Proverbs 10: You Can't Take it With You Part 2

Money, Wealth, and the Heart in Proverbs

We're looking, this is our, I think this is our 29th session on Proverbs. We're in chapter 10, and we're working our way systematically through this book. And what we're doing is, especially in this section, we're pausing when we come to a different theme.

And we explore it, and then look at all the other Proverbs that are similar, have a similar theme to it. This morning, we continue the topic of finances. We began last month with Proverbs 10, 15 to 16.

The rich man's wealth is his fortress. The ruin of the poor is their poverty. The wages of the righteous is life. The income of the wicked, punishment. Beginning, I want to tell you about this particular meeting in 1923.

A very important meeting was held at the Edgewater Beach Hotel in Chicago, Illinois. Eight of the most successful financiers were present, included in this meeting were the president of the largest independent steel company, the president of the largest utility company in America.

The president of the largest gas company was also present. President of the New York Stock Exchange was there. A member of the United States President's Cabinet was also in attendance. And a man who was called the greatest bear on Wall Street was also in attendance.

The head of the world's greatest monopoly also attended. I don't mean the game. The president of the Bank for International Settlements was there. All of these men were at the top of the financial world of their day, and it was quite something to have a meeting including all of these men.

25 years later, a magazine titled The Journal of Living reported the status of these eight men, which would then at that point be 1948. And here's the status of these men just 25 years after they were at the top of their respective fields.

Steel company president had recently died. Financially broke, living on borrowed money his last few years. President of the utility company died a fugitive from justice and penniless. President of the gas company dead, unknown circumstances.

President of the New York Stock Exchange had just been released from Sing Sing prison. The member of the president's cabinet had been pardoned from prison so he could die at home. The greatest bear on Wall Street died by suicide.

The head of the world's greatest monopoly died by suicide. President of the Bank for International Settlements, dead, suicide. Interesting, isn't it? Each of these men had learned how to make money, but they didn't know how to live.

They misunderstood the purpose of money and how to use it. So this morning, we're going to continue with part two of our study on money, wealth, and poverty from a biblical perspective. And it's interesting, the Bible has a lot to say about money, wealth, and poverty, a lot more than a lot of people realize.

So the question is, why does the Bible address money so often? Because how you view money reflects the condition of your heart. Let's look at the five principles that we looked at from last month's, just a very quick review.

Money or wealth is not inherently evil, which is a mistake some Christians make. It is morally good to work for financial success. There are some things that are much more important than money. And then don't romanticize either poverty or riches.

We spent some time looking at that. Each side of that coin has its own drawbacks. And greed is always sinful. With those thoughts in mind, we come to the first topic for this morning is, righteousness is often rewarded financially.

Righteousness is one of the keys to financial success. Proverbs 15 .6, much wealth is in the house of the righteous, but trouble is in the income of the wicked. Diligence and hard work factor into the equation because they follow righteous living.

I started with righteousness is one of the keys to financial success. Because what you'll see as we go through, a lot of the other keys to financial success depend upon the righteousness of the individual.

Proverbs 21 .5, the plans of the diligent surely lead to advantage, but everyone who is hasty comes surely to poverty. I just want to point out again how Proverbs is constructed. And especially on this topic of money, Proverbs is not making promises.

We need to understand that. It's not commands. It's not promises. It's wisdom literature. In some cases, Proverbs is just telling you, this is just the way it is. In life, as you go through life, these are the circumstances.

This is what you can expect. In others, it tells you what are the rewards or the consequences for living righteous or living in a wicked way. And this one is a perfect example. The plans of the diligent lead surely to advantage, but everyone who is hasty comes surely to poverty.

I think we can all say an amen to that. You ever make a hasty decision that you regret it? I think everybody can admit that. Proverbs 10 .4, Poor is he who works with a negligent hand, but the hand of the diligent makes rich.

Again, notice that's just Proverbs saying, this is a fact of life. And can there be exceptions? Yes, of course, there can always be exceptions. But in general, this is the way it is. Proverbs 28 .19 -20, He who tilts his land will have plenty of food, but he who follows empty pursuits will have poverty in plenty.

A faithful man will abound with blessings, but he who makes haste to be rich will not go unpunished. Notice that's very interesting. It changes a little bit. That he who hastens to be rich will go unpunished.

Why do you think that would be? There's something implied there. What's implied? Greed? 99 times out of 100, if somebody wants to get rich quick, what can you presume they're going to do to get that reward?

Deceive? Break the law? Cut corners? All right, and so, and that's what Proverbs is saying here. We also see that wisdom is another key, but it too, wisdom is a characteristic of the righteous man. So it just follows along.

