Get the Right Perspective on Wealth

Rat-race vs, Garden Life

Guest Writer: Maina Muigai

What if everything we’ve been told about wealth is backwards?

Picture this: As Sunday evening approaches and glimpses of Monday morning play out in your mind, instead of that familiar dread settling in your stomach, what if you felt… excited? Alive and ready to sort issues, create, innovate, solve problems—all while looking forward to a wonderful dinner with your family. Not because you’ve won the lottery or inherited a fortune, but because your relationship with money has been completely transformed. You’re no longer trapped in the endless cycle of earning just enough to survive until the next paycheck, wondering if there’s more to life than this relentless grind.

What if I told you that GOD actually has something to say about this? And it’s probably not what you learnt in school, at home or even in what are called institutions of higher learning — deep sigh at the irony, since they often graduate us straight into the rat race they helped design.

The Garden: GOD’S Original Economic System

Before we dive into the current mess we’ve made of economic life, let’s go back to the beginning. When GOD created the earth, HE didn’t start with a stock exchange, a city or a corporate headquarters. He planted a garden.

Selah: Pause and think about that for a moment. The Creator of the universe, with infinite wisdom and resources, designed the perfect environment for human flourishing—and it looked nothing like our modern economic system. In Eden, there was:

Abundance without anxiety. Adam and Eve never wondered where their next meal would come from or if they’d have enough. Provision was built into the design.

Meaningful work without exploitation. They had a job—tend the garden—but it wasn’t soul-crushing or dehumanizing. Their work added beauty and value to the world.

Rest without guilt. GOD Himself modeled rest and even gave a command on rest. There was no cultural pressure to hustle 24/7 or feel guilty about taking a break.

Relationship over accumulation. The focus wasn’t on hoarding resources but on communion with GOD and each other.

This wasn’t some naive, primitive economy. This was GOD’S design for how abundance should flow when everything works as intended. The garden represents what economists call a “gift economy”—where resources flow freely based on relationship and trust, not scarcity and competition.

When Everything Went Wrong: The Birth of the Rat Race

Then came the fall. And with it, everything got twisted.

Suddenly, work became toilsome. The ground produced thorns. Scarcity entered the picture. But here’s what we often miss: the first murder in human history was followed immediately by the first city. After Cain killed his brother Abel, he became “a restless wanderer on the earth” and went out and built a city (Genesis 4:16-17).

This isn’t coincidental. Cain’s city represented humanity’s first attempt to create security and significance apart from GOD. And it established a pattern we’re still trapped in today:

Competition over collaboration. Instead of working together for mutual flourishing, we compete for limited resources and opportunities.

Accumulation as security. We hoard wealth because we’re afraid there won’t be enough, creating artificial scarcity even in abundance.

Status through stuff. Our worth gets tied to what we own rather than who we are in GOD’s eyes.

Work as identity. We’ve turned the gift of meaningful labor into an idol, defining ourselves by our productivity. You know that famous question we like asking each other at a networking event, “so, what do you do?” in the answer lies the grounds for our future engagements. Can you scratch my back if I scratch yours or it will end up costing me?

Time as commodity. Instead of rest being a natural rhythm, it becomes something we have to earn or buy back at least once a year — read vacation

Sound familiar? This is the rat race. This is what millions of people wake up to every morning—a system that promises security and significance through endless accumulation and productivity, but delivers anxiety and exhaustion instead.

JESUS’ perspective

Now here’s where it gets interesting. When JESUS showed up, He had a couple of things to say about money. HE wasn’t anti-wealth— but HE was anti-idolatry. HE wasn’t against prosperity—but was against the prosperity trap – prosperity having us.

“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven… For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Matthew 6:19-21).

Notice JESUS doesn’t say “don’t have treasures.” HE talks about where we should store it and what kind we should prioritize. HE’S essentially saying: “Stop playing by fallen world rules. There’s a different way entirely to do things.”

When JESUS told the rich young ruler to sell everything, it wasn’t because wealth is evil. It was because this man’s wealth owned him instead of the other way around. His riches had become his security, his identity, his god. JESUS was offering him freedom—but freedom required letting go of the false security.

But consider this: JESUS also had wealthy followers who didn’t sell everything. Joseph of Arimathea, who provided the tomb. Lydia, the successful businesswoman. Zacchaeus, who gave away half but kept the other half to continue his transformed business practices.

The difference? These people used their wealth as a tool for Kingdom purposes rather than letting it use them.

The Redemptive Purpose of Wealth: Freedom to Serve

So what’s wealth really for? If we’re not supposed to hoard it or worship it, but we’re also not necessarily called to poverty, what’s the point?

Here’s what I believe: wealth’s highest purpose is redemptive. It should restore Garden conditions in a fallen world through humble service to others.

The freedom wealth provides isn’t ultimately about serving yourself—it’s about being free to serve others more effectively. As Paul told the Galatians: “For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another” (Galatians 5:13).

This call to service flows from the virtue of humility that CHRIST modeled. Paul explains in Philippians 2:3-8: “Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in CHRIST JESUS, who… emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant… he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death.”

