Command those who are rich in this present age not to be haughty, nor to trust in uncertain riches but in the living God, who gives us richly all things to enjoy. ¹⁸ Let them do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to give, willing to share, ¹⁹ storing up for themselves a good foundation for the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life. 2 Timothy 6:17-19

How many millionaires do you know? According to research carried out last year by The Telegraph, London has the biggest collection of millionaires in comparison to any other city in the world. One in every 35 people is a millionaire.

"It is the main financial centre in Europe and for wealthy people it is one of the best places to live in the world.” The Telegraph

I tried to rattle this figure, 1:35, around in my head. So in a church with a congregation of 200 people, 5 would be millionaires. Unfortunately in reality it doesn’t quite work like that, there are instances where you can see large numbers of millionaires in one place. At a football Premier league match.

Premier League footballers earn £2.3 million a year each on average, or £43,717 a week and there are 6 London Premiership clubs (Arsenal, Chelsea, Crystal Palace, Spurs, West Ham and Watford have just replaced QPR). If you consider that in each squad there are up to 25 players, that is a lot of millionaires that people pay to see kick a ball each week. Only 2 years ago New York and Tokyo outranked UK’s capital city but thanks to a record £5.14bn TV rights deal, the Premier League is soon going to see the best of the best football players coming to play in the UK not for the competition, but for the money.

Now suppose I told you that within 6 weeks you could be a millionaire? Seriously, I met nine today. Not money but word millionaires. The ‘word’ millionaire is a short-term reading intervention program first piloted in UK primary schools in 2007, which challenges students with the help of their parents to collectively read a total of one million words over a period of six weeks. Studies show that students who read for pleasure do better in all their subjects at school, not just in English.

Do you think you could become a bible millionaire? I really think you could do it. If the results show that there is a better engagement in academic studies, just think what that would do for your personal devotion? There are so many apps and books on line that count how many words you read. I am going to challenge myself – join me.

The Tennessee Harmony Boy's sing 'Im a millionaire'. Click on the picture to listen.