As preached by Timothy O'Day.
"Wealth is a tool to enhance your enjoyment of God."
Proverbs shows us how wealth...
1) Should work in God's creation.
2) Often works in fallen creation.
3) Is redeemed by fearing God.
Wisdom and Wealth
Proverbs 10-31
July 28, 2024
Have you ever thought something was easy, but then it turned out to be more complicated than you originally thought?
That sinking feeling of confidence draining away and confusion drifting in is familiar to me. I feel it every time I’ve put together Ikea furniture. And it isn’t because Ikea furniture is hard to put together, it is because I think I understand and rush ahead in assembly. There have been several times where I have fashioned pieces together only to realize that I used the wrong size wood pegs, or I assembled the back piece on the side, and the front piece on the back. And when do you think I’ve noticed these errors in my work? Not right when I’ve made them, but when I step back and have to look at the whole thing as one piece.
I think that is an error that many people make when they look at the book of Proverbs, particularly Proverbs having to do with wealth. It’s easy to grab one verse and say, “I understand what that means, and run with it. But then it doesn’t fit your experience. The verse isn’t fitting with reality, so you step back and say, “Wait a second, that doesn’t look right.” And it isn’t.
Just like I shouldn’t grab items out of the Ikea box and seek to put them together by my best judgment, we shouldn’t grab verses on money and poverty out of Proverbs and think we are done with understanding the teaching on wealth in the book of Proverbs. I need the directions (and usually a friend) to put together the furniture. The directions put the pieces into the context of the whole. In the same way, we need to look at all of Proverbs in order to understand how the individual verses fit together to give a coherent picture and godly understanding of wealth and poverty.
Where We Are In Proverbs
Before we dive in, let’s take a moment to remember where we are in Proverbs. As a book, Proverbs tells us how to live in accord with God’s creation and ways. In fact, that’s what wisdom is. Wisdom is employing knowledge in line with God’s good creation. Folly is to stand against God in his creation.
As we saw in Proverbs 1-9, wisdom and folly are two competing paths of worship. To walk in wisdom is really to walk in worship of the one true God; to walk in folly is to ignore God and give yourself over to idolatry. As you look at the wisdom sayings of Proverbs, you will see that how you view and use your wealth is a matter of worship. Your resources are tools that you employ to engage in true worship or idolatry of self.
More than the topic of work and words, wealth is one that we are more prone to misunderstand—sometimes deliberately. So let me lay out for us this morning three things that Proverbs teaches us about wealth:
How wealth should work in God’s creation
How wealth often works in fallen creation
How wealth is redeemed by fearing God
How Wealth Should Work in God’s Creation
There are two major teachings in Proverbs on wealth that speak to how things are supposed to be. I say how they are supposed to be because, if you are familiar with the Bible at all, you know that the world is not what it is supposed to be. In the beginning, God created everything good. There was no evil, sin, suffering, or pain. He created humanity, Adam and Eve, to be with him in perfect communion. But, if you are familiar with the story of the Bible, things did not stay this way. Adam and Eve sin, and with them, humanity fell into rebellion against God. In this rebellion, creation is now broken and God’s creatures do not obey him. In short, things are not the way they are supposed to be. Yet, we all know inherently and through God’s instruction that things are not the way they are supposed to be.
Several Proverbs speak about the relationship between wisdom and wealth and folly and wealth. As we read certain Proverbs, we cannot help but think, “Yes, that is the way it is supposed to be.” It’s kind of like looking at a picture that you know has been changed, but you cannot quite put your finger on what is wrong. Then someone shows you a copy of the original picture and you cry out, “Yes, that is the way it is supposed to be!” So, how are things supposed to work in God’s creation?
Those who Fear God are Blessed with Wealth
Proverbs contains several passages that speak to the fact that if you seek wisdom and righteousness in order to please God, then wealth will be added to you. This is not speaking merely of contentment, but actual material wealth. Listen to Proverbs 3:9-10
“Honor the LORD with your wealth and with the first fruits of all your produce; then your barns will be filled with plenty, and your vats will be bursting with wine.”
Or Proverbs 22:4,
“The reward for humility and fear of the LORD is riches and honor and life.”
