Money Talks (It Says "Bye, Bye")

Proverbs 23:4, 5

Money Talks (It Says “Bye, Bye”)

Do not toil to acquire wealth;

be discerning enough to desist.

When your eyes light on it, it is gone,

for suddenly it sprouts wings,

flying like an eagle toward heaven.[1]

W

here can I volunteer to be part of that study that is attempting to prove the adage that money can’t buy happiness? Having filed my tax return this past month, I am certain that I would find that study most instructive. Or at least, I think that the study would provide some stunning insight into the issue. Okay, maybe it wouldn’t give me insight into the issue, but it would be fun for a while.

I suspect that many of us wish we could be invited to participate in that study. However, we know intuitively that wealth is not the answer to life’s problems. In fact, wealth may have a spiritual cost beyond our ability to pay. I am convinced through study of God’s Word that exaggerated dependence upon anything that is created can only lead to disappointment. I know from reading accounts of individuals who won the lottery that sudden wealth can lead to great grief, as often happens to recipients of great wealth.

“I wish all of this never would have happened,” Jewel Whittaker said. “I wish I would have torn the ticket up.” Jewel was referring to the biggest win in United States history. Her husband, Jack, had won $314.9 million dollars on Christmas Day, 2002. Since that night, Jack and Jewel, and everyone around them, has been changed for worse.

One woman who was the recipient of Jack’s largess, stated, “It seems like money brings out the ugly in people.” Friends deserted the gregarious hillbilly from the hills of West Virginia. His granddaughter began using drugs. Her wealth, lavished on her by a doting grandfather, proved corrosive to friendships. The young woman and her entourage began partying wildly; drinking and drug use finally resulted in her death and in death for another young man of the group of “friends” that followed her around. Ultimately, Jewel left Jack, no longer able to tolerate the man he had become.

Among those whom Jack “cursed” with his wealth, was the church his wife had attended before his win. The local people call it the “Church of the Powerball.” But few locals attend, bitter toward the sudden wealth of the congregation and bitter toward Jack Whittaker who has become a foul-mouthed tyrant.[2]

Would we have fared better than Jack Whittaker with such wealth? Would any of us be able to wisely handle wealth? If we were suddenly the recipients of unimaginable wealth, would we be the same person? However much we think we would be unchanged, I suspect that the cautionary stance of the Word of God still holds true. We do well to remember Paul’s words concerning wealth and our desire to be rich.

We brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world. But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content. But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs [1 Timothy 6:7-10]. As Christians, we need to weigh the teaching of the Master who warned disciples that the deceitfulness of riches choke[s] the Word, and it proves unfruitful [Matthew 13:22].

The message today is a challenge to consider our drive to become wealthy. It is a challenge for us to think about what we intuitively know to be true—that true wealth cannot be measured by a balance sheet or by the size of a portfolio. The message today is a sober call to again consider the value of contentment. In order to discover these truths, weigh the words of the Wise Man.

An Admonition to be Discerning — Listen to the verses preceding our text. They set the context for all that we will consider.

When you sit down to eat with a ruler,

observe carefully what is before you,

and put a knife to your throat

if you are given to appetite.

Do not desire his delicacies,

for they are deceptive food.

[Proverbs 23:1-3]

The Wise Man is urging us to learn contentment. He is cautioning us to think about what is truly valuable in life. His words echo the Tenth Commandment: You shall not covet [Exodus 20:17]. These instructions anticipate an admonition found in the New Testament. Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for [God] has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you” [Hebrews 13:5]. The focus of Solomon’s words is contentment, which is to be taken as an expression of a discerning heart.

Discernment is translated from a common Hebrew term that is normally rendered into English as understanding. The word conveys the concept of knowledge, but it points to knowledge that is superior to the mere gathering of data. The idea behind the word is that it is necessary to know how to use the data one possesses. The word speaks of character, the ability to recognise what is good and the courage to pursue the good.

As an aside of considerable importance, God grants understanding according to His will [see Isaiah 29:14]. Nevertheless, discernment does not come automatically. According to the Psalms, one can pray for understanding.

Give me understanding, that I may keep your law

and observe it with my whole heart.

Your hands have made and fashioned me;

give me understanding that I may learn your commandments.

