A Good Name is Better than Riches
Proverbs 22:1 A good name is to be chosen rather than great riches, Loving favor rather than silver and gold.
The Bible is filled with warnings and advice on money. If we take the time to search the scriptures there are dozens of passages that teach about wealth, money and riches. The Bible takes such care in teaching us about wealth because the allure of money is strong and the possessor of money often has power that can become self-destructive. The driving desire in the world is wealth and left unchecked greed turns friends into enemies and people will do almost anything for the love of money. This is why the Bible warns us in 1 Timothy 6:
10 For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.
Even in Christian circles, the love of money perverts the true message of the gospel and many churches have centered their message around worldly gain rather than storing up our treasures in heaven. Jesus warned that we should not store up treasures on earth where our wealth can decay or be stolen. It is only a temporary possession, but we should instead store up our eternal reward that will never be lost when we put our focus on building God’s kingdom.
There is nothing more important than a good name. If every believer took this to heart, we would never be willing to compromise our integrity or values for financial gain. God’s loving favor is much more valuable than anything we can gain outside of His will. Psalm 37 states it well:
16 A little that a righteous man has Is better than the riches of many wicked.
It is better to be poor than to have wealth and power while becoming an enemy of God. As stated in the previous passage, even Christians can stray from the faith and pursue greed. The end result is that they are pierced with many sorrows. What does it profit a man to gain the world and lose his soul?
Do Not Hasten to be Rich
God has also warned us not to hasten to be rich. Look at the following two passages.
Proverbs 28:
22 A man with an evil eye hastens after riches, And does not consider that poverty will come upon him.
Proverbs 28:
19 He who tills his land will have plenty of bread, But he who follows frivolity will have poverty enough!
20 A faithful man will abound with blessings, But he who hastens to be rich will not go unpunished.
There are two warnings to the person who hastens to become wealthy; they will find poverty and they will be punished. Keep in mind that money is not called the root of all evil; it is the love of money that roots evil. The Bible never condemns wealth; it condemns trusting in wealth, making money into our love, and being rich financially while neglecting our relationship with God (Luke 12:16-21). Look at the greedy executives of Enron, MCI, Adelphia and other corporations that have made the news by fraudulent gain. It is amazing how many wealthy men will destroy themselves in their desperate attempts to gain more. Why to million dollar athletes go on strike to gain more and why do many rich risk losing everything as they try to gain more? The Bible states that the eyes of man are never satisfied and Ecclesiastes 5:10a says, “He who loves silver will not be satisfied with silver; Nor he who loves abundance, with increase.” How many times have we seen this proven to be true again and again?
Each one of us also runs the risk of following this same path if we take our eyes off our goal and begin to follow the cares of this life. When we lose perspective we begin to think that we own our possessions, but in the end they will own us if gain becomes our goal. The Bible does not tell us not to earn money or never obtain possessions; instead we are warned that we should never make possession our goal. Don’t lose sight of the fact that God is the owner of all things. We are stewards – or caretakers – of what God has entrusted to us. Scripture teaches that we should labor and work for our possession.
Patience is the key. The person who hastens to be rich tries to find a ‘get rich quick’ plan and looks for shortcuts in life. These shortcuts rarely work and often lead us into dangerous waters. When a gamble does not pay off, we are often more willing to gamble with higher stakes in a vain and desperate attempt to get ahead. The hard reality is that we will almost never get ahead and the gambler is destined for poverty. The one who works with diligence and is patient will see the benefit of hard work. Look now at Ecclesiastes 2:
24 Nothing is better for a man than that he should eat and drink, and that his soul should enjoy good in his labor. This also, I saw, was from the hand of God.
Compare this to Proverbs 15:
27 He who is greedy for gain troubles his own house, But he who hates bribes will live.
God desires to bless us, but He does so according to our labors. In fact, the Bible makes it clear that God should be the focus of our labor. Look at Colossians 3:
22 Bondservants, obey in all things your masters according to the flesh, not with eye service, as men-pleasers, but in sincerity of heart, fearing God.
23 And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men,
24 knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance; for you serve the Lord Christ.
25 But he who does wrong will be repaid for what he has done, and there is no partiality.
The primary focus of this scripture was to the Christians who were servants, but this applies equally to all. The key point is that we work heartily as though we were doing our work to the Lord. If we took this approach in our careers, we would never get out of balance. It is not possible to work with the attitude of working to the Lord while pursuing greed or giving in to dishonesty. We will enjoy the product of our labor when our life is Christ focused. The Bible states that this is from the hand of God. Our choice is to trouble our house because of greed or we can choose to receive from the hand of God the value of our labor.
Deceitfulness of Riches
Matthew 13:
22 "Now he who received seed among the thorns is he who hears the word, and the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and he becomes unfruitful.
Riches are deceitful and we can see this by the lives of those who pursue it. If someone spends their whole life building wealth and never seeks God, what have they gained? The Bible makes a perfectly obvious statement, “For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out”. In spite of this fact, our human nature desires to pursue a world that will one day pass away. Unless the Lord returns, we will pass away and everything we gain will be lost. The great deception of riches lures us to forfeit the true inheritance of God so we can follow what is eternally worthless. Many people will hear the gospel and begin to respond, but they will turn from the truth to follow this deception.