That is pretty straightforward. These verses say that if you honor and fear the Lord, then riches will be a result. There is a similar logic with diligence, which is using wisdom in your work. Consider Proverbs 27:23-27,
“Know well the condition of your flocks, and give attention to your herds, for riches do not last forever; and does a crown endure to all generations? When the grass is gone and the new growth appears and the agitation of the mountains is gathered, the lambs will provide your clothing, and the goats the price of a field. There will be enough goats milk for your food, and the food of your household and maintenance for your girls.”
This Proverbs is saying, “Don’t simply rest on what you have; carefully maintain and have a plan for when other things run out. When you do this, you are like the ant that gathers in season.
But Proverbs is not calling you to merely seek treasure. Do you recall the stipulation of material blessing laid out in Proverbs 3:9-10 and 22:4?
“Honor the Lord…” and “fear the Lord…” That’s what you were made to do. You were created to image God, enjoy God, and glory in God. Material blessing is a marginal side effect of having God. It’s like the cherry on the ice cream; the mint on the pillow; the hot towel that I think they hand out when you are in first class. It’s good, but it would be meaningless without the substance. If someone took your sundae but said, “You can have the cherry, I’ll take the rest,” you would not be okay with that. If you got the mint, but someone else took your hotel room, then you would not be content. If you got the hot towel, but someone else took your seat on the flight, there would be no smile on your face. You would say, “This is all I get?”
When Israel sinned with the golden calf at Sinai, Moses pled with God to spare Israel. God said that he would spare them and send them to the land, but that he would not go with them. Upon hearing this, Moses gave the right answer. He said, “If your presence will not go with me, do not bring us up from here” (Ex 33:15). What good is a land flowing with milk and honey without the Lord? What good are riches if you do not know the Lord and have him as yours?
This leads to the corresponding reality of how things are supposed to be.
Those Who Embrace Folly Are Impoverished
Proverbs has several warnings that if you embrace folly and play the fool, then you will be financially ruined. Foolishness is self-destructive. This was our major focus last week, so let’s just remember a few of the Proverbs that lay this out. Proverbs 10:4-5,
“A slack hand causes poverty, but the hand of the diligent makes rich.”
Or Proverbs 13:11,
“Wealth gained hastily will dwindle, but whoever gathers little by little will increase it.”
The idea behind this Proverb is that if you come into sudden wealth, you will spend it all quickly because discipline and hard work were not the means of gathering money. If money comes in easy, it goes out easy. If you gather it diligently, then you are careful with it. Why? Proverbs 21:17 fills it in for us,
“Whoever loves pleasure will be a poor man; he who loves wine and oil will not be rich.”
Fools lack self-control and do not plan how to steward gifts for the glory of God and the good of others. Rather, they indulge in pleasure and speed through what they have. It isn’t fitting for them to have wealth and live in luxury when they have not put in hard work. Proverbs 19:10 hits on this idea of something that isn’t fitting,
“It is not fitting for a fool to live in luxury, much less for a slave to rule over princes.”
Foolishness comes by rejecting God’s directions and what is natural: if you do not work, you should not eat. This is why foolishness and wickedness are connected. The fool not only does not deserve, but then he demands as if he does. This is because he does not fear God; he considers only himself.
The Black and White
This is black and white teaching in Proverbs. If you fear God and honor him, you will have material comfort. If you reject wisdom and embrace folly, you will be impoverished. This is straightforward, just as the command to Adam and Eve was straightforward when God said, “If you eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, you will die.”
But after the Fall, nuanced was added. It isn’t that these things are now untrue or wrong, but they must be put into the context of a fallen world.
How Wealth Often Works in A Fallen World
This is how wealth works in a fallen world: the righteous and wise can be impoverished and the wicked fool can have riches. When these things happen, life isn’t as it should be. In a fallen world, to say that the righteous are blessed with wealth is more of a general observation of what is fitting and right, not how things always are. Just like it is generally right to say, “Runners are healthy,” but it isn’t absolute. There might be a complicating factor involved that, despite what the runner is doing, means he is not healthy. In a fallen world, not all things are equal.
The Wise Can Be Impoverished
There is a connection between poverty and laziness in Proverbs that we have covered extensively. But laziness is not the only cause of poverty. Here are a couple more:
One, poverty can be caused by injustice. Hear Proverbs 13:23 on this,
“The fallow ground of the poor would yield much food, but it is swept away through injustice.”