[Psalm 119:34, 73]

Although discernment is a gift from God [see Daniel 2:21], it does not come automatically. Understanding, or discernment, requires persistent diligence. If we will please God, we must work to obtain understanding and we must work to become discerning. In fact, one is at fault if he does not have discernment, and failure to have understanding incurs divine punishment [see Proverbs 2:1-15].

I am enjoying the excellent expositions of the Beatitudes that Sean is presenting each month. In a sense, Sean is reminding those of us who listen to his expositions that these blessings Jesus pronounced serve to demonstrate what it means to be discerning. We are to seek God, discovering what pleases Him, doing what honours Him. This is the essence of the opening words of Jesus sermon that day long ago in ancient Galilee.

How are we to pursue God? We are to be poor in spirit—holding the goods of this world lightly while esteeming as precious the treasures of Heaven. We are to recognise our paucity of soul, grieving over our wicked natures, and humbly submitting to God as Master of life. The discerning individual hungers and thirsts for righteousness. Because the understanding person seeks God, they will be merciful, pure in heart, and act as peacemakers. Consequently, such people can anticipate persecution for righteousness’ sake. To work at becoming such a person is to work to become discerning.

There is another facet of discernment that is illuminated through further appeal to Jesus’ words. You will recall that Jesus taught that no one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money [Matthew 6:24]. Why do you suppose that Jesus applied that final commentary? He is not saying that only money competes with God. The first commandment of the Decalogue clearly states, You shall have no other gods before Me [Exodus 20:3]. Certainly, that excludes exalting our desire for pleasure above God, just as our drive for popularity and our lust for position must not be advanced beyond our desire for God. However, in condemning exaltation of our desire for wealth, Jesus places His divine finger on the element that is most likely to lead us astray.

Wealth represents power. When you have money, you can make others do what you want. Jack Whittaker was transformed from a considerate, grandfatherly individual into an utterly lecherous old man who would offer women ten thousand dollars to strip to their underwear. Money, a great tool, becomes a corrupting force, when esteemed. Wealth represents pleasure since the rich go where they wish. Money is esteemed in this world as a mark of position. Therefore, though longing for these other aspects marking this fallen world, money is especially seductive, and the unwary are easily led astray. Therefore, Jesus warned that we cannot serve God and money.

I do not believe that God is saying that money has no place in life, but He is cautioning us to ensure that we assign wealth its proper place. That is the reason Solomon wrote, Don’t wear yourself out to get rich.[3] Agur, another writer of the Proverbs, pleads, Give me neither poverty nor riches [Proverbs 30:8]. The author clarifies his meaning when he says he wishes to be guilty neither of denying the Lord because he has enough, nor of stealing because he is poor. He is asking for contentment and the ability to labour with his hands and with his mind.

To eat the fruit of the labour of one’s hands is to be blessed [Psalm 128:2]. However, hands that refuse to labour are hands that are cursed by God [Proverbs 21:25]. God is teaching us that money must be viewed for what it truly is—a tool, a means of exchange that is limited to time. Money has no value beyond how we use it. This is why discernment is required in handling wealth. We must not begin to envy what another has, nor dwell upon what we don’t have, but rather we must act with heavenly wisdom.

What is interesting is that in the context of the passage, it is not money itself that is evil, but it is the pursuit of money. It is when we make wealth the summum bonum of life that we fall under the implicit condemnation of this particular proverb. The proverb is an explicit condemnation of gambling, in which an individual seeks to “get rich quick.” Whether spending money on Lotto 649©, or buying “Scratch and Win” tickets, or playing the ponies, the gambler is not discerning and demonstrates a lack of understanding. Likewise, the individual that is always looking for a better situation, dreaming of wealth instead of working to provide for present and future needs should take heed as result of reading this particular proverb.

In light of these comments, we would do well to consider another of the Proverbs.

Wealth gained hastily will dwindle,

but whoever gathers little by little will increase it.

[Proverbs 13:11]

Let me help you catch the impact of this proverb by reading from another translation.

Wealth from get-rich-quick schemes quickly disappears;

wealth from hard work grows.[4]

Another nuance conveyed by the Hebrew text is revealed in Peterson’s recent work.

