Seven Practical Lessons on Wealth from Proverbs

 Greg Leith wrote: “I slipped into his room late one evening as I arrived home from work so that I could give him a goodnight snuggle and a kiss, only to find him wide awake. “Hey Dad, it’s Wednesday!” my 12-year-old said. “Tonight was our date night, Dad! You forgot!” Somewhere between the deadlines and the meetings and the to-do list, I’d forgotten the most important ministry God had entrusted to me: my family. It had also been weeks since my wife and I had a date together, and I knew things needed to change – and fast. Instead of focusing on work, I needed to focus on my family and let them know they were just as important as my work and my ministry. We set out to meet our work goals and somehow in the midst of it all, we forget that waiting at home is that young boy wanting to play catch, that teenage girl who needs to talk about boys, or that spouse that needs to be treated with all the attention we used to give when we were dating. Why does it happen? How does it happen? How can you prevent it from happening to you?”

Key Principle: Our wealth is loaned from God to help us express godly character, advance His program and honor His purposes. Every other use of what He gives should be carefully challenged and scrutinized.

Lesson One – Wealth is a stewardship exercise, so use the resources God plants in our lives for good (His stated purposes): What God gives us is for stewardship so that we may learn to practice godliness in life. Using temporal wealth for eternal purposes was taught by Jesus in Luke 16.

Proverbs 3: 27 Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due,  When it is in your power to do it. 28 Do not say to your neighbor, “Go, and come back, And tomorrow I will give it,” When you have it with you.

In 1928 a group of the world’s most successful financiers met at the Edgewater Beach Hotel in Chicago. The following were present: The president of the largest utility company, The greatest wheat speculator, The president of the New York Stock Exchange, A member of the President’s Cabinet, The greatest “bear” in Wall Street, The president of the Bank of International Settlements, The head of the world’s greatest monopoly. Collectively, these tycoons controlled more wealth than there was in the U.S. Treasury, and for years newspapers and magazines had been printing their success stories and urging the youth of the nation to follow their examples. Twenty-five years later, this is what had happened to these men: The president of the largest independent steel company, Charles Schwab, lived on borrowed money the last five years of his life and died broke. The greatest wheat speculator, Arthur Cutten, died abroad, insolvent. The president of the New York Stock Exchange, Richard Whitney, served a term in Sing Sing Prison. The member of the President’s Cabinet, Albert Fall, was pardoned from prison so he could die at home. The greatest “bear” in Wall Street, Jesse Livermore, committed suicide. The president of the Bank of International Settlements, Leon Fraser, committed suicide. The head of the world’s greatest monopoly, Ivar Drueger, committed suicide. All of these men had learned how to make money, but not one of them had learned how to live. – Source Unknown.

According to a Gallup survey, almost half the total charitable contributions in the US come from households with incomes of less than $30,000. The average charitable giving in the United States is 1.7 percent of adjusted gross income. The average among Christians is 2.5 percent. – Ron Blue, quoted in Discipleship Journal, Issue 53, 1989, p. 20.

I love how Eugene Petersen puts it: “Exploit or abuse your family, and end up with a fistful of air” (Proverbs 11:29, The Message). When my work years have come to an end, I want to be holding more than air, don’t you? – Greg Leith (Balancing Work and Family)

Lesson Two -  Money can bring enslavement – do not tie yourself easily into the web of borrowing. Stay away from loan guarantees!

6:1 My son, if you have become surety for your neighbor,  Have given a pledge for a stranger, 2 If you have been snared with the words of your mouth, Have been caught with the words of your mouth, 3 Do this then, my son, and deliver yourself;  Since you have come into the hand of your neighbor,  Go, humble yourself, and importune your neighbor. 4Give no sleep to your eyes,  Nor slumber to your eyelids; 5 Deliver yourself like a gazelle from the hunter’s hand And like a bird from the hand of the fowler. 11:15 He who is guarantor for a stranger will surely suffer for it,  But he who hates being a guarantor is secure.

