Growing with God: A daily devotional with Tonia Slimm.
Proverbs 28:20 (NIV)
A faithful person will be richly blessed, but one eager to get rich will not go unpunished.
Proverbs 28:20 (MSG)
Committed and persistent work pays off; get-rich-quick schemes are ripoffs.
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“A faithful (right-minded) man will abound with blessings, but he who hurries to be rich will not go unpunished.”-AMPLIFIED
Most people fail to realize that money is both a test and trust from God.
~Rick Warren
Money is a necessity of life. We need it to buy food, have shelter, and pay our bills. We need money, but when money becomes more than just a a means to help us live life well, when it worms itself into our hearts and takes top priority; taking center stage, then we have an issue. Paul, the Apostle tells us:
“For the love of money [that is, the greedy desire for it and the willingness to gain it unethically] is a root of all sorts of evil, and some by longing for it have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves [through and through] with many sorrows.” -1 Timothy 6:10 (AMP)
“A dreadful thing is the love of money! It disables both eyes and ears, and makes men worse to deal with than a wild beast, allowing a man to consider neither conscience nor friendship nor fellowship nor salvation.” ~John Chrysostom
“A reliable person will not escape blessings, but one who wants to get rich quick will not escape trouble.” -(VOICE)
Solomon teaches us in today’s proverbs that the reliable, faithful, or trustworthy person will be blessed. The person who desires to do the right thing and does it will not escape God’s blessings. (That’s a great problem to have.)
But Solomon goes on to say, that the person whose only desire is to get rich will not go unpunished. There will be no blessing for those who are so greedy that they do not care who they hurt to get what they want, money.
“The man who wants to do right will get a rich reward. But the man who wants to get rich quick will quickly fail.” -(TLB)
“If I love money more than Christ, woe is me!” ~William Tiptaft
Solomon has warned us about the issue with money in the past. He cautioned us in this way:
“Do not weary yourself [with the overwhelming desire] to gain wealth; cease from your own understanding of it.” -Proverbs 23:4 (AMP)
He also told us this:
“An inheritance hastily gained [by greedy, unjust means] at the beginning will not be blessed in the end.” -Proverbs 20:21 (AMP)
Even Jesus warned His followers about the danger of trusting in our money and wealth to care for us. In the telling of the parable of the Sower and the seed he compared the seed scattered in the thorns to the people who chased after wealth. He said this:
“And others are the ones on whom seed was sown among the thorns; these are the ones who have heard the word, but the worries and cares of the world [the distractions of this age with its worldly pleasures], and the deceitfulness [and the false security or glamour] of wealth [or fame], and the passionate desires for all the other things creep in and choke out the word, and it becomes unfruitful.” -Mark 4:18-19 (AMP)
Jesus also encouraged His followers to store up their treasure in Heaven, not here on Earth. He told them:
“Don’t hoard treasure down here where it gets eaten by moths and corroded by rust or—worse!—stolen by burglars. Stockpile treasure in heaven, where it’s safe from moth and rust and burglars. It’s obvious, isn’t it? The place where your treasure is, is the place you will most want to be, and end up being.” -Matthew 6:19-21(MSG)
“God does not need your money; He wants what it represents-you. Finances are God’s gift to you to fulfill His will for your life. While God desires you to prioritize His work in giving, He wants you to purpose to follow and serve Him no matter what happens with your finances.” ~Paul Chappell
Paul wrote extensively on the subject of money to Timothy, his young apprentice, as well. He wrote admonished Timothy in this way:
“But those who chase riches are constantly falling into temptation and snares. They are regularly caught by their own stupid and harmful desires, dragged down and pulled under into ruin and destruction. For the love of money—and what it can buy—is the root of all sorts of evil. Some already have wandered away from the true faith because they craved what it had to offer; but when reaching for the prize, they found their hands and hearts pierced with many sorrows.” -1 Timothy 6:9-10 (VOICE)
Later in his second letter we find Paul advising Timothy about what would be happening in the end times when it came to the topic of money. Paul told Timothy:
“And know this: in the last days, times will be hard. You see, the world will be filled with narcissistic, money-grubbing, pretentious, arrogant, and abusive people. They will rebel against their parents and will be ungrateful, unholy, uncaring, coldhearted, accusing, without restraint, savage, and haters of anything good. Expect them to be treacherous, reckless, swollen with self-importance, and given to loving pleasure more than they love God. Even though they may look or act like godly people, they’re not. They deny His power. I tell you: Stay away from the likes of these.” -2 Timothy 3:1-5 (VOICE)
“The person who thinks the money he makes is meant mainly to increase his comforts on earth is a fool, Jesus says. Wise people know that all their money belongs to God and should be used to show that God, and not money, is their treasure, their comfort, their joy, and their security.” ~John Piper
Remember, money in and of itself is not bad. Our attitude toward it, how we treat it, how we use it; that is where the issue comes into play. Is more money, for the sake of having money our goal? Or, is it our goal to use all that we have for the glory of God? Solomon warns us over in the book of Ecclesiastics about the foolishness of making getting rich our goal in life:
“He who loves money will not be satisfied with money, nor he who loves abundance with its gain. This too is vanity (emptiness).” -Ecclesiastes 5:10 (AMP)
Money will not satisfy you. It will not be there for you when you are in need of a friend. It will not speak words of encouragement and love to you when you are feeling down. It will not make you laugh or make you happy. It will not give you a sense of belonging and family. Ultimately only God can meet all of those needs; and He often uses other people to do so as well. If you have stepped on other people to reach your goal of getting rich, I am sure that there are not too many around that will be there for you when you need them.
“The person who thinks the money he makes is meant mainly to increase his comforts on earth is a fool, Jesus says. Wise people know that all their money belongs to God and should be used to show that God, and not money, is their treasure, their comfort, their joy, and their security.”~John Piper
My friend, money should not be the means to the end. Money is just a tool used to meet the needs of this life. Do not make it your priority. Instead, focus on real treasure, your Heavenly treasure, treasure that will last.
“Many Christians dread the thought of leaving this world. Why? Because so many have stored up their treasures on earth, not in heaven. Each day brings us closer to death. If your treasures are on earth, that means each day brings you closer to losing your treasures.” ~Randy Alcorn
My Prayer:
Heavenly Father, help me to seek the things that will last; not the temporary, but the eternal. Money can be such a distraction, Lord and I do not want to be distracted from what my goals should be; You and your Kingdom. Any money that you bless me with Lord, any things, I want to use them to further your Kingdom and to bring glory to your Name. Help me to always keep that pledge.
Growing with God 