Money verses Wealth

I have written about money and wealth before. This time I want to compare two seemingly contradictory statements in the Bible.

Ecclesiastes 7:12 says that “money is a protection.” In contrast, Proverbs 18:11 states: “The wealth of the rich is his fortified city; It is like a protective wall in his imagination.” How can money be a protection and yet that protection be only a fake imagination?

I intentionally only partially quoted Ecclesiastes. The whole verse reads “Wisdom is a protection just as money is a protection, but the advantage of knowledge is this: Wisdom preserves the life of its owner.” While money may be able to buy medical aid, it cannot prevent us from dying. We cannot save ourselves or anyone else from death. Really, monetary wealth can literally disappear overnight. But the one who has gained an appreciation for having a solid relationship with their creator can result in true peace of mind that no one can rob away from us. Even if we die, we do so in full confidence that Jehovah can raise us back to life and do away with death forever.

So money does have benefits—it helps us provide an honest living for ourselves and families; affords us the opportunity to help others; provides for wholesome recreation, and much more. But gaining money, especially unnecessary “wealth” is not something to pursue ahead of our relationship with our Creator.

Contentment, A Mark of A Mature Person

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Search Google for the keywords “money” and “happiness” (or unhappiness), and you’ll find polar differences in opinions. There are those that, from experience, realize that money and the things it can buy really do not “make” people happy. I realize this more every day when I read online posts by those intent on having the latest mobile phone. I’ve been reading and contributing to a few sites for enough years to know that every year, those that felt that the latest and greatest would make them happy are, just a few months or maybe a year later, dissatisfied and no longer happy with their phone. It is not that their current phone is defective, it is just not the latest/greatest on the market.

People of that sort actually demonstrate the truth of the statement that money and the things it can buy do not, cannot, and will not ever buy real/true happiness. If a person were truly happy with what they have, they wouldn’t become so quickly and easily discontented. It really is a vicious cycle that is akin to a dog chasing its own tail—even if it catches itself, it eventually has to let go in order to catch it again. (Admittedly, in my own experience, my happiness with a product lasted up to the point that the next model came along.)

In contrast to this is Jesus’ observation that insatiable greed does nothing to extend a person’s life. Hence, the Bible advises true Christians to be free of the love of money. Contentment is one real key to true happiness that is not short-lived. Once a person realizes that chasing the never-ending, insatiable desire for the “next best thing” actually doesn’t have any ability to make one truly happy, they can start to live a contented life.

However, does being content mean that you will never want to treat yourself? No, it doesn’t. But the difference is akin to a donkey being led by a carrot dangled on a stick in front of its face as opposed to a donkey being fed at the appointed meal time. Is what we want just desire built by marketing or is it something we truly need and can put to use?

Based on the two aforementioned scriptures, mature Christians should weigh carefully why they feel they need and how they will be benefited by whatever it is they have their eyes set on.

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Money, Is It Evil?

A couple decades ago there was a TV preacher whose slogan was something along the line “Money is evil, therefore send your money to me.” Besides the obvious misquoting of scripture, there was a total lack of intelligence in that slogan. Stop and think: If money were truly evil, why in the world would God want something evil? He doesn't, but that money-loving, scripture-twisting preacher knew that many people didn't know their Bible.

Today, money-loving preachers abound and, unfortunately, because they claim to represent God and the Bible, give a very bad name to both. But what does the Bible itself say about money? What about the intentionally misquoted passage I mentioned at the outset?

In 1Timothy 6:9-10 we read that the “love of money” (the insatiable desire to be rich) is what true Christians are warned against. What about money itself? Ecclesiastes 7:12 says that it has value as a “protection.” How can money be a protection? Proverbs 30:8,9 gives a bit of insight here. In part it says that having sufficiency can keep us humble, satisfied, and discourage theft based on hunger. (Note the “New Living Translation” here.) Yes, it can protect us from defaming our God through wrong action and it can help us make an honest living, providing for ourselves and families with a good conscience.

So money itself is not evil. However, the insatiable pursuit of it can be if we shove aside not only good morals and ethical living, but develop a “I will stop at nothing in order to get rich” mentality.

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