Throughout Proverbs 11 there are a sprinkling of good money related verses:
V.1 “A false balance is an abomination to the Lord, but a just weight is his delight.”
V.4 “Riches do not profit in the day of wrath, but righteousness delivers from death.”
V.18 “The wicked earns deceptive wages, but one who sows righteousness gets a sure reward.”
V.24 “One gives freely, yet grows all the richer; another withholds what he should give, and only suffers want.”
V.28 “Whoever trusts in his riches will fall, but the righteous will flourish like a green leaf.”
There’s an old saying, “The ends justify the means.” This comes up in politics a lot lately as a justification for lying, cheating and even threatening violence in order to gain power. The same false rationale also comes up regarding money. In politics we can say we want power in order to enforce righteousness, “Surely God must want that!” With money we can say, “Well, with a lot of money I can take better care of my family, give to worthy charities and have a larger tithe at church. Surely God must want that!” Well, as Micah 6:8 says, “He has told you, oh man, what is good, and what does the Lord require of you, but to do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with your God.” None of those three things requires political power or money. And the God who created everything that exists and knows the end of all history is really not impressed by our power and He doesn’t need our money. He wants our hearts.
In Galatians 6:7-8, The Apostle Paul tells us, “Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap. For the one who sows to his own flesh, will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life.” What we do, the choices we make, how we acquire or spend money, all reveal the state of our hearts. While we might be able to lie to ourselves and others about the motives of our heart, God is not mocked or fooled. “A false balance” (corrupt business practices), “deceptive wages” (submitting a padded time sheet or expense account, and lying on our tax return), withholding from those in need in our city, country and world, and trusting in our stock portfolio or 401k (in a sense “building bigger barns,” like the rich fool in Luke 12) are all ways of trusting in our riches (v.28).
In Luke 16:13, Jesus reminds his listeners, “No servant can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.” When I was a new Christian more than forty years ago, an old preacher told me something that has stuck with me – “You never see a U-Haul following a hearse to the cemetery.” So let God work in and through your heart more than you work on your bank account. Or as Jesus says, “. . .where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Matthew 6:21).