I Want to be Rich!
Do not wear yourself out to get rich; have the wisdom to show restraint. Cast but a glance at riches, and they are gone, for they will surely sprout wings and fly off to the sky like an eagle.
I’ll come clean. For a lot of my life, every time a pastor started preaching about passages like this one — about making too big of a deal out of getting rich — I always waited for him to say the magic words. “Of course, it’s okay to be rich. There’s nothing wrong with having money.” Woo hoo, I thought. I can serve God and still be loaded. That’s what I really want. And I half expected to get it somehow.
Well, it turns out that attitude is a problem. Of course, the pastor always does say those magic words. And of course, it is okay for Christians to have lots of money (although that comes with the huge price tag of being responsible for using it properly). We all know some rich Christians -- maybe lots of them. The problem comes in the wanting, not the having. And by nature, most of us want to have it all, even believers. For us, “all” might include a solid relationship with God, a life that matters, gobs of cash, true love, and great sex. (We’ll worry about the love and sex another time.)
Here’s where it breaks down: Eventually, we’ve got to start making tough choices. You realize life is hard work, no matter what you do or why. You’re going to “wear yourself out” doing something with your life. Everyone who lives long enough ends up worn out, right? The writer of this proverb warns against wearing yourself out chasing wealth.
Jesus put it this way: You absolutely cannot — no matter how good you are at multitasking — serve God and money at the same time. That’s a paraphrase from Matthew 6:24. He also said there that if you work for two bosses, you’ll end up picking one over the other. We just do. That’s just us.
This is a big deal right now for students, because you’re making choices about what to do with the rest of your lives. And most of you (us) are saying right out loud, “I want the money.” That’s become a central motive for picking a college, picking a major, picking a spouse — choosing a life.
And it’s not just that living for the green stuff leads to wasted decades, it’s what this proverb says. Money flies. Just when you think you’re close to landing the future of your dreams, every last dime gets airborn. Most people never catch it.
So what to do? Well, don’t lie to yourself and pretend you don’t want money. We do. Tell God the truth: “I want money. Lots of it. No strings attached.” Then make a choice. The best (and hardest) one is this, to say to God, “Thanks for all the good things you’ve given me. I’m willing to wear myself out in this life following Jesus, looking for ways to serve you, and I’m willing to trust you to give me as much or as little money as you see fit along the way — and to try to keep serving you and others with whatever money you provide.”
Yes, we still have to work hard to earn a living, but we don't have to live for what we earn. We can live for something far more valuable.
—Proverbs 23:4-5
I’ll come clean. For a lot of my life, every time a pastor started preaching about passages like this one — about making too big of a deal out of getting rich — I always waited for him to say the magic words. “Of course, it’s okay to be rich. There’s nothing wrong with having money.” Woo hoo, I thought. I can serve God and still be loaded. That’s what I really want. And I half expected to get it somehow.
Well, it turns out that attitude is a problem. Of course, the pastor always does say those magic words. And of course, it is okay for Christians to have lots of money (although that comes with the huge price tag of being responsible for using it properly). We all know some rich Christians -- maybe lots of them. The problem comes in the wanting, not the having. And by nature, most of us want to have it all, even believers. For us, “all” might include a solid relationship with God, a life that matters, gobs of cash, true love, and great sex. (We’ll worry about the love and sex another time.)
Here’s where it breaks down: Eventually, we’ve got to start making tough choices. You realize life is hard work, no matter what you do or why. You’re going to “wear yourself out” doing something with your life. Everyone who lives long enough ends up worn out, right? The writer of this proverb warns against wearing yourself out chasing wealth.
Jesus put it this way: You absolutely cannot — no matter how good you are at multitasking — serve God and money at the same time. That’s a paraphrase from Matthew 6:24. He also said there that if you work for two bosses, you’ll end up picking one over the other. We just do. That’s just us.
This is a big deal right now for students, because you’re making choices about what to do with the rest of your lives. And most of you (us) are saying right out loud, “I want the money.” That’s become a central motive for picking a college, picking a major, picking a spouse — choosing a life.
And it’s not just that living for the green stuff leads to wasted decades, it’s what this proverb says. Money flies. Just when you think you’re close to landing the future of your dreams, every last dime gets airborn. Most people never catch it.
So what to do? Well, don’t lie to yourself and pretend you don’t want money. We do. Tell God the truth: “I want money. Lots of it. No strings attached.” Then make a choice. The best (and hardest) one is this, to say to God, “Thanks for all the good things you’ve given me. I’m willing to wear myself out in this life following Jesus, looking for ways to serve you, and I’m willing to trust you to give me as much or as little money as you see fit along the way — and to try to keep serving you and others with whatever money you provide.”
Yes, we still have to work hard to earn a living, but we don't have to live for what we earn. We can live for something far more valuable.
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