Love of money
Proverbs 4:7 tells us that “Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding.” As I recently wrote, we spend most of our lives getting, but we aren’t always getting what’s right.
For some, their main goal in life is getting rich. Please understand, there is nothing wrong with having money. The Bible talks a lot about money and our management of it (Deuteronomy 8:18, Proverbs 13:11, 21:20, just to name a few examples).
There are some Christians who will say that money is the root of all evil. Those Christians are wrong. That train of thought is a misquote or a misreading of 1 Timothy 6:10, which tells us that “the love of money is the root of all evil”. The love of money is what is the root of all evil, not money itself. The Bible tells us that we are to keep our lives free from the love of money (Hebrews 13:5). There is absolutely nothing wrong with having money, but loving money and desiring it more than we desire God is where we run into trouble. When getting rich is our goal, we will never be satisfied (Ecclesiastes 5:10).
The goal of getting rich not only leaves us discontent, it also takes our eyes off eternity and means we are working for something other than God’s glory. The love of money leaves no room for what really matters. Solomon wrote in Proverbs 23:4-5, “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.”
It is a certainty that riches are uncertain. Our time on earth is temporary, and our riches are, too. While we should work hard and save to provide for our families, we should work even harder to train up our children in the way they should go (Proverbs 22:6). A firm foundation for our family has more value in eternity than well-founded finances. The Bible tells us, “A good man leaveth an inheritance to his children’s children” (Proverbs 13:22). When we work with purpose we will be rewarded, but when getting rich is our goal, we’ll end up with the opposite (Proverbs 28:19). There’s a difference between working hard to provide and working hard to get rich.
Proverbs 21:20 tells us that “There is treasure to be desired and oil in the dwelling of the wise; but a foolish man spendeth it up.” Much treasure is one of the marks of the wise. Having money, even lots of it, is not a bad thing. But, as Charles Spurgeon so aptly put it, “Growing wealth will prove no blessing to thee unless thou gettest growing grace.”
While we shouldn’t be consumed with getting rich, we should be mindful about our money and the work we do. Proverbs 13:11 says that “Wealth gotten by vanity shall be diminished: but he that gathereth by labour shall increase.” The Bible says that those who are rich should “be not highminded, nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God, who giveth us richly all things to enjoy; That they do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to distribute, willing to communicate; Laying up in store for themselves a good foundation against the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life.” (1 Timothy 6:17-19).
Whether or not you have a lot of money is of no consequence to God. Whether or not you use what you have for God’s glory is what matters. Is getting rich or laying up your goal?