Easy come, easy go,

but steady diligence pays off.[5]

I’m belabouring the point, but it is sufficiently important to stress what is neglected far too often. Better the steady accumulation of what is needful than the constant chasing after what is unlikely to happen. While it is true that the wealthy have challenges concerning godliness, this particular proverb is pointed directly at the hoi polloi—us.

As a boy, I would sometimes wish aloud for something I didn’t have—perhaps it was a baseball glove or some other item of sports equipment, perhaps it was an ice cream cone on a hot Kansas afternoon. My father had an earthy way of bringing me down to earth with a rather pointed challenge. He would say, “Spit in one hand and wish in the other. See which one gets full the quickest.” Perhaps some among us who spend much of their lives dreaming of wealth would do well to hear some similar caution. Work to become discerning, and use your money as a tool. Realise what it is and use it wisely.

The Transient Nature of Money — The text speaks of the transient nature of wealth. Contemporary values are terribly distorted. I cannot say that I like money, but I like what money can do. It is what money can do that has value. As I have already stated, and say again for emphasis, money is a tool, it is a means of barter. Money has no intrinsic value, rather it is simply a means permitting us to exchange labour for goods.

To say that Solomon was wealthy is like saying Bill Gates can afford a new house. In the synopsis of his life, a book we know as Ecclesiastes, he says of his wealth, I made great works. I built houses and planted vineyards for myself. I made myself gardens and parks, and planted in them all kinds of fruit trees. I made myself pools from which to water the forest of growing trees. I bought male and female slaves, and had slaves who were born in my house. I had also great possessions of herds and flocks, more than any who had been before me in Jerusalem. I also gathered for myself silver and gold and the treasure of kings and provinces. I got singers, both men and women, and many concubines, the delight of the children of man [Ecclesiastes 2:4-8].

Shortly, this fabulously wealthy man speaks of his observation about wealth. There is an evil that I have seen under the sun, and it lies heavy on mankind: a man to whom God gives wealth, possessions, and honour, so that he lacks nothing of all that he desires, yet God does not give him power to enjoy them, but a stranger enjoys them. This is vanity; it is a grievous evil [Ecclesiastes 6:1, 2].

A recent movie explored the life of Howard Hughes, another man who became unbelievably wealthy in the early part of the last century. He spent his final years isolated in a sterile room, catching flies and obsessing about cleanliness. His fingernails grew into grotesque claws and his hair was unkempt. His wealth was wasted on a futile attempt to extend life beyond what God allotted. Perhaps Solomon had someone just like Hughes in mind when he wrote those words that I just read. We like to say that the one who dies with the most toys wins. However, he is still dead.

It is somewhat like the account of a rich Texas oilman who loved his Cadillac so much that he directed that upon his death he was to be buried sitting in that Cadillac. The day of his death arrived and his instructions were followed precisely. A hole was dug in the ground. He was seated in that Cadillac, his right arm draped across the front seat and his left hand situated on the steering wheel. A crane lifted the Cadillac, with him ensconced in the front seat, and the car was manoeuvred into the grave.

As the crane lowered that unusual bier into the ground, one mourner exclaimed, “Man, that’s living!”

I worry whenever a Christian begins to focus on making money. I am not condemning diligence in labour, nor am I condemning hard work to ensure a job well done to the glory of God. I am, however, cautioning against making the pursuit of money, and especially the effort to “get rich quick,” the purpose for your life. This caution is not meant to discourage thrift, nor is it meant to warn against wise investment against future need.

John Wesley had three rules for money that merit full consideration. His first rule for money was Gain all you can. Perhaps that surprises you. Wesley was a preacher, and he did not earn much as a preacher. However, his writings were avidly purchased and read by many people during his lifetime. In some years, he earned as much as 1400 pounds and this in an era when a single man could live comfortably on thirty pounds. Clearly, Wesley knew something about earning money.

His second rule for money was Save all you can. This rule is not about stockpiling money, as you might imagine, but Wesley meant to give Christians pause over the way they spend their money. His advice is to “despise delicacy and variety, and be content with what plain nature requires.” Wesley saw how much good money could do, and he was pained to see to what uses money was actually put. “Lay nothing out,” cautioned Wesley, “to gratify the pride of life, to gain the admiration of men.’”

There’s nothing wrong with a Christian owning good things as result of hard work, or taking a restful vacation in a comfortable location. That’s what work, and saving some from your labour, permits you to do. But what priorities govern your life? We all remember the words of Jesus—Where your treasure is…[6] Wesley taught the need to be thoughtful in the distribution of wealth, to consider what was held.

