The Internet is crawling with get-rich-quick schemes—ads that promise loads of cash with little effort and/or skills required. Simply apply the special techniques offered in their training material, and it won’t be long before you’re independently wealthy—or so they say. And you can do it all from the comfort and convenience of your home! Hmm . . .
The curious, desperate, and the naïve are the ones who typically fall prey to such outlandish offers. The wary, however, can see right through scams. They know that there’s no such thing as “easy money.” But even they, if they’re not careful, can fall into the trap of wearing themselves out by chasing long and hard after wealth.
The book of Proverbs states, “Don’t wear yourself out trying to get rich. Be wise enough to know when to quit. In the blink of an eye wealth disappears, for it will sprout wings and fly away like an eagle” (Proverbs 23:4-5).
Whatever approach we take to earning money, the apostle Paul warned, “People who long to be rich fall into temptation and are trapped by many foolish and harmful desires that plunge them into ruin and destruction” (1 Timothy 6:9). Paul goes on to note that some who “love” money “have wandered from the true faith and pierced themselves with many sorrows” (1 Timothy 6:10). This parallels what Jesus taught in the parable of the sower—that the lure and deceitfulness of wealth makes us unfruitful for God’s kingdom (Matthew 13:22).
It’s true that we must earn money to pay for the basic necessities of life. Cash can also be used to help the needy and bring a little bit of heaven to earth and the “least of these” (Matthew 25:40). But a love affair with getting rich will only wear us out and ruin our testimony for Jesus.
NLT 365-day reading plan passage for today: Judges 16:1-21
More:
Note what King Solomon wrote about those who “love money” (Ecclesiastes 5:10).
Next:
What is your biggest struggle with money? How can you use it for Jesus’ glory instead of your own desires and ambitions?
tom felten on March 13, 2013 at 10:39 am
Jeff, I’m reminded of what Paul wrote to the Philippians: “Not that I was ever in need, for I have learned how to be content with whatever I have. I know how to live on almost nothing or with everything. I have learned the secret of living in every situation, whether it is with a full stomach or empty, with plenty or little. For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength” (Philippians 4:11-13). May God help us learn to be content and rely on the strength and provision of Jesus.
mike wittmer on March 15, 2013 at 4:09 pm
This is so true! Our money is never safe, because even if we have a lot of it we could lose it all to inflation. Only treasure in heaven is safe from the ravages of this fallen world.