The Money God

July 11, 2022

Proverbs 23:4–5 

Labor not to be rich: cease from your own wisdom. Will you set your eyes upon that which is not? 

For riches certainly make themselves wings; they fly away as an eagle toward heaven.

If you turn food into a god, it will always disappoint you, and the same principle applies to money. Those who are privileged enough to have saved a little money often count that money a source of security for them. They find no further need to trust in God for their daily bread because their retirement savings will keep them for decades—or so they think! Wealth gives men a sense of self-sufficiency. Why do they need God’s wisdom to solve their problems for them? Why should they pray to God for their daily provision now? From ancient Israel to modern-day America, this is almost always the way that people handle the blessing of prosperity. 

Wealth is a blessing from God. If you work hard and God chooses to give you the blessing of wealth, then you will be wealthy. Though work generally produces wealth, there is no absolute guarantee that this will be the case. Therefore, you should not work in order to be rich. Your chief motivation for work should be to fulfill God’s will for your life. From the beginning, God intended men to work so as to take care of the world that He made. 

Even if you have enjoyed a bit of wealth as a reward for the work you have done, there is no certainty that your wealth will be sustained. Somebody could sue you for everything you own. Violent revolutions may redistribute the wealth, including yours! Or, some horrible disease may incapacitate a family member, resulting in excessive medical expenses or a loss of income. You should not strive so much for wealth as for contentment. As the Apostle reminds us, “Godliness with contentment is great gain” (1 Tim. 6:6). If you can learn to be equally happy and content with little or plenty, and trust in God to give you what He wants you to have, then you will be more blessed than every billionaire in the world. 

Family Discussion Questions:

1. If God has given us a gift of prosperity, how do we handle it? Do we trust in God for our daily bread? 

2. What is the purpose of work? Why should we work? 

3. Are we equally happy and content with a little as with a lot? Can we say with Paul, “I have learned in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content”?