As far back as antiquity, in man’s very earliest beginnings, there have always been systems for purchasing things and for measuring wealth, whether it was in such ways as, for example, trading goods (bartering), accumulation of possessions such as cattle and livestock, weighing precious metal coins, or using coins and paper currency. Another time-tested truth is the fact that wealth carries prestige. For instance, look at what the Bible says about Job, who lived somewhere during the time that Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob lived, roughly 4000 years ago:
Job 1:3: Also, his possessions were seven thousand sheep, three thousand camels, five hundred yoke of oxen, five hundred female donkeys, and a very large household, so that this man was the greatest of all the people of the East.
Job was the equivalent of one of today’s billionaires. However, he was also a very righteous, godly man (Job 1:1). Job was one of those blessed individuals who kept himself above the corruption that wealth can inspire in people. Evidently he recognized that wealth was not God but rather a gift from God, whom he worshipped in sincerity and truth. Having lots of money and material goods is not a sin in and of itself. Again, notice what the Word of God says:
Deuteronomy 8:18a: “And you shall remember the LORD your God, for it is He who gives you power to get wealth,…”
What concerns the Lord is the love of money. By this I do not mean the justifiable joy we feel from being financially secure or from earning a paycheck. Rather, it is the love of money that drives people to idolize it, to crave wealth, or that drives the wealthy to think that their money makes them better than others, that I am describing. The Bible is very clear about this:
1 Timothy 6:9-10: But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and harmful lusts which drown men in destruction and perdition. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.
The desire for material gain, like the desire for sex, can very quickly run out of control if it is not carefully guarded and used. Greed is very dangerous. People become obsessed with money and possessions, trying to get all they can. You can see evidence of it all the time. How often do you go to pay for gas at a convenience store, only to have to stand behind people purchasing various types of lottery tickets? Or how about those lawyer commercials? It seems that there are always television ads about this or that attorney promising to win you big bucks if you are in a car wreck or if you have been adversely affected by some medication or other substance. Corporations rake in profits, sometimes in the billions of dollars, such as drug and petroleum companies, yet they drain people of money at the pump and at the pharmacy. Big-name athletes demand bigger contracts, causing one to wonder how sports franchises are able to remain afloat financially. The list goes on and on.
Also, the prestige that goes with being wealthy is off the charts. Look at how the rich and famous are always in the news. Celebrities in Hollywood and other motion picture giants are lauded not just because of their movies and television shows but also because they are rich. When it comes time for autographs from famous actors and actresses, athletes, authors, and others who are wealthy and famous, people line up as if money is being given away instead of signatures. People such as Bill Gates, Elon Musk, and multitudes of other rich folks are household names in many places. Often, most who do not have that kind of wealth feel envy and sometimes even contempt at these very same people they swoon over because they covet what the rich and famous have. The fanatical clamor over the gaining of wealth and the fame that goes with having it are both forms of idolatry. There is no doubt that having a lot of money misleads people into thinking that they do not need God. They even make money their god. Jesus made these points emphatically:
Matthew 6:24: “No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.”
Mark 10:17-25: Now as He was going out on the road, one came running, knelt before Him, and asked Him, “Good Teacher, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?” So Jesus said to him, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God. You know the commandments: ‘Do not commit adultery,’ ‘Do not murder,’ ‘Do not steal,’ ‘Do not bear false witness,’ Do not defraud,’ ‘Honor your father and your mother.’ ” And he answered and said to Him, “Teacher, all these things I have kept from my youth.” Then Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, “One thing you lack: Go your way, sell whatever you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, take up the cross, and follow Me.” But he was sad at this word, and went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions. Then Jesus looked around and said to His disciples, “How hard it is for those who have riches to enter the kingdom of God!” And the disciples were astonished at His words. But Jesus answered again and said to them, “Children, how hard it is for those who trust in riches to enter the kingdom of God! It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.”