This imagines farmers who are working hard and should have a lot of food from that work, but through injustice, they have lost the labor of their hands. You can be poor because of factors outside of your control. In real estate, there is a specific form that real estate agents need to have their clients sign. It is called the Wire Fraud Disclosure. It is a single sheet of paper that states in several ways not to wire money unless you are absolutely sure you have the proper instructions from your loan officer and title company. Do you know why this form exists? The same reason any form or contract exists: people want to cheat you. I’ve heard stories from lenders saying that they were about to close on a house when one of their clients wired money to a scammer—hundreds of thousands of dollars. That’s financial ruin for those families. That is injustice and God hates it. Proverbs 10:2,
“Treasures gained by wickedness do not profit, but righteousness delivers from death.”
Proverbs 11:4 says something similar,
“Riches do not profit in the day of wrath, but righteousness delivers from death.”
Two, poverty can be caused by choice. Proverbs makes a repeated point that should not be lost on us. Constantly, this book reminds us that wisdom is better than riches. You should prize wisdom more than you should prize riches. Proverbs 16:16,
“How much better to get wisdom than gold! To get understanding is to be chosen rather than silver.”
Or Proverbs 28:6, “Better is a poor man who walks in his integrity than a rich man who is crooked in his ways.”
Why are we given these contrasts? Because sometimes, in this fallen world, you will have to choose between material wealth and wisdom; you will have to choose between having riches and walking with God.
A mark of wisdom is that you love God more than money. You want to please him more than have material wealth. I am convinced that one of the primary ways that God gets us to not love money is by getting us to say no to money or goodbye to money. It is spiritual training and spiritual stretching for your spiritual health.
Sometimes you will say no to money and goodbye to money because you are choosing wisdom.
Why doesn’t this get more attention?
If laziness is not the only cause of poverty, why doesn’t Proverbs focus on these other causes more? I have a guess. I think Proverbs focuses more on laziness as the cause of poverty because we tend to want to claim that our financial struggles arise exclusively from injustice or choosing wisdom. It makes us feel better. So, if you are in a situation where you handled money poorly (that is, foolishly) and someone was also trying to trick you, you tend to leave out the part of your foolishness and focus exclusively on how you were wronged.
But in this complicated world, it can be both. You can be tricked and you can be foolish. You need to repent of one and trust God with the other.
Proverbs is primarily addressing and focusing on how you can be skillful with knowledge, so it also shouldn’t surprise us that it focuses on what you can control (hard work) not what you cannot control (being cheated). Yet, it does mention it because you need to know that this happens in the world.
The Wicked Fool Can Have Riches
This is the second issue under how things are not supposed to be: Proverbs highlights the fact that fools can be wealthy. But in the same breath (or Proverb), it highlights how useless and fleeting this wealth is. And it isn’t just fleeting in the sense that it will not last for mortal life. It may last for mortal life but will be useless before God. Proverbs 11:4,
“Riches do not profit in the day of wrath, but righteousness delivers from death.”
Proverbs 11:7,
“When the wicked dies, his hope will perish, and the expectation of wealth perishes too.”
Proverbs 11:28,
“Whoever trusts in his riches will fall, but the righteous will flourish like a green leaf.
“A rich man’s wealth is his strong city, and like a high wall in his imagination.”
If you trust in worldly treasure as your security, then you will be rudely awakened to reality at the judgment. Money is not helpful in the judgment. In fact, money can be a type of pre-judgment, hardening your heart to God and making you feel secure without him. Proverbs 11:18,
“The wicked earns deceptive wages, but one who sows righteousness gets a sure reward.”
If you are judging your standing with God based on your material standing, then you need to reevaluate your standards.
Not The Way It’s Supposed To Be, But God Will Make It Right
These are the complicating factors that we need to keep in mind as we consider the teachings of wealth and poverty in Proverbs before us. Not everything is the way it is supposed to be. Sometimes the wicked are enriched and the wise impoverished, but it won’t stay this way. God will make it right. Proverbs 28:20,
“A faithful man will abound with blessings, but whoever hastens to be rich will not go unpunished.”
Again, Proverbs 22:4
“The reward for humility and fear of the LORD is riches and honor and life.”
