The Book of Proverbs

The Book of Proverbs Dollars and Sense Various Proverbs

Dollars and Sense • Honor the LORD with your wealth, with the firstfruits of all your crops; then your barns will be filled to overflowing, and your vats will brim over with new wine. (3:9-10) • Ill-gotten treasures are of no value, but righteousness delivers from death. (10:2)

Dollars and Sense • Lazy hands make a man poor, but diligent hands bring wealth. (10:4 ) • The blessing of the LORD brings wealth, and he adds no trouble to it. (10:22 ) • Wealth is worthless in the day of wrath, but righteousness delivers from death. (11:4)

Dollars and Sense • One man gives freely, yet gains even more; another withholds unduly, but comes to poverty. A generous man will prosper; he who refreshes others will himself be refreshed. (11:24-25). • Whoever trusts in his riches will fall, but the righteous will thrive like a green leaf. (11:28) • A man's riches may ransom his life, but a poor man hears no threat. (13:8)

Dollars and Sense • Misfortune pursues the sinner, but prosperity is the reward of the righteous. A good man leaves an inheritance for his children's children, but a sinner's wealth is stored up for the righteous. (13:21-22) • A poor man's field may produce abundant food, but injustice sweeps it away. (13:23) • The righteous eat to their hearts' content, but the stomach of the wicked goes hungry. (13:25) • All hard work brings a profit, but mere talk leads only to poverty. (14:23)

Dollars and Sense • A greedy man brings trouble to his family, but he who hates bribes will live. (15:27) • The name of the LORD is a strong tower; the righteous run to it and are safe. The wealth of the rich is their fortified city; they imagine it an unscalable wall. (18:10-11)

Dollars and Sense • A poor man pleads for mercy, but a rich man answers harshly. (18:23) • Wealth brings many friends, but a poor man's friend deserts him. (19:4) • He who is kind to the poor lends to the LORD, and he will reward him for what he has done. (19:17) • “It's no good, it's no good!” says the buyer; then off he goes and boasts about his purchase. (20:14)

Dollars and Sense • He who loves pleasure will become poor; whoever loves wine and oil will never be rich. (21:17) • 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. (23:4-5) • Be sure you know the condition of your flocks, give careful attention to your herds; for riches do not endure forever (27:23-24a)

Dollars and Sense • He who works his land will have abundant food, but the one who chases fantasies will have his fill of poverty. (28:19) • …give me neither poverty nor riches, but give me only my daily bread. Otherwise, I may have too much and disown you and say, 'Who is the LORD?' Or I may become poor and steal, and so dishonor the name of my God. (30:8b-9) • Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute. Speak up and judge fairly; defend the rights of the poor and needy. (31:8-9)

Dollars and Sense • Today we will look at what Proverbs has to say about money, wealth and poverty. • Just reading through the Proverbs at a surface level could give you the idea that the Proverbs (and the rest of the Bible as well) have a kind of mixed view when it comes to money! • The blessing of the LORD brings wealth, and he adds no trouble to it. (10:22 ) • Wealth is worthless in the day of wrath… (11:4a) • Whoever trusts in his riches will fall… (11:28a)

Dollars and Sense Things We’ll Cover Today: • Definitions • The Value of Money and Wealth • The Danger of Money and Wealth • Money Can’t Meet Our Greatest Need!

Definitions Wealth • An abundance of money or material possessions. • The definition of wealth tends to be somewhat relative: a person who is viewed as wealthy, is generally someone who has a lot of money relative to those around them. • By the standards of societies in Biblical times (and many societies around the world today) , all but the poorest Americans would be viewed as very wealthy.