The third rule for handling money was Give all you can. Wesley was generous to the needy and toward God’s work—generous to such an incredible extent that he seldom had more than one hundred pounds in his possession at a time. This so baffled the English Tax Commissioners that they investigated him in 1776, insisting that for a man of his income he must have silver dishes that he was not paying excise tax on. He wrote them, “I have two silver spoons at London and two at Bristol. This is all the plate I have at present, and I shall not buy any more while so many round me want bread.”

When John Wesley died in 1791, at the age of 87, the only money mentioned in his will was the coins found in his pockets and on his dresser. Most of the 30,000 pounds he had earned in his life had been given away. He wrote,

I cannot help leaving my books behind me whenever God calls me hence; but in every other respect, my own hands will be my executors.

In other words, Wesley himself put a control on his spending and he invested the rest in the cause of Christ.[7]

When Paul drafted the Ephesian letter, he included a gem that is frequently neglected among professing saints in this day. In order to capture the intensity of what he wrote, I read Peterson’s rendering. Get an honest job so that you can help others who can’t work [Ephesians 4:28].[8] No doubt, he could have spoken of those who were always in pursuit of easy money, and not just the thief!

Paul’s words are but a specific application of Jesus’ teaching concerning money. Jesus warned, Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also [Matthew 6:19-21].

On one occasion, a rich young man asked Jesus what was necessary to inherit eternal life. Jesus helped that young man to see that he already had a god—his wealth. The way Jesus accomplished this was to tell him to sell what he possessed and give to the poor, promising him treasure in heaven. Oh, and he was to follow Jesus. The young man went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions [read Matthew 19:16-21].

That young man exchanged treasure in heaven for earthly possessions. Before you judge this young man too harshly, ask whether your goods are being invested in eternity. You have but a short time to use the tool that God has entrusted to you—your wealth. Either you are honouring Him, glorifying Him through investing in winning souls and caring for the needy, or you are squandering a pittance on true wealth.

The Worth of Contentment — Be discerning! That is the first message Solomon gave to his son. Don’t depend on wealth! That is the second message the Wise Man delivered to his boy. There is a theme that underlies these two major points, and that is to learn to esteem contentment. Consider what constitutes real treasure.

From a purely human point of view, I suggest that most of us are ill equipped to make a valid assessment of what is truly valuable. Some think that beauty brings contentment, but I need only to remind you of the beautiful people of Hollywood. There are exceptions, undoubtedly, but it does seem that the constant exchange of partners is strong evidence of a lack of contentment. Multiple marriage as practised by so many contemporary starlets and stars is simply serial adultery, and it leads only to sorrow. Ultimately, companionship is of greater worth than is the futile pursuit of sexual gratification. Few of us could believe this to be true in our youth, but we discover it to be true as we age. Companionship is given; it cannot be purchased.

Solomon, a man who knew something about personal gratification, addressed this issue. This man had seven hundred wives and three hundred concubines [1 Kings 11:3]. The number of women surrounding this man is almost unbelievable. Nevertheless, listen to his assessment of what is truly valuable in Ecclesiastes 4:11, 12. If two lie together, they keep warm, but how can one keep warm alone? And though a man might prevail against one who is alone, two will withstand him—a threefold cord is not quickly broken. Companionship counts!

Instead of climbing over those who are weaker as we advance our own interest, most of us one day awake to realise that what is truly valuable is friendship. As we become more important, those about us often use us to advance themselves, just as too often we used others to advance ourselves. The brightest lights draw the most moths.

Elvis Presley questioned the loyalty of “friends” because he knew that many hung around hoping that some of the glamour of his world would rub off. Mae Borden Axton, resident of Henderson, Tennessee, wrote Elvis’s first major hit, “Heartbreak Hotel.” She wrote the following account of a visit to Elvis when he was once hospitalised.