Proverbs 16:8
“Better is a little with righteousness than great revenues with injustice”
Why? Because God will hold all to account. We will all stand before the judgment seat of Christ. If you do not think that God will judge then your view of him is far too small. Andrew Peterson puts it well in his song Rise Up,
“Every stone that makes you stumble and cuts you when you fall
Every serpent here that strikes your heel to curse you when you crawl
The King of love one day will crush them all
And every sad seduction and every clever lie
Every word that woos and wounds the pilgrim, the children of the sky
The King of love will break them by and by”
Perhaps the idea of judgment comforts you because you have been wronged and now God is the only one who can make it right. Or perhaps this warning disturbs you because you view God as small and don’t think he will hold you to account. He will. But you too can be comforted today, for the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. If you take his judgment seriously, then you should take his wisdom seriously and turn to Christ for life. You can only have it in him. He died to bear the judgment you deserve for sin. He rose to show that he really accomplished this forgiveness. Now all you need to do is receive him by faith and he will give you his Spirit to empower you to walk in the way of life. It’s a life you can live not in order to be saved from judgment but only as you are saved from judgment.
What is that life? It is our last point
How Wealth is Redeemed By Fearing God
Trusting in Christ, you are free to please God in this fallen world with your wealth in the following ways:
First, be generous with what you have. Whether someone is impoverished because of injustice, choice, or foolishness, we are to be generous to all. Proverbs 29:7,
“A righteous man knows the rights of the poor; a wicked man does not understand such knowledge.”
What is this knowledge? Proverbs 22:2 helps us understand,
“The rich and the poor meet together; the LORD is the Maker of them all.”
Everyone is made in God’s image and none should be cast aside as being worthless. As our Lord teaches us: everyone is our neighbor. We should be merciful to all because God has first been merciful to us.
Our Lord did not count equality with God as something to be exploited for his personal benefit but emptied himself in order to save us. Brothers and sisters, how can we hold back anything? This is a mark of Christ, and he is forming us into his image.
Be generous as Christ has been generous with you. Don’t forget the power of displaying Christ by giving and generosity (George Mueller; Julian the Apostate).
Second, orient your life around wisdom, not wealth. As I noted earlier, Proverbs repeatedly tells us to prize wisdom over wealth. It is better than gold and it is better than silver.
So stop for a moment and answer this question: if someone got to watch you for one week, what would they say you are pursuing? If they wrote a report about your vision for life and how you are chasing it, what do you think that report would say?
Okay, now for a different question: what would you want it to say? How can you start that pursuit right now, this afternoon, tonight, tomorrow, and the rest of the week? Find someone and tell them.
Third, dwell on the pitfalls of wealth and the glory of God. Material wealth is highly overrated. Riches won’t profit you on the day of judgment. Only righteousness will. Proverbs 11:4 yet again,
“Riches do not profit in the day of wrath, but righteousness delivers from death.”
And, if you are in Christ, you are made righteous like Christ. That is a treasure to be enjoyed now and for eternity.
So work hard, but do it for God’s glory, not wealth. Proverbs 23:4-5 warns us of this,
“Do not toil to acquire wealth; be discerning enough to desist. When your eyes light on it, it is gone, for suddenly it sprouts wings, flying like an eagle toward heaven.”
Material wealth will not last. You can’t keep it. But you can invest it for things that are eternal.
Instead of aiming for more and more, aim to enjoy what you have. This is what Proverbs 30:7-9 tells us,
“Two things I ask of you; deny them not to me before I die: remove far from me falsehood and lying; give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with the food that is needful for me, lest I be full and deny you and say, “who is the LORD?” Or lest I be poor and steal and profane the name of my God.”
Brothers and sisters, we have God. He has given himself to us. Pray that you do not grow cold to him because he isn’t giving you the material you want. After all, he has given you eternal life in Christ. And if you have plenty, do not forget him. Instead, use your wealth to feed others upon his goodness and life.
Conclusion: When things are hard, it is tempting to say that they are impossible. But if you have put the pieces together incorrectly, don’t throw it out and say that it is impossible. Instead, take the instructions as a whole and follow them closely. That has been our aim this morning. If you aim for riches, you will miss them. If you aim for Christ, you won’t care about riches because you will have what is better: God himself.
Do you have to let go of the love of money? He is worth it. You will be no fool to give what you cannot keep in order to gain what you cannot earn.
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