“I have rejoiced in your laws as much as in riches. . . . I will delight in your decrees and not forget your word”  Psalm 119:14,16

Each year when St. Patrick’s Day comes around, I can’t help but be reminded of stories from my childhood. I recall tales of luck and leprechauns, treasures and trickery. Many of these stories depicted people drawn on a quest to find the end of the rainbow and the pot of gold hidden there. But the promise of wealth was often an illusion, overtaken by selfishness or thwarted by a leprechauns deception. I find so many parallels to today’s views toward becoming wealthy.

There’s nothing wrong with wealth itself, but it has the power to deceive us into thinking that money is the answer to all our needs. The ”keeping up with the Jones” mindset holds us back from true joy. The psalmist expresses it this way: “I have rejoiced in your laws as much as in riches. . . . I will delight in your decrees and not forget your word.” This concept of spiritual treasure is focused on obedience to God and walking in the path of His commandments. Only then can we find fulfillment. It is NOT by having the nicest car, newest clothes, or the purse all your friends envy.

What if we were more excited about following the Lord’s Word than about winning a lottery or finding a pot of gold? With the psalmist we might pray, “Incline my heart to Your testimonies, and not to covetousness. Turn away my eyes from looking at worthless things, and revive me in Your way” (v. 36-37).

The riches of obedience—true riches—belong to all who walk with the Lord. Those are people who will look at rainbows and be driven by promise of His goodness rather than the gain of earthly treasures.