Honest vs. Dishonest
(Prov 13:11 NIV) Dishonest money dwindles away, but he who gathers money little by little makes it grow.
This morning we continue our series, In this verse Solomon differentiates between the wealth attained by honest means and hard work, from the wealth attained dishonestly. Growing up in Brooklyn I knew quite a few individuals who attained wealth dishonestly and illegally.
I knew one person, who sold drugs for years, who routinely earned $50,000 a week. Solomon’s words are a perfect description of his life. Although he made absorbent amounts of money, it seemed like he never had any. He was a compulsive gambler who thought nothing of placing a $20,000 or $30,000 wager on a baseball game, or at the poker table. Week after week, no matter how much he made, he seemed to find creative ways to spend it all.
Now, many years later, he has nothing. He was a married man with two beautiful daughters, but his marriage did not survive his roller-coaster lifestyle. He has no money, no family (with the exception of 2 dogs), and seemingly no future.
Theologian Matthew Henry, when commenting on this verse said, “This shows that riches wear as they are won and woven. That which is won ill will never wear well, for a curse attends it which will waste it, and the same corrupt dispositions which incline men to the sinful ways of getting well incline them to the like sinful ways of spending.”
Were I am currently working I a person who seems to have attained his wealth dishonestly. Soon after meeting him he began to tell me how much money he once had. And after describing the small fortune he once enjoyed, he began to describe the series of calamities he experienced as he seemingly lost it all.
This reminds me of the words of Jeremiah, where he said: “The person who gets money dishonestly is like a bird that hatches eggs it didn't lay. In the prime of life he will lose his riches, and in the end he is nothing but a fool” (17:11).
The Hebrew word for bless is barak (baw-rak). The Hebrew word for create is bara (baw-raw). I heard a preacher once say that God only baras what He baraks; meaning, God only blesses what He creates. The Father will only back, protect, and bless the things He leads you to do.
When you get out there on your own, in the realm of the dishonest and the illegal, then you are exactly that, on your own. Where He leads, He feeds. Where He guides, He provides. But when you are not walking with Him, you have to face all that comes – whether it be the temptation to do wrong, or calamity – on your own.
So what does this mean to you? It means God is interested in every area of your life. He is concerned with your relationships, health, development as a person, progress towards arriving at your destiny, and your money. He is not against you getting ahead.
As a matter of fact, He wants you to get ahead. He wants to bless the work of your hands. Some of the greatest characters of the Bible were extremely wealthy. A poverty-stricken believer will have a hard time focusing on meeting the needs of others.
So no, the Father is not against wealth, but He is completely against seeking wealth the wrong way.
Father, I want You to bless the work of my hands. I want Your blessing upon me as I enter this day and every day. Therefore, I declare, by faith, that I will seek to do things in a way that is pleasing in your sight. I resist every temptation and invitation to do things illegally, immorally, and dishonestly. I walk upright before you and I trust that I will be the better for it. I know that I can get ahead financially, and in every other area of my life, by doing things Your way. As I seek to do things right today, I ask You to walk with me and to barak all that I do! In Jesus’ name. Amen!
(Prov 13:11 NIV) Dishonest money dwindles away, but he who gathers money little by little makes it grow.
This morning we continue our series, In this verse Solomon differentiates between the wealth attained by honest means and hard work, from the wealth attained dishonestly. Growing up in Brooklyn I knew quite a few individuals who attained wealth dishonestly and illegally.
I knew one person, who sold drugs for years, who routinely earned $50,000 a week. Solomon’s words are a perfect description of his life. Although he made absorbent amounts of money, it seemed like he never had any. He was a compulsive gambler who thought nothing of placing a $20,000 or $30,000 wager on a baseball game, or at the poker table. Week after week, no matter how much he made, he seemed to find creative ways to spend it all.
Now, many years later, he has nothing. He was a married man with two beautiful daughters, but his marriage did not survive his roller-coaster lifestyle. He has no money, no family (with the exception of 2 dogs), and seemingly no future.
Theologian Matthew Henry, when commenting on this verse said, “This shows that riches wear as they are won and woven. That which is won ill will never wear well, for a curse attends it which will waste it, and the same corrupt dispositions which incline men to the sinful ways of getting well incline them to the like sinful ways of spending.”
Were I am currently working I a person who seems to have attained his wealth dishonestly. Soon after meeting him he began to tell me how much money he once had. And after describing the small fortune he once enjoyed, he began to describe the series of calamities he experienced as he seemingly lost it all.
This reminds me of the words of Jeremiah, where he said: “The person who gets money dishonestly is like a bird that hatches eggs it didn't lay. In the prime of life he will lose his riches, and in the end he is nothing but a fool” (17:11).
The Hebrew word for bless is barak (baw-rak). The Hebrew word for create is bara (baw-raw). I heard a preacher once say that God only baras what He baraks; meaning, God only blesses what He creates. The Father will only back, protect, and bless the things He leads you to do.
When you get out there on your own, in the realm of the dishonest and the illegal, then you are exactly that, on your own. Where He leads, He feeds. Where He guides, He provides. But when you are not walking with Him, you have to face all that comes – whether it be the temptation to do wrong, or calamity – on your own.
So what does this mean to you? It means God is interested in every area of your life. He is concerned with your relationships, health, development as a person, progress towards arriving at your destiny, and your money. He is not against you getting ahead.
As a matter of fact, He wants you to get ahead. He wants to bless the work of your hands. Some of the greatest characters of the Bible were extremely wealthy. A poverty-stricken believer will have a hard time focusing on meeting the needs of others.
So no, the Father is not against wealth, but He is completely against seeking wealth the wrong way.
Father, I want You to bless the work of my hands. I want Your blessing upon me as I enter this day and every day. Therefore, I declare, by faith, that I will seek to do things in a way that is pleasing in your sight. I resist every temptation and invitation to do things illegally, immorally, and dishonestly. I walk upright before you and I trust that I will be the better for it. I know that I can get ahead financially, and in every other area of my life, by doing things Your way. As I seek to do things right today, I ask You to walk with me and to barak all that I do! In Jesus’ name. Amen!
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