Luke 12:13-21: Then one from the crowd said to Him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.” But He said to him, “Man, who made Me a judge or an arbitrator over you?” And He said to them, “Take heed and beware of covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses.” Then He spoke a parable to them, saying: “The ground of a certain rich man yielded plentifully. And he thought within himself, saying, ‘What shall I do, since I have no room to store my crops?’ So he said, ‘I will do this: I will pull down my barns and build greater, and there I will store all my crops and my goods. And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years; take your ease; eat, drink,and be merry.” ’ But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul will be required of you; then whose will those things be which you have provided?’ So is he who lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.”
It is plain that while having a lot of money is not in itself sinful, it can easily become a soul-damning idol, usurping God’s rightful place in one’s life. Indeed, many of the world’s wealthy people do not think they need God. Notice the commandments God listed for the young ruler in the Mark passage. He noted the last six commandments, those which govern our conduct toward other people. The man He had spoken to had kept them. Conspicuously absent in Christ’s words were the first four commandments, which govern our conduct toward God. Had the man done what Jesus said, he would have been fine. The Lord exposed his true motivation: Wealth. The man was dependent on his money and, when asked to place God before it, he realized he could not and walked away from Jesus. Money was his god.
There is also a price to pay, no pun intended, in getting and maintaining wealth. And of course, we cannot take it with us:
Ecclesiastes 5:10-15: He who loves silver will not be satisfied with silver; nor he who loves abundance, with increase. This also is vanity. When goods increase, they increase who eat them; so what profit have the owners except to see them with their own eyes? The sleep of a laboring man issweet, whether he eats little or much; but the abundance of the rich will not permit him to sleep. There is a severe evil which I have seen under the sun: Riches kept for their owner to his hurt. But those riches perish through misfortune; when he begets a son, there is nothing in his hand. As he came from his mother’s womb, naked shall he return, to go as he came; and he shall take nothing from his labor which he may carry away in his hand.
1 Timothy 6:6-8: Now godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. And having food and clothing, with these we shall be content.
The tombs of the ancient pharaohs are a stark testament to this truth. These men were wealthy and powerful, the pyramids built for them still standing. They wanted things and people buried with them: Favorite personal possessions, favorite pets, even other family members, thinking that in some other life or reality they would all be together again. And today, several thousand years later, all the items and all the remains of the people and the animals are still there. They went out into eternity with only their spirits. Also, the names of buildings, corporations, et cetera, often bear the names of their predecessors, but did their predecessors take any of this with them? Not a single one. And if they died without Jesus as their Lord and Savior then they, like the rich man in Luke’s account, are lifting up their eyes in hell, being in torments (Luke 16:19-31). For your information, the account of the rich man and Lazarus is not a parable, it is a true story. To this day, Lazarus is in heaven and the rich man is burning in hell. All his wealth and power could not get him out of there. How could it, anyway? Even if we could give anything to God, it would be His own, for He owns the cattle on a thousand hills and is the Creator of the entire universe (1 Chronicles 29:12-14; Psalm 50:9-12; Genesis 1:1).
So what do we do about money as Christians? Thank God for what He blesses us with. Though most of us either have to work now or have had to in the past (Genesis 3:17-19), we should still trust God for provision. No matter how many blessings we are given, our biggest will always be God Himself, so He should always occupy first place in our lives. Anything else is idolatry. We should also give, not out of obligation, but willingly (Acts 2:44-45; 2 Corinthians 9:5-7). Even if some of us become rich, we should always remain dependent on God. Remember the Deuteronomy passage early in this blog, where the Lord says He is the one who gives us power to get wealth. If we learn how to depend on God, we can rejoice and feel secure whether we are wealthy or poor.
Matthew 6:25, 31, 32b-34: “Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing?…Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’…For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.”
Philippians 4:11-13: Not that I speak in regard to need, for I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content: I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound. Everywhere and in all things I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.