You can almost include these all together, but I think we need to separate wisdom. Proverbs 24, verse three. By wisdom, a house is built, and by understanding, it is established. And by knowledge, the rooms are filled with all precious and pleasant riches.

Notice, if you're employing the principles of wisdom, especially as found in Proverbs, you're going to establish a household. Who can tell me where else in the scripture you see that type of teaching?

Go ahead. Build your house upon the rock. Yeah, build your house upon the rock. What happens? The righteous can expect blessing to how many generations? And yet, the iniquity of the wicked is visited three or four generations.

No household established there. Proverbs 14, 24. The crown of the wise is their riches, but the folly of fools is foolishness. What do you say about that one? This is one of those Proverbs. We talk a lot about the manner and the type of literature that Proverbs is.

Proverbs is poetry. Remember that first and foremost, and it's written usually in parallelisms, all right? We have to keep reminding ourselves of that. This is one of those cases where the folly of fools is foolishness.

It's using the same word intentionally over and over again to drive the point home. The wise man, in many cases, can expect to be rewarded financially if he's living a righteous life, if he's employing wisdom, okay?

It's not a guarantee. All right, but it's a fact of life. Humility is another key, but it too is a characteristic of the righteous man. Proverbs 22, four. The reward of humility and the fear of the Lord are riches, honor, and life.

You see a continuing theme? There's a theme coming up here. If you want true, well, let me back up. What do you suppose was a common thread of those eight men that we opened up with? Yeah, go ahead. Not humility.

Did they have a fear of the Lord? No, all right. What was their reward? Failure, humiliation. It's a difference between humility and humiliation, okay? There's overriding principles at work. Seek righteousness, seek wisdom, fear God, be humble, and God will bless your efforts.

Now, again, he will bless those efforts sometimes in different ways. Two people can be going down the same road. One will seemingly be blessed more than the other, all right? But why? It's not for us to ask that question.

That's God's business. There are reasons why God sometimes withholds wealth from people. We'll get to that a little bit later. It's what Jesus taught in the Sermon on the Mount. Seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.

What things is he talking about? We always need to go back. Here you have a verse very often taken out of context. Seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, all these things will be added to you. That is often used by the health, wealth, and prosperity preachers to say, if you just seek his kingdom, his righteousness, you will get all the wealth that you want.

Is that what it's saying? No. What are the all things? Food, clothing, it's the necessities of life. That's the context. Jesus says, why are you anxious about what you're gonna wear, where you're gonna eat, where you're gonna live?

All these things. Seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. And here Paul picks up on that same theme in Philippians 4. And my God shall supply all your needs according to his riches.

Notice there's an operative word there. God, it doesn't say God shall supply all your wants, but all your needs. Everything that you need for life and godliness, he will be supplied by Jesus Christ. If you seek in his kingdom and his righteousness first.

An oft-heard objection. It doesn't work that way for me. Ever hear anybody say that? First, you need to redefine needs. What do you really need? Second, what is your priority or slash motivation in seeking these things?

Remember, Proverbs deals extensively with the motivation of the heart. Just because you're doing, quote, the right thing, doesn't mean you're doing it for the right reasons. And God looks at the heart.

He doesn't just look at the outward actions. Third, are you being a wise steward of what he has given you? Remember the parable of the talents? What happened to the guy who had one talent and hung on to it because he didn't want to lose it?

He rebuked and it was taken away from him. He says, you should have at least put it in the bank. All right? So, are you being a wise steward? If you're squandering the money that he is providing for you, why would he give you more?

Just makes sense. Fourth, and this is one that you won't hear very often. Remember, God's kingdom is based upon ethics, not natural law. What does that mean? That means that as you are obedient and seeking righteousness, God will bless those things.

All right, why does one nation prosper and another one fall to the extent that they adhere to the principles of God's law? So, it's a question of ethics, not a question of God owes you something because it's in one of his natural law.

The End Does Not Justify the Means

Second principle, the end does not justify the means. Oh, we could really open this up. A topic for debate of the ages. Is it okay to break the law for the greater good? We've had this discussion in this church numerous times.

Is it okay to break the law for the greater good? Dostoevsky addressed this topic in his classic work, Crime and Punishment. How many people here have read Crime and Punishment? Oh, come on, nobody? Just because it's that thick doesn't mean you shouldn't read it.

Take it a quarter of an inch at a time. It is a book well worth reading. I read it when I was in school and just two or three years ago, I reread it because it's such a fascinating book. Story of Raskolnikov, who lives in, obviously, Russia, which is where Dostoevsky's from.

And he's wrestling with the fact that there are people who are just above the law and he kills a man. And the whole book is about what happens to him and he's being pursued by the police in consequences.