Definitions Poverty • When the Bible speaks of poverty or “the poor” it is often talking about people who are struggling to put clothes on their back or get enough food to eat. • [The Lord] defends the cause of the fatherless and the widow, and loves the alien, giving him food and clothing. (Deut 10:18) • But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that. (1Tim 6:8) • Another result of poverty often mentioned in the Bible is the inability of the poor to defend themselves (either physically or legally) • Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute. Speak up and judge fairly; defend the rights of the poor and needy. (31:8-9)

The Value of Money and Wealth • Because the Bible gives many warnings about the dangers of money and wealth, you might be tempted to think that money and wealth are intrinsically bad. • But the Bible has many positive things to say about money and wealth. • The Bible describes wealth as a blessing from the Lord: • The blessing of the LORD brings wealth, and he adds no trouble to it. (10:22 )

The Value of Money and Wealth • The book of Proverbs describes prosperity as the natural outcome of a righteous lifeand the loss of wealth as the natural outcome of a sinful life: • Misfortune pursues the sinner, but prosperity is the reward of the righteous. A good man leaves an inheritance for his children's children, but a sinner's wealth is stored up for the righteous. (13:21-22) • The righteous eat to their hearts' content, but the stomach of the wicked goes hungry. (13:25) • But we need to be careful not to over generalize – not all lost wealth is the result of the poor man’s sin: • A poor man's field may produce abundant food, but injustice sweeps it away. (13:23)

The Value of Money and Wealth • Proverbs tells us that money and wealth are the normal reward for those who work hard and are diligent – whereas poverty is the usual consequence of laziness or chasing empty dreams: • Lazy hands [=sluggish, negligent, lax behavior] make a man poor, but diligent hands [=thoughtful, not hasty] bring wealth. (10:4 ) • All hard work brings a profit, but mere talk leads only to poverty. (14:23) • He who works his land will have abundant food, but the one who chases fantasies will have his fill of poverty. (28:19)

The Dangers of Money and Wealth • Though wealth is generally viewed as a blessing in Proverbs, there are many dangers that come with wealth.

The Dangers of Money and Wealth • Proverbs warns against earning money through dishonest means: • Ill-gotten treasures are of no value, but righteousness delivers from death. (10:2) • The LORD abhors dishonest scales, but accurate weights are his delight. (11:1) • A greedy man brings trouble to his family, but he who hates bribes will live. (15:27) • “It's no good, it's no good!” says the buyer; then off he goes and boasts about his purchase. (20:14)

The Dangers of Money and Wealth • Becoming wealthy can give us a false sense of self-importance and cause us to have too high a view of ourselves: • Wealth brings many friends, but a poor man's friend deserts him. (19:4) • A poor man pleads for mercy, but a rich man answers harshly. (18:23)

The Dangers of Money and Wealth • Our desire to enjoy more and more of the personal benefits of wealth can cause us to become greedy and unwilling to be generous: • Honor the LORD with your wealth, with the firstfruits of all your crops (3:9) • He who is kind to the poor lends to the LORD, and He will reward him for what he has done. (19:17) • One man gives freely, yet gains even more; another withholds unduly, but comes to poverty. A generous man will prosper; he who refreshes others will himself be refreshed. (11:24-25).

The Dangers of Money and Wealth • Because money can do a lot for us, there is a danger of depending too much on money and not ultimately looking to God for our provision and security. • The name of the LORD is a strong tower; the righteous run to it and are safe. The wealth of the rich is their fortified city; they imagine it an unscalable wall. (18:10-11) • A man's riches may ransom his life, but a poor man hears no threat. (13:8) • Whoever trusts in his riches will fall, but the righteous will thrive like a green leaf. (11:28)

The Dangers of Money and Wealth • In fact, money can become such a distraction that it can cause us to forget about God altogether! • …give me neither poverty nor riches, but give me only my daily bread. Otherwise, I may have too much and disown you and say, 'Who is the LORD?' Or I may become poor and steal, and so dishonor the name of my God. (30:8b-9)

The Dangers of Money and Wealth • In the New Testament, Paul instructs Christians who are wealthy how they ought to behave and warns them of the dangers of being wealthy: • Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life. (1Tim 6:17-19)

Money Can’t Meet Our Greatest Need! • Proverbs warns us that wealth will be of no use to us in the Day of Judgment: • Wealth is worthless in the day of wrath, but righteousness delivers from death. (11:4) • We know from the New Testament that it is Christ’s righteousness that delivers us from the death of eternal torment. • For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich. (2Cor 8:9)

The Book of Proverbs