What wealth can actually buy

Time freedom – Redeeming the Time

Paul wrote to the Ephesians: “See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil” (Ephesians 5:15-16). The Greek word for “redeeming” (exagorazó) is a marketplace term meaning “to buy back” or “rescue from loss.” Time, effort and work was compromised by the fall of man at the beginning. When wealth purchases your time back from survival mode, you’re literally doing what Paul commanded—buying back time from evil systems that would waste it on meaninglessness and investing it in what is eternally significant.

Instead of being trapped in work that only pays bills, you can choose work that serves others and glorifies GOD. You can say no to opportunities that compromise your values. Most importantly, you become alert to divine appointments—opportunities to serve that the time-trapped person would miss entirely. A servant’s heart makes you wise and circumspect, actively looking for ways to bless others rather than stumbling through your day focused only on your own agenda.

Relational investment

Money can’t buy love, but it can create spaces for love to flourish. It can provide the margin needed to be present for family, to serve your community, to mentor others.

Creative stewardship

Wealth can fund creative beauty, innovation, and solutions to human problems. It can support artists, entrepreneurs, and dreamers who are creating Garden-like environments in the world.

Generous living

Perhaps most importantly, wealth flows best when it flows through you to others. It becomes a river, not a reservoir. Peter wrote, “As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of GOD’s varied grace… in order that in everything GOD may be glorified” (1 Peter 4:10-11). Your wealth—like any gift from GOD—is meant to serve others, not just yourself.

JESUS put it brilliantly: “Use worldly wealth to gain friends for yourselves, so that when it is gone, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings” (Luke 16:9). In other words, use money to build relationships and create eternal impact.

Contentment Boundaries: The Secret Weapon

But here’s the key that most people miss: to use wealth redemptively, you have to know what “enough” looks like. Without contentment boundaries, wealth becomes an endless treadmill.

Paul captured this perfectly: “GODliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that” (1 Timothy 6:6-8).

Contentment isn’t about settling for poverty or lacking ambition. It’s about defining success on GOD’S terms rather than the world’s. It’s about knowing when you have enough to fulfill your calling and being content there, rather than always needing more.

Think of it this way: if your goal is time freedom to pursue meaningful work and relationships, how much is actually enough to achieve that? Is it $50,000 a year? $100,000? $500,000? The answer will be different for everyone, but the point is having an answer.

Without contentment boundaries, you’ll keep moving the goalpost. “I’ll be free when I make $100,000.” Then it becomes $200,000. Then $500,000. The rat race never ends because there’s always someone with more, always another level to reach.

But with contentment boundaries, wealth becomes a tool with a clear purpose: to fund the life GOD has called you to live, and to be generous with everything beyond that.

Building Wealth GOD’s Way

So how do you actually build wealth while following Garden principles instead of Cain’s city rules? Here are some practical thoughts:

Start with calling, not cash. What work gives you life? What problems are you uniquely equipped to solve? When your wealth-building aligns with your GOD-given gifts and passions, it stops feeling like a grind and starts feeling like stewardship.

Create value, don’t just extract it. The best wealth is built by solving problems, serving people (leadership as servanthood – Luke 22:24-27 and Matthew 20:25-28. Here, JESUS contrasts the worldly model of leadership (power over others) with his model (power for others). He doesn’t abolish leadership but redefines it as servanthood.), and making the world a little better.

This is Garden thinking—wealth that flows from adding beauty and value to creation. As Paul reminds us, “Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others” (Philippians 2:3-4). When your wealth-building serves others’ interests alongside your own, you’re following CHRIST’s model of service.

Build with integrity. It’s possible to get rich quickly through deception, exploitation, or cutting corners. But that’s Cain’s way, and it ultimately destroys more than it creates. Choose the longer, harder path that builds sustainable value while serving others.

Practice generosity from day one. Don’t wait until you’re rich to start giving. Generosity is a muscle that needs to be developed. Start where you are, with what you have.

Invest in relationships. The best opportunities often come through relationships. Be genuinely interested in others’ success, not just your own.

The Freedom You’re Really Looking For

Here’s what I think is really happening when people feel trapped in the rat race: they’re longing for the Garden. They want work that matters, relationships that nourish, rest without guilt, and provision without anxiety. They want to wake up excited about their day rather than dreading it.

That longing is actually holy. It’s your spirit recognizing that this isn’t how things were meant to be.

The beautiful truth is that through CHRIST, Garden life is possible even in a fallen world. Not because we can return to Eden—that door is closed for now—but because we can carry Eden principles into whatever city we find ourselves in.

Your wealth-building journey can become an act of worship, a way of stewarding the gifts and opportunities GOD has given you. It can fund not just your own freedom but the flourishing of others. It can create little pockets of Garden life in the midst of Cain’s city.

The Shift

But it starts with a fundamental shift in perspective. Instead of asking “How can I get mine?” start asking “How can I steward well what GOD has entrusted to me?”

Instead of “How much is enough?” ask “What is GOD calling me to do with my life, and how much do I need to do it well?”

Instead of “How do I get ahead?” ask “How do I create value for others while building toward the freedom to pursue my calling?”

The rat race isn’t just about money. It’s about meaning. And when your wealth serves a meaningful purpose—when it becomes a tool for Kingdom impact rather than personal security—everything changes.

GOD’S not against you having nice things. HE’S against nice things having you. There’s a profound difference, and recognizing it might just be the key to the freedom you’ve been looking for.

Because at the end of the day, godliness with contentment really is great gain. Not because contentment keeps you poor, but because it keeps you free.

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