FROM RAGS TO RICHES

It seems that everyone enjoys hearing about someone who "pulled himself up by the bootstraps," often calling him a "self-made man." Unless, of course, their story crosses lines of bias, such as that of Nelson Mandela. White supremacists, such as those who supported slavery or apartheid, probably have a tough time swallowing his transformation from prisoner to President. It has been my experience that white racists see the success of a white man as inspiring, and that of a black man as his "being uppity." Strangely, black racists seem to be in agreement with their white counterparts, using the name "Uncle Tom" in the place of "uppity."

The American author, Horatio Alger (1832 – 1899), was a prolific writer who was most famous for his novels about the adventures of bootblacks, newsboys, peddlers and other impoverished children in their rise from humble backgrounds to lives of respectable middle-class security and comfort. Today, when discussing a person's rise from rags to riches, we often hear their biography called a "genuine Horatio Alger story." You may have noticed that Alger's stories of success only rose to the "middle-class." That is probably because no one seems to like the exceptionally wealthy. They are viewed as people who climbed to the top "on the backs of others."

The Bible has a few well-loved "Alger" stories, and what makes them unique is that God is credited for the "upwardly mobile." The most obvious example is that of Joseph, the son of Jacob. His brothers sold him into slavery due to jealousy and pride, only to be humbled by a famine and the rescue by the one they hated (Gen. 37-50). He too went from being a prisoner to being Governor (Acts 7:10). The Bible gives us another example in David, who was the youngest of Jesse's eight sons, and as such, had the lowest job of all; David was a mere shepherd. God directed Samuel to anoint David as Saul's successor (1 Sam. 16:1-13). There are many more "rags to riches stories" within the Word of God.

The greatest "rags to riches story" is my own! I was an atheist at the age of twenty-eight, when God opened my eyes to His existence. I was a vile man, and while the Apostle Paul called himself the chiefest of sinners (1 Tim. 1:15), I may have broken his record. The Bible says that I was an enemy of God (Jam. 4:4), but now I am His friend, even His child (Jn. 15:15; Gal. 4:7). It says that of myself, there is nothing good in me, but now that I have trusted in Jesus, the Spirit of God dwells within (Rom. 7:18: Jn. 14:17; Gal. 3:2). Yes, my righteousness was as filthy rags, but in Christ, I will rule and reign with Him (Isa. 64:6; Rev. 20:6). "For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that ye through His poverty might be rich" (2 Cor. 8:9). To God be the glory!!!