Cast but a glance at riches, and they are gone,
for they will surely sprout wings and fly off to the sky like an eagle. Proverbs 23:5

It’s interesting and often tragic) to see instant lottery millionaires in the news. But like silly school children, they spend millions in a very short period of time, and are often broke and penniless within years of their newfound wealth. Their lives are much worse than before they “got lucky.” There are many reasons for this, though, I suspect the primary reason is that they just didn’t know how to handle the pressures that now surrounded them.

The Bible encourages us to just glance at those riches. Acknowledge that they are there, and move on.

And yet, we still feel the tug of the world that prods us to become like the jet-setting crowd. Take away the lights, the cameras, the attention, and what do you have behind all those closed mansion doors? People like you and me. People who argue, get angry, cry, laugh, and prepare for their next day. They do have the added pressures of always being under scrutiny from others, always need to have their game face on, always need to smile when they’re around their fans, and need to interrupt meals to sign autographs.

Cast but a glance at riches . . . and they are gone.