Five Proverbial Truths of Wealth
Read Time / 2 Minutes
Theme / Stewardship
It is a popular group game for getting-to-know-each-other, but one that I do not like. I have never grown accustomed to lying and that is one of the premises of the game. Some of you may have played it in youth groups or other settings: Two Truths and a Lie. As the name implies, everyone is to share two things that are true about themselves and one that is not. The object is for others to figure out which one is the lie. The best strategy is to tell two obscure truths and one believable lie.
There are many believable lies in this world; lies that are mixed with truths. Fortunately, there is one source that only tells truths, and that is Scripture. Within the financial planning industry, the term “wealth” is used in many ways: some more valid than others. The good news is that Scripture provides us truthful insight into wealth. Although there are many places we can turn to in Scripture, the book of Proverbs provides us with five significant truths.
God blesses the righteous with spiritual wealth. Proverbs 15:6 reads, “Great wealth is in the house of the righteous, but trouble is in the income of the wicked.” The righteous – those who are right-before-God – have a treasure that others do not have: spiritual blessings. These spiritual blessings are manifested in this life and for eternity – true spiritual wealth.
God blesses us with capability to gain material wealth. Proverbs 13:11 reads, “Wealth from get-rich-quick schemes quickly disappears; wealth from hard work grows over time.” God has blessed each of us with unique capabilities to build wealth, but they must be put to good use. Hard work is required to maximize whatever unique abilities and skills the Lord has blessed us with.
We should focus more on spiritual wealth than material wealth. Proverbs 13:7 reads, “One person pretends to be rich, yet has nothing; another pretends to be poor, yet has great wealth.” Here we are reminded that it is more important to store up treasures in heaven than riches on earth. We can strive to do both, but we must keep the right perspective less we end up pretenders with nothing.
We should gain our material wealth in a godly manner. Proverbs 28:22 reads, “A person with an evil eye hurries after wealth and does not know that poverty will come upon him.” The mental picture of an “evil eye” conjures up images that are not pleasant, ones that do not honor the Lord. We need to be careful how we earn wealth – and how we invest wealth – since both contribute to gaining wealth.
We should spend our material wealth in a godly manner. Proverbs 29:3 reads, “The man who loves wisdom brings joy to his father, but if he hangs around with prostitutes, his wealth is wasted.” Spending money on prostitutes may not be a temptation for us, but there are certainly other ways that we can waste our wealth by focusing on self-gratification. We should filter all spending decisions through Proverbs 3:9 “Honor the Lord with your wealth.”
Doug Hanson, MBA
Wealth Advisor
208.697.3699
doug@christianwm.com
