“The blessing of the Lord brings wealth, and he adds no trouble to it” (Proverbs 10:22 NIV).
My wife says I watch too much television. I protest, but last night, when my channel surfing landed on Wealth TV, I knew she was right. Wealth TV—it shocked me. I remember teaching a Junior Achievement course to eighth graders thirty years ago and the biggest question on the minds of the students was how much I made; a future Wealth TV viewing audience in the making.
Some years ago, a number of my professional colleagues extolled the virtues of the book, Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill. I tried to read it, but each passing page made me feel uncomfortable and eventually, with the bile rising in my throat, I pitched it out the window.
Christians have great freedom in Christ, but Scripture says clearly that “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” (1 Timothy 6:9).
But, you might be thinking, money is not the problem, money is amoral—the Bible is full of men who were very rich and of good and noble character (Abraham, Job, and Boaz, to name a few)—and you are correct. Money is not evil, but “the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil” (1 Timothy 6:10).
Think and Grow Rich. Wealth TV. Seems to me if you think about something all the time, desiring it and imagining it, you must love it.
Money does not affect everyone the same. Some desire it intensely, some are afraid of it, some worry over having too much and others worry over having too little. Our great recession was in part fueled by lenders and borrowers acting foolishly. We eagerly anticipate retirement; commercials depict an emerald highway pointing towards a fully funded future, advising us to be sure we know how much we need to land on easy street. Remember the farmer with the bumper crop (Luke 12:13-21)?
Experts and personalities make handsome livings by telling us how to gain wealth, leverage debt, get out of debt, and make huge profits that too often derive from taking advantage of someone else. Heads or tails, the two sides of a coin are still the same coin. The desire for money can overwhelm us regardless of our original intentions.
It’s not that I haven’t danced around the allure of money. As I read Olivia Mellan’s book Your Money Style, I saw myself as a Money Amasser, Binger, Risk-taker, and Money Monk all rolled into one. Each new season of my life yields new challenges. But wrestling with my money relationship has yielded insight and peace—something I think more people could use.
The desire for money is never good. Money makes us feel independent, proud, loved, in-control, self-satisfied, and secure, but God believes ascribing those emotions to money is to establish an idol over Him. God opposes idolatry of any kind. “In vain you rise early and stay up late, toiling for food to eat—for he grants sleep to those he loves” (Psalm 127:2).
John Wesley, founder of the Methodist Church, believed money served three purposes: to provide for the basic needs of family, to provide for the needs of the business (because it took care of others’ basic needs), and for service. Wesley believed increasing income should be reflected in our standard of giving and not in our standard of living.
Vision Foundation, Inc. in their book Riches: A Biblical Perspective, propose a slight variation to Wesley. They teach that money serves to provide for our basic needs and to serve others, but they add the observation that money is useful in celebrating life—God has created many things for us to enjoy.
As a businessman, I agree with Wesley’s instruction to take care of our businesses. Profits are not bad, but the pursuit of profit always carries with it accountability to God. I also believe celebrations are good for us, but celebration activities also carry accountability. Indulgence is not godly.
The snare of money is our thinking the amount we possess means something about us; God does not. Rather, God asks us to be faithful with what He has given us. Just as we are to be faithful in fidelity, in talents, in service to others, and in becoming the man or woman God intended for us to be, we are to be faithful with the money blessings He provides, large or small.
We work because work is a gift of God. Celebrations are a natural part of life; God established festivals and celebrations for the Israelites to enjoy, John records Jesus’ first miracle at a wedding in Cana, and Jesus’ parable of the prodigal son ends with a joyful party. We serve others because Jesus sets our example. In all things, we are accountable to God.
Money is a tool and a test.
Once a rich man met Jesus and heard Him say, “There is one thing you lack” (Mark 10:21). When we meet Jesus, what will He say to us?