Wisdom in the Acquisition and Use of Money (1)

It is not easy to make a living. Those who begin their career with much optimism and high ideals may soon find the working world to be a difficult place to thrive in. If they work too hard they may be hated by those who are not as hardworking and who perceive them as threats to their livelihood. If they are too obliging they may be victimised by people who make use of them for their own advantage.

Because of such difficulties to earn an income some look for an easier alternative. Some who are too trusting fall prey to "get-rich-quick investments that promise fast substantial returns without much effort, but at the risk of losing long-term security. Those who fail to think carefully or to read the fine print before committing themselves to some lucrative venture have ended up living with deep regrets. With the fast changing tides of the global market it is all too easy to make a decision that proves to be unwise later on.

Because of the many traps and pitfalls that await the unwary pilgrim on his journey through this sinful world, wisdom is needed. One area of life where we really need God's wisdom is in the acquisition and use of money. The book of Proverbs provides us with some valuable insight from God on this. The proverbs that deal with this subject can be categorised under 5 headings:

1. Set Financial Goals That Are Honouring to God

How much wealth should you have before you are satisfied? You need to be careful how high you set your financial goals. "Labour not to be rich: cease from thine own wisdom. Wilt thou set thine eyes upon that which is not? for riches certainly make themselves wings; they fly away as an eagle toward heaven. (Proverbs 23:4, 5) This proverb teaches us to take a realistic view of material wealth – You cannot keep them forever and can only enjoy them for a while. Therefore do not set your sights on becoming rich.

"He that trusteth in his riches shall fall: but the righteous shall flourish as a branch. (Proverbs 11:28) In the parable of The Rich Fool (Luke 12:16-21), a man had such abundant harvests that he decided to build bigger barns to hoard up all the surplus for himself, thinking that he now had enough riches to keep him in the lap of luxury for many years. But God had other plans for him – he died that very night and could not carry out his plans and enjoy his riches. Please be warned not to set your financial goals only to enjoy yourself without any reference to God.
Proverbs 30:8, 9 provides the best guideline for setting financial goals: "…give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with food convenient [i.e. sufficient] for me: Lest I be full, and deny thee, and say, Who is the LORD? or lest I be poor, and steal, and take the name of my God in vain. Can you see the wonderful wisdom of these words? The writer sees that both conditions may lead him to dishonour the Lord. If he were to set his goal at being materially rich, he may become so self-sufficient that he would deny God. The temptations of wealth are so strong, that few are able to handle them successfully. He also knows that if he were to set his goal on being materially poor, he may be tempted to steal and take God's name in vain, thus breaking both the 3rd and 8th commandments.

And so he sets his goal at being neither rich nor poor. In today's terminology we would say that he aimed at being in the middle-income group. There is much wisdom in having a simple lifestyle with all of one's basic needs met. The problem is how to define 'basic needs'. This varies from society to society, and even from generation to generation. Times have changed, and so have financial goals. How then can we know what is an acceptable financial goal?

The answer is found in the same proverb: "Lest I be full, and deny thee, and say, Who is the LORD? or lest I be poor, and steal, and take the name of my God in vain. You will notice that both extremes are deemed to be undesirable only because they would dishonour God – by denying Him or by taking His name in vain. It therefore follows that we should aim for a financial condition that will not cause us to dishonour God in our lives. The key consideration then, is on honouring God. Christians in every society and generation have to define for themselves what would be a reasonable financial condition to aim for, that would best enable them to honour the Lord.

Seek to acquire enough to meet your daily needs, so that all your time would not be so taken up in coping with health problems due to lack of food, water and shelter that you have no time left for God. Seek not to have so much wealth, that all your time is taken up in gathering and maintaining all your assets. Proverbs 15:16 says – "Better is little with the fear of the LORD than great treasure and trouble therewith. Keep yourself within this healthy, God-honouring middle ground.

2. Seek to Make an Honest Living

a. Not by Dishonesty

Proverbs 21:6 warns against any attempt to acquire money by deceit: "The getting of treasures by a lying tongue is a vanity tossed to and fro of them that seek death. Some years ago a moneychanger was charged in court for cheating 1,153 Chinese foreign workers of $8.8 million of their home-bound earnings over a period of 7 months. His victims suffered greatly through his dishonesty. A cancer stricken father had no money for his operation; children could no longer afford to go to school. This is the kind of sin that is mentioned in Proverbs 22:22, 23 – "Rob not the poor, because he is poor: neither oppress the afflicted in the gate: For the LORD will plead their cause, and spoil the soul of those that spoiled them.

b. Not by Gambling

Another means of acquiring money that is condemned is gambling. "Wealth gotten by vanity shall be diminished: but he that gathereth by labour shall increase. (Proverbs 13:11) The phrase 'wealth gotten by vanity' refers to wealth that is gotten without labour and literally from nothing. Gamblers often dream of striking it rich overnight and making fortunes merely by risking a small amount of money. When times are bad and jobs are scarce, the temptation sometimes comes to 'try your luck' so to speak. Please do not give in to such temptation. Remember at all times that wealth gotten by vanity shall be diminished. The money that is won is soon lost in the next round of gambling!

How about speculating on the stock market, currency market or property market? This is another form of gambling, because the same risks are involved. Speculation is all about making gains by trying to guess the future value of a commodity. But there is nothing wrong with getting dividends from a long-term investment, since no speculation is involved in this.

c. Not by Habitual Borrowing

Another means that you should never use to acquire money is habitual borrowing. "The rich ruleth over the poor, and the borrower is servant to the lender. (Proverbs 22:7) In this proverb, the rich refers to the lender and the poor refers to the borrower. From this we learn that borrowing puts the borrower at the mercy of the lender. If the borrower is unable to pay back what he owes, the lender can make life very miserable for him!

There are some who keep borrowing only from those who would not be harsh with them when they are unable to pay off the loan. They may even go around the church sharing their financial woes with others and asking for loans from member after member. This is not a good Christian testimony and should not be encouraged. When such a member comes to you, and you feel that he really needs help, please advise him to approach the Mercy Ministry committee of the church. The committee will make all the necessary enquiries, study his case thoroughly and come up with a comprehensive plan of action to help him. The point to be emphasised is that habitual borrowing is not good at all, and we should refrain from doing it.

There are times it becomes necessary to take loans, e.g. a housing loan. There is nothing wrong with this provided we can afford the loan and have the means to pay it off. But do not assume that since your business is doing well at present, you will have the means to pay off the loan. Some have faced deep financial crises because they committed themselves to servicing loans that they could well afford when times were good. But when the economy declined, they suddenly found themselves bearing a financial burden they could not carry.

(To be continued...)

Adopted from Life BPC Weekly, 29 April 2007.
Written by Rev. Charles Seet.