Fascinating book. And Dostoevsky does a great job talking about this topic. Question is, are there circumstances when it's okay to break the law for the benefit of society as a whole? That's what Dostoevsky examines.

This morning, we're gonna limit our discussion to breaking the law for financial gain. Not so, we're not gonna talk about warfare. We're not gonna talk about Rahab, all right? Lying, you know, Corey Ten Boom lying, you know.

That's not the topic. We can do that at lunchtime tomorrow, if you want. But right now, we're talking, is it okay to break the law for financial gain? I put this in here just to remind me, report of a man in prison, in prison ministry.

There was a certain denomination that had a man who was a missionary to prisons and he was working in this one prison and he came back and he said, was all excited. And he said that 56 of this one tier were Christians.

And everybody in the board was rejoicing. They're, wow, 56%. Until they found out that they were 56%, they were all Christians before they went to prison. And that kind of took the starch out of their collars, so to speak.

Took the wind from the sails. But it's a fact how many Christians, quote Christians, go to jail for breaking the law, especially when it comes to finances. You have people who say, well, you know, if I have, if I can make this much money, then I'm gonna tithe more and I have more money to give the church.

So I'm gonna cut this corner so I have more money so I can give more money to the church. That's the point that we're looking at. Is it okay to ever do that? Proverbs says, the end does not justify the means, especially financially.

Proverbs 13, 11, wealth obtained by fraud dwindles, but the one who gathers by labor increases. Proverbs 20, 21, an inheritance gained hurriedly at the beginning will not be blessed in the end. And again, when you see hurriedly or quickly, Proverbs is making the presumption that if you're doing it hurriedly, quickly, that you're cutting corners.

That's the whole idea. Proverbs 28, 22, a man with an evil eye hastens after wealth and does not know that want will come upon him. That's the proverb that we can use as a poster child for the eight men that I mentioned earlier.

Oh, by the way, those eight men, I do have the names of those eight men. This is not just some made up story. I actually have the names and the title of the magazine that they were reported in. But we shouldn't be surprised over that.

I mean, how many people, how many politicians are going to jail today? What's Brookhaven's nickname? Notice how quickly everybody knew that. It seemed for the last 10 to 12 years, it's at least one major politician in Suffolk or Nassau County that has gone to jail.

The Republican leader from Nassau jail with his wife. All right. I mean, Suffolk County District Attorney, jail. Chief of Police in Suffolk County, jail. Punishment is inevitable for the crooked man. The crooked man will not escape.

He will not slide by just because he has money. Proverbs 28, 20, a faithful man will abound with blessings, but he who makes haste to be rich will not go unpunished. Oh, by the way, that one is actually written pretty much as a statement of fact, because the wicked will not go unpunished, maybe not in this life, but he will be punished in the life to come.

Proverbs 21, six, the getting of treasures by a lying tongue is a fleeting vapor, the pursuit of death. Now that says it pretty clear. Ultimately, there is perfect justice in God's kingdom. That's interesting.

That has specific impact on me because that's one of the principles that the Lord used to draw me to salvation. Working as a police officer and seeing some innocent people being convicted or being overly prosecuted.

And in seeing so many guilty people walking free, it was so frustrating. And when I came to an understanding that in God's kingdom, justice is perfect, I said, yeah, it just made so much sense and that's one of the factors that God used to draw me to salvation.

Look what happens to ill gotten means. Proverbs 13, 22, a good man leaves an inheritance to his children's children and the wealth of the sinner is stored up for the righteous. Sooner or later, things even out.

But sometimes we find ourselves in a poor financial condition despite seeking righteousness first. What are we to think then? What do we say? Proverb deals with that eventuality as well, which leads to the next principle.

Poverty, Contentment, and Integrity

Poverty is not the worst thing that can happen to you. If you fear God, if you have love, if you're content, you are better off than the wealthy. Proverbs 15, verse 16, better is a little with the fear of the Lord than great treasure and turmoil with it.

Better is a dish of vegetables where love is than a fat docks and hatred with it. Again, Proverbs is telling it like it is. Now, obviously, I mean, if you are seeking righteousness, you're in the kingdom and he blesses you with wealth, that's like a double blessing.

Proverbs 17, one, better is a dry morsel and quietness with it than a house full of feasting with strife. Poverty has a habit of keeping you humble. It's one of the benefits of being humble, of being, not having much money.

Proverbs 16, 19, it is better to be of a humble spirit with the lowly than to divide the spoiled with the proud. Are you getting the picture? Proverbs speaks a lot about money, doesn't it? And notice, it never points to money in and of itself as being evil.

It's the love of the money. It's the motivation to get more than what you need, you know, those type of things. Basically, what he's saying is if you're poor because you're honest, you're better off than the crook.