The Bible teaches us that if riches increase, do not set your heart upon them. It is difficult to maintain the right perspective but we must always bear in mind that God is the owner of what we possess. He has the right to give it to us and He has the right to take it away. Job was very wealthy and God tested him by allowing bandits to seize his possessions. He responded by saying, “The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; Blessed be the name of the LORD.” No one who loves possessions can say this; only the Christian that counts God as their reward. In the end, Job was restored ten times what he once possessed, but this is not a guarantee for each Christian. The important thing to note is that Job loved God rather than his possessions. It is very important that wealth not become the focus of our heart. Look now at Proverbs 23:
1 When you sit down to eat with a ruler, Consider carefully what is before you;
2 And put a knife to your throat If you are a man given to appetite.
3 Do not desire his delicacies, For they are deceptive food.
4 Do not overwork to be rich; Because of your own understanding, cease!
5 Will you set your eyes on that which is not? For riches certainly make themselves wings; They fly away like an eagle toward heaven.
This passage has several truths to consider. Never allow your heart to lust after the things others have gained and do not allow wealth to ever become the apple of our eye. If we have lost money or if we lose in the future, should we get angry at God? He has told us ahead of time not to set our heart on riches. If they should fly away, we have not lost our hope because God is the rock our lives are built upon. If we have provided by our labor, we will continue to eat the fruit of our labor. We labor to provide for our needs and then we understand that this is a blessing by the hand of God. Not only are we warned not to love riches, but we are also warned not to put our trust in wealth as well. Look at Proverbs 11:
4 Riches do not profit in the day of wrath, But righteousness delivers from death.
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28 He who trusts in his riches will fall, But the righteous will flourish like foliage.
If God is your provider and the One you trust, your life will flourish regardless of circumstances. When money fails, those who trust in it fall, but the one who builds his or her life on the Rock of Jesus Christ will stand even when the storms of life blow with a fury.
Contentment with God’s Provision
For those who follow their flesh and put their focus on the world, they will never be satisfied regardless of how much they have gained. This is not so for the Christian. We have the promise of contentment regardless of circumstances. The Apostle Paul wrote from prison saying that he has learned to be content in what ever state he is in. Even after he lost everything including his freedom because he preached the gospel of Jesus Christ that had been outlawed in the Roman Empire; he was satisfied and content with God and what the Lord provided to him. This is reiterated for each of us in Hebrews 13:
5 Make sure that your character is free from the love of money, being content with what you have; for He Himself has said, "I WILL NEVER DESERT YOU, NOR WILL I EVER FORSAKE YOU," (NASB)
When we desire what we do not have, we are living outside of faith. When we are not content with what God has given us, we are declaring by our attitude that we do not trust God. True gain is loving God and being satisfied with Him. Look at 1 Timothy 6:
6 Now godliness with contentment is great gain.
7 For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out.
8 And having food and clothing, with these we shall be content.
9 But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and harmful lusts which drown men in destruction and perdition.
10 For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.
11 But you, O man of God, flee these things and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, gentleness.
This agrees with Proverbs 13:
7 There is one who makes himself rich, yet has nothing; And one who makes himself poor, yet has great riches.
Gaining more will never satisfy you, but the one who trusts in God and has the faith to only receive by His hand will be content, satisfied and rich. We have the promise found in Psalm 37:
25 I have been young, and now am old; Yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken, Nor his descendants begging bread.
There is never a reason to take desperate measures. If we are following God’s plan, He will always provide and if we have gotten in over our head by following the wrong path, God is able to open a window in heaven to provide for those who trust Him. You will never see the provision of God until you put your trust in God. If you wait until you get your life straightened out, you will never come to the point where you can trust Him. Trusting God is always a step into the dark as we put our faith in God to guide our steps. When we get into a hole, the first step in getting out is to quit digging. Often times God will allow us to dig ourselves into a hole so that we see that our ways do not work and so that we will look up. God is our provider. Those who desire riches will fall into temptation and will find trouble, but those who are content with what God provides will have peace and satisfaction.
Conclusion
In many ways, money is a testing ground for the believer. How we respond to money reveals and shapes our heart and character. Jesus used the parable of three stewards to teach several truths; one of them relates to this study. The servants were entrusted with money and based on their faithfulness they revealed their worthiness to be entrusted with more important things. Luke 16 says:
10 "He who is faithful in what is least is faithful also in much; and he who is unjust in what is least is unjust also in much.
11 "Therefore if you have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches?
Unrighteous mammon is the wealth and treasures of the world. Money is not close to the heart of God but He does use money to provide for our needs and to test our faithfulness. If God cannot trust His people with something like money, how can He entrust us with the important things of His kingdom? The true riches are the things that are important to God. If God’s people lose control or begin to fall in love with wealth, how can we effectively perform the work of God? God’s word states that if we are unfaithful to Him here, we will not be found worthy to inherit the honor He desires for us in His heavenly kingdom.
Money is not good nor is it evil. Money is a tool in the hand of each person. We place the value on the tool in our hand and we either use it as God has intended or we use it against the plan of God. 1 Timothy 6 says:
17 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.
The Bible teaches that God gives richly for us to enjoy, but we are not to hold it with closed fists but be ready to give, willing to share and put our focus on good works. The labor we give is not to increase wealth, but to build on our foundation of Christ and reach for the true riches of eternal life.
Eddie Snipes
Exchanged Life Outreach
http://www.exchangedlife.com
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