“I felt like a mother to Elvis. I had known Gladys, his mother, and maybe that has to do with why I felt that way. In that last year, he was sick so much of the time, and in April, he was hospitalized and his Daddy called me and asked would I come to see him. Well, I got there, Elvis was lying in the bed, and he looked so sick and awful. And he took my hand and I sat on a chair next to the bed. And I never will forget what he said. He said, ‘Mae, I’ve been everywhere and I haven’t seen anything. I’ve met a million people and I have no friends.’”[9]

Friendship is a treasure that is too often lightly esteemed. We need to heed the words of Jesus. I tell you, make friends for yourselves by means of unrighteous wealth, so that when it fails they may receive you into the eternal dwellings [Luke 16:9].

Of course, family counts. Too often, we take family for granted, because we can. W. A. Criswell told the story of a Kentucky hog farmer. He was not a wealthy man, but he was driven to make more money. His wife, a simple farm woman, often asked him for money to buy some gingham cloth to make herself a new dress. However, that farmer wouldn’t give her the money. He had to have the money to buy more hogs, so he could make more money to buy more hogs.

In time, that farmer’s wife died and was buried, and the farmer was left alone. One day soon after the funeral, friends noted that he wasn’t home. He was absent throughout the day, and at nightfall, his friends went looking for him.

They found him at the cemetery, kneeling at his wife’s tomb. They saw that he had draped her tombstone with roll after roll of gingham cloth. He did not value his wife’s wishes in life, but he would try to supply them in death. How very like so many of us who save so that another may profit. Surely, we should invest money in family.

Solomon also addressed this vexing issue when he wrote, I hated all my toil in which I toil under the sun, seeing that I must leave it to the man who will come after me, and who knows whether he will be wise or a fool? Yet he will be master of all for which I toiled and used my wisdom under the sun. This also is vanity. So I turned about and gave my heart up to despair over all the toil of my labours under the sun, because sometimes a person who has toiled with wisdom and knowledge and skill must leave everything to be enjoyed by someone who did not toil for it. This also is vanity and a great evil [Ecclesiastes 2:18-21].

These past two weeks, Lynda and I have relearned this lesson in painful fashion. Summer plans have been reassessed as we reconfirmed what we really value. We had planned extensive work on our yard this summer. All that changed with one phone call. Lynda and I have decided that money is worthless if not spent. What matters is our child, and what better way to use our money than to assist our child. Whatever funds we possess and all our plans become meaningless if we lost our child.

Similarly, I have endeavoured to always be generous toward the work of Christ. Though I invest moneys in care of this body, I know that it is destined for dust. Nevertheless, out of the dust of this broken body, God has promised to give me a new body that is not subject to the same weakness of this dying body. Therefore, I make every effort to invest what I can gain with this body in what is coming.

From the eternal perspective, neither companionship, friendship nor family endure. All that endures is our relationship to God through Christ Jesus our Lord. Understand that there will be no “friends” in hell. It is only in God’s presence that we will at last know as we are known [see 1 Corinthians 13:12]. There will be no camaraderie in hell. Only in the presence of the Living God will we share fully. At last, the only family that will endure is the Family of God.

I m bold in this assertion because I truly desire that each individual sharing this service will be included in that Family. I am closing this message with an admonition. I am pleading with you to believe that only in Christ will be find contentment and peace. Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you [John 14:27], was the Master’s promise. This is what you must do if you will discover His peace.

If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. … For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved” [Romans 10:9, 10, 13]. Amen.

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[2] See April Witt, Rich Man, Poor Man, washingtonpost.com, January 30, 2005, http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A36338-2005Jan25?language=printerm, accessed 14 April 2005

[3] Holman Christian Standard Bible (Broadman & Holman, Nashville, TN, 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003)

[4] Holy Bible, New Living Translation (Tyndale House, Wheaton, IL 1996)

[5] Eugene H. Peterson, The Message: The Bible in Contemporary Language (NavPress, Colorado Springs, CO 2003)

[6] See Wesley K. Willmer and Martyn Smith, God and Your Stuff (NavPress, Colorado Springs, CO 2002)

[7] Mission Frontiers, Sept./Oct., 1994, No. 9-10, pp. 23-24, cited by John Piper, Toward the Tithe and Beyond: How God Funds His Work, http://www.soundofgrace.com/piper95/09-10-95.htm, accessed 28 May 2005

[8] Eugene Peterson, op. cit.

[9] Elizabeth Kaye, No Happy Elvis Stories, http://www.aliciapatterson.org/APF0406/Kaye/Kaye.html, accessed 28 May 2005