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. Proverbs 23:4-5
“I can imagine that many wished they had learned this truth before the economy started to decline [in recent years]. If only more Christians would see that their future is not secure in investments, 401Ks, or even in silver and gold, but in storing up treasures in heaven.
I was recently speaking at a conference in one of the more affluent areas of our nation. Yet even in this wealthy community I saw fear and insecurity. I learned that one multi-millionaire had lost millions of dollars and had only eight million remaining. Thinking he had no hope, he took his life.
My heart goes out to his family, but can you see how his reality had become distorted? He viewed his money as his god, and when his god began to dwindle, so also did his hope. That is why the Scriptures teach us not to trust in the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly gives us all things to enjoy.
It is certain that we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out–except for people. Let us invest our lives in our families and in endeavors that influence others to store up treasures in heaven.”
Mark Hamby in Lamplighter Moment daily email for 16 July 2014.
As Hamby notes, the only right activities linked to money are enjoyment, sharing, and trusting in God to provide it. Any other way of life leads to fear, insecurity, and hopelessness. May God help us “be discerning enough to detest” as the writer of this proverb notes. Together we can show the world that the alternative to fear-filled insecurity is hope-filled trust in God.