What is more important than wealth in this material world? Most people work day and night to become wealthier and live a life of happiness. Even those who believe in God often pray for wealth and prosperity.  We are, however, shocked to find that in Bible, Jesus was quite critical to the acquisition of wealth. He said to his disciples quite unambiguously

"I tell you the truth; it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.” (Mathew 19: 23-24)

Yet most people do not believe that wealth can be an evil and it can create any hindrance in their entry in the Kingdom of God. Today, most of the richest people in the world happen to be Christians. It seems absurd to most people as to why a person can not be good as well as wealthy.

Does that imply that wealthy people are actually Devils as only a Devil, the Enemy of God, could be prohibited entry in the Kingdom of God?

Is it true that wealth makes a person Devil? Then why are we seeking more wealth in our lives.

Let us first understand the nature of devil as described in Scriptures.

Characteristics of Devil

It is difficult to identify devil in the real world as he is all around. He is hidden in many people. The best description of devil is that he is against God who wants people to defy God and follow the path of evil. We can identify devil from following characteristics

1. Intelligent: Devil is extremely intelligent. He knows the mind of man and plays with it. He knew the Adam and Eve wanted to eat the apple which was pleasing to the eyes and looking good. He uses his intelligence to know the hidden desire of man and then to lead him astray.

2 Tempter: Devil is a great tempter. He does not use any force but entices human beings to follow the path of evil by using his temptation.

3. Logical: Devil is quite logical in his arguments which convince people to follow the path of evil.

4. Arrogant: A devil is arrogant who even refused to follow God. He considers himself as an equal of God.

5. Ruler: A devil is the ruler of this world. He is often called the God of this world.

6. Sensual: Devil persuades people not to believe in God and the spiritual world. He advocates lust i.e. enjoyments of the senses and ask people to enjoy this world by having sensual pleasures.

7. Liar: Devil is a liar and he has no qualms in telling absolute lies to mislead the human beings.

Characteristic of a Rich Man

It is interesting to notice that a rich man shares a number of characters with Devil. Wealth has tremendous potential to transform the man. Unfortunately most people are transformed to become devil rather than divine as they become richer.

1.         Intelligence: A rich man has to be intelligent to make money. He knows what is needed by others and he also knows the price that he is willing to pay to fulfill his desire. He is also emotionally intelligent as he knows the emotions of others and he knows the methods to manipulate the emotions for his personal gain.

2.         Tempter: A rich man is a great tempter. He knows that most people are in the need of money and they are willing to do anything for money which can buy them all worldly comforts of lives. Hence they spend their riches to tempt the human beings in doing the things which they know are wrong and immoral. The world of prostitution, crime, drugs or corruption is managed by the rich people who uses their wealth to tempt other people in following wrong path.

3.         Logical: A rich man is always a logical man as he has to justify accumulation of great wealth while millions of people remain poor in this world. A rich man enjoys the life of luxury, lives in mansion, and employs a number of fellow human beings as servants. All his acts are immoral as God has created a human beings equal. However a rich man has many logic to support the inequality and possessions.

4.         Arrogant: A rich man like devil is always an arrogant man. Just like devil refused to follow God, a rich man too defies every word of the Scriptures and the law of the land. He donates part of his wealth as if he can buy the favor of God by giving Him money. His wealth makes him arrogant and he starts playing God. He gives many undeserving people his wealth in the name of charity while ignoring millions of similar other men. He tries to break the laws of Karma and make an unworthy person enjoy the benefits in this world. It is no wonder then that the most atheists are found in the countries which are richest in the world. A rich man does not seem to be in need of God as he considers himself above God. In this way, he is quite similar to Devil.

5.         Ruler: A rich man always rules the world like Satan. The rich man is identified by the number of servant he has or the number of human beings working under him. He rules the world by his own rules defying the rules of God. It is impossible to find a rich man who can resist the temptation of ruling over other human beings. Almost all kings or rulers like Hitler, Stalin, and Mussolini were termed as devil after their death.

6.         Sensual: While God asks a man to be spiritual and divine, a Devil asks a man to be sensual and full of lust. A rich man is rarely free from lust as he would have no desire to earn more money unless he has given to sensual pleasures whose thirst is infinite. He often seduces beautiful women with his wealth. He even goes to the prostitute to buy their body in order to satisfy his lust. The recent example of Tiger Wood is the best example. Had he not have money, he would have never cheated his wife and gone to the other women and prostitutes for sensual pleasures.

7.         Liar: Devil has often been called the father of lies as he has no qualms in telling lies. A rich man is same in this respect. All his wealth has been acquired by him by telling lies. He makes his profit by telling lies to his client about the cost and the sale price. He sells his goods and services at abnormally high profits which makes him richer. He uses false promises in his advertisements and makes money. He gives the impression that his product or services are for the benefit of the people, while in reality he has only self-interest in producing these goods or services. He creates needs so that he can sell his products. While his acts may not be illegal but they surely are immoral as he never reveals the full truth to his clients and the world.

The Evils of Wealth

While wealth is necessary to fulfill the needs of the body, it can no way satisfy the soul. It is, therefore, important that one does not earn more money than what can be used in satisfying his basic needs. It is important to remember than excess wealth can be used only in unnecessary pursuits which can only corrupt his soul and make him devil.

You have to just imagine how you are going to use the excess money to understand this truth. In reality, the common food items are so cheap that in countries like India, one can satisfy his food requirement in less than 100 dollars a month for a family of four. If he earns extra, he may leave the house of his parents and live independently in a bigger house. This separates him from him family. It was reported worldwide that in the time of recession many people came back to live with their parents and the divorce rates dipped as people could not afford two establishments. Therefore, if a man becomes wealthier, he starts looking for greener pastures and often breaks the faith of his spouse which gradually leads of divorce and separation.

Imagine, you have even more wealth. Perhaps you shall start living in mansion where you shall occupy many times more earth than other human beings thus leaving little place for others. You may also employ servants to manage the house thus play the roles of ruler to them. You may eat foods that are high in calorie thus ruining your health in process besides leaving less food for the others. Most rich people also spend their money in expensive wines which leads to destruction of their health besides corrupting their souls.

Even the path of earning excess money is full of evil. Only by telling lies and misleading people, one can acquire great riches. If you decide to sell your goods and services on nominal profit, you can never become rich. Your capability to rising in the ladder of prosperity depends greatly in your capability of cheating your customers in maximizing your profit.

Beware of Excessive Wealth

It is a great truth that a rich man can never enter in the kingdom of heaven as he would have committed so many sin in this world that he can never hope to enter in the Kingdom of God. Even though, many cleaver people have devised means to make a rich man  believe that he can bribe even God by giving charities and distributing part of his wealth, yet we all know that God is incorruptible. Hence any amount of bribery and donation in the name of God can perhaps never help a man to enter His Kingdom. Since Kingdom of God is within the heart of every human being, hence a rich man can never listen to the voice of his conscious as he can never understand his soul which is the abode of God in man.