Kings 21:20-24).
Follow the Lord; don’t follow the world. If you follow the Lord, not the world’s practices, He will make you rich by His standards, not the standards of the world. His blessing will make you rich, but not necessarily a millionaire or billionaire. “Better is a little with the fear of the LORD, than great treasure with trouble” (Proverbs 15:16 New King James Version). Philippians 4:6 says that you should not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving you should let your requests be made known to God. God will provide for your needs. David said, “I have been young, and now am old; yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his descendants begging bread” (Psalm 37:25 New King James Version).
Avoid becoming rich through evil gain. It has negative consequences here on earth and after death. What will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses his own soul? (Mark 8:36). Treasures of wickedness profit nothing (Proverbs 10:12a). The unjust gain takes away the life of its owners (Proverbs 1:19).
Obey God’s Word. Apply His principles in your undertakings. Avoid get-rich-quick schemes. “Bread gained by deceit is sweet to a man, but afterward his mouth will be filled with gravel” (Proverbs 20:17 New King James Version). Habakkuk 2:9 says, “Woe to him who covets evil gain for his house, that he may set his nest on high, that he may be delivered from the power of disaster!” (New King James Version). Similarly, Jeremiah 22:13 says, “Woe to him who builds his house by unrighteousness and his chambers by injustice, who uses his neighbor’s service without wages and gives him nothing for his work” (New King James Version).
You are a blessed child of God. Ephesians 1:3 says blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ. If you are willing and obedient, you shall eat the good of the land (Isaiah 1:19). Those blessed by the Lord shall inherit the earth, but those cursed by Him shall be cut off (Psalm 37:22). Trust in the Lord and depend on His blessing.
TAKE ACTION!
If you are not born again, you must give your heart to Jesus now. Please take the following steps: *Admit that you are a sinner and you cannot save yourself, and repent of your sins. *Confess Jesus as your Lord and Saviour. *Renounce your past way of life – your relationship with the devil and his works. *Invite Jesus into your heart. *As a mark of seriousness to mature in the faith, start attending a Bible-believing, Bible-teaching, and Bible-practising church. There, they will teach you how to grow in the Kingdom of God.
Kindly say this prayer now: O Lord God, I come unto You today. I know I am a sinner, and I cannot save myself. I believe that Jesus is the Son of God who died on the cross to save me, and God raised Him on the third day. I repent of my sins and confess Jesus as my Lord and Saviour. I invite Jesus into my heart. By this prayer, I know I am saved. Thank You, Jesus, for saving me and making me a child of God.
I believe you have said this prayer from your heart. Congratulations! You must join a Bible-believing, Bible-teaching, and Bible-practising church where they will teach you how to live your new life in Christ Jesus. I pray that you flourish like a palm tree and grow like a cedar of Lebanon. May you grow into Christ in all things and become all God wants you to be. I will be glad to hear from you. The Lord be with you.
PRAYER POINTS: Father, I trust in You and depend on Your blessing. I will not follow the ways of the world but Your way. With Your blessing, I will prosper; with Your blessing, I will be rich and will not experience any sorrow. I pray that all those who are pursuing evil gain and becoming rich through wickedness will repent and give their hearts to Jesus.
(For over 900 in-depth and powerful messages by T. O. Banso, visit www.cedarministry.org).
T. O. Banso is the President of Cedar Ministry International, Abuja, Nigeria.
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