Young Families in Debt: Spending habits of young married couples with children (both spouses 18 to 25): Average after-tax income, $19,783. Average annual spending, $21,401. They are spending around 8% more than they make. Family Economics Review, quoted in U.S.A. Today, May 20, 1991, p. D1.

Lesson Three – The desire to advance is not intrinsically wrong. We are motivated by it to work hard. The danger is in vilifying work and seeking easy ways to get things.

6:6 Go to the ant, O sluggard,  Observe her ways and be wise, 7 Which, having no chief,  Officer or ruler, 8 Prepares her food in the summer  And gathers her provision in the harvest. 9 How long will you lie down, O sluggard?  When will you arise from your sleep? 10 “A little sleep, a little slumber,  A little folding of the hands to rest”— 11 Your poverty will come in like a vagabond  And your need like an armed man.

13:18 Poverty and shame will come to him who neglects discipline,  But he who regards reproof will be honored.

14:4 Where no oxen are, the manger is clean,  But much revenue comes by the strength of the ox.

14:23 In all labor there is profit,  But mere talk leads only to poverty.

16:26 A worker’s appetite works for him,  For his hunger urges him on.

“The hardest thing about milking cows,” observed a farmer, ” is that they never stay milked.” – Bits & Pieces, August 18, 1994, Page 3.

Lesson Four -  Play fair in your work life. Be fair in your pricing. Long after you use up the profits, you will leave the cheated feeling bitter and angry.

11: 26 He who withholds grain (to get a price), the people will curse him,  But blessing will be on the head of him who sells it.

When a person with experience meets a person with money, the person with experience will get the money. And the person with the money will get experience. – Leonard Lauder, president of Estee Lauder.

Lesson Five – Things we work hard for mean more to us. Work hard and save – you will keep it better. Getting something at too little a cost generally means it is easier to lose and less valuable to us.

13: 11 Wealth obtained by fraud dwindles,  But the one who gathers by labor increases it.

16:8 Better is a little with righteousness  Than great income with injustice.

21:5 The plans of the diligent lead surely to advantage,  But everyone who is hasty comes surely to poverty. 6 The acquisition of treasures by a lying tongue  Is a fleeting vapor, the pursuit of death.

Albert J. Lowry set out to prove that it was easy to get rich quick in real estate with no money down–and he dud just that. Not
surprisingly, his 1980 book, How You Can Become Financially Independent by Investing in Real Estate, was a bestseller. In a May 1981 cover story, Money magazine estimated Lowry’s net worth at $30 million and called him a “real estate wizard.” But something went wrong, and in October 1985 the Success development Institute, which promoted Lowry’s theories, collapsed with $2.5 million in debts. In June of 1987 it was reported that Lowry’s assets were being liquidated in Los Angeles under Chapter 7 of the federal bankruptcy code. – Today in the Word, November 22, 1991.

Lesson Six – Information is the key to good decision making in financial areas. Watch where you get your information from!

13:17 A wicked messenger falls into adversity,  But a faithful envoy brings healing….20 He who walks with wise men will be wise, But the companion of fools will suffer harm.

14:15 The naïve believes everything,  But the sensible man considers his steps. 16 A wise man is cautious and turns away from evil,  But a fool is arrogant and careless.

15: 22 Without consultation, plans are frustrated,  But with many counselors they succeed.

Lesson Seven – Accountability in finance is not a luxury. Don’t trust yourself too much – be inspected!

16:1 The plans of the heart belong to man,   But the answer of the tongue is from the LORD. 2 All the ways of a man are clean in his own sight,  But the LORD weighs the motives. 3 Commityour works to the LORD  And your plans will be established.

In I Talk Back to the Devil, A.W. Tozer reminds us: “Money often comes between men and God. Someone has said that you can take two small ten-cent pieces, just two dimes, and shut out the view of a panoramic landscape. Go to the mountains and just hold two coins closely in front of your eyes–the mountains are still there, but you cannot see them at all because there is a dime shutting off the vision in each eye.”

Our wealth is loaned from Godto help us express godly character, advance His program and honor His purposes. Every other use of what He gives should be carefully challenged and scrutinized.