Okay. In fact, I was just telling the guys, there's an old story about the little kids that were sitting around, sitting around, talking about what their fathers did for a living. One was a butcher, one was a baker.

One kid says, my father's a politician. The other kid says, honest? He says, no, the regular kind. Maybe we should edit that one out, I don't know. Proverbs 19, one. Better is a poor man who walks in his integrity than he who is perverse in speech and is a fool.

Just turn on your political campaigns. Proverbs 19, 22. What is desirable in a man is his kindness, and it is better to be a poor man than a liar. Proverbs 28, six. Better is the poor who walks in his integrity than he who is crooked, though he be rich.

Theme just goes on and on. Why? Because riches are often deceptive. Proverbs 28, 11. The rich man is wise in his own eyes, but the poor who has understanding sees through him. I love that proverb because it's very subtle.

The rich man is wise in his own eyes. Ever try to tell a rich man something? You can always tell a rich man, you just can't tell him much. But the poor who has understanding sees right through him. If people just paid more attention to that proverb, they'd be a lot less successful scam artists.

Riches Cannot Be Trusted

The third point, riches are not trustworthy in this life, nor the next, because trust in riches will lead to calamity. Proverbs 11, 28. He who trusts in his riches will fall, but the righteous will flourish like the green leaf.

Remember, when we're talking about flourishing in all two, it's not necessarily talking about financial gain. There's other ways to flourish besides financial gain. But the bottom line is riches are fleeting in this life.

Proverbs 23, four to five. Do not weary yourself to gain wealth. Cease from your consideration of it. When you set your eyes on it, it is gone. For wealth certainly makes itself wings like an eagle that flies toward the heavens.

Trust in riches will lead to calamity. Proverbs 27, 24. For riches are not forever, nor does a crown endure to all generations. Just think about that. Think about all the realms, the kingdoms, you know, over the centuries, over the millennia of human history.

Where are they now, you know? And even the ones that are here, like you look at British royalty, what power, it's a figurehead. No real authority whatsoever. Do you ever realize how much money Britain spends on their royalty?

And all, it's a shell. Well, I don't want to get started on that. I have British friends, so. Maybe not anymore. Riches can cloud your judgment. Proverbs 18, 11. A rich man's wealth is his strong city and like a high wall in his own imagination.

You ever notice people who are very wealthy and they think that their wealth will protect them from anything? Like, because they're always used to buying people off and you know, et cetera. And it's in their own imagination, all right?

I'll tell you another story about lawyers, but I'll wait until after the tape is shut off. The reality in this life and the next, the rich and the poor are the same. Proverbs 22, two. The rich and the poor have a common bond.

The Lord is the maker of them all. We were talking about, I forget when it was, about the extremely wealthy woman who was riding in first class on a plane and the flight attendant came and wanted to take her drink.

Her husband says, she doesn't talk to hired help. Yeah, because they built up this wall. Well, we were even talking earlier about the old money and the new money, you know? The old wealth that's been around for hundreds of years, if you're new, like take like the billionaires today, Zuckerberg, Elon Musk and all, they're not gonna be invited to those parties because they're newbies, you know?

It doesn't matter how much money, just the pride, the arrogance that comes with that kind of money. Truth will be, that truth will be manifested in the judgment. When we stand before the Lord, you're not gonna be standing there with a checkbook.

Not gonna be standing there carrying gold bars. We're all gonna be on the equal footing. Proverbs 11, four. Riches do not profit in the day of wrath, but righteousness delivers from death. That's a real truth right there.

So look to the scriptures for guidance concerning your finances. If God has blessed you financially, evaluate your perspective on riches. If your money is a product of hard work, if it was gained honestly, if you're not counting on it for salvation, if you recognize it's a tool and not a goal, if you are generous, if you use it wisely for God's glory and the advancement of his kingdom, then enjoy it as a blessing from God.

Proverbs 20, 10, 22. It is the blessing of the Lord that makes rich, and he adds no sorrow to it. If God has not blessed you with riches, then learn from Proverbs. Better is a little with the righteous than abundance with the wicked.

Be good stewards of what he has given you, even if it's only a little. Don't envy the wealthy. Use it wisely for God's glory and the advancement of his kingdom. Be generous with what you do have. And always remember, you can't take it with you.

Questions? So notice the continuing theme. Is money bad? Is money evil? No. Is being wealthy evil? No. Is being poor somehow better than being wealthy? No. The key is the motivation of the heart. Be good stewards, take care of the money, whatever God has given you, treat it as the gift from God that it is, whether it's a little or whether it's a lot.

But it's the attitude of the heart.