Money with Wings (Proverbs 23:4-5)

Here we go with riches again. Remember, I have stated more times than I can recall, the Lord does not necessarily want us to be poor, He just wants our focus to be on Him alone.

"Weary not yourself to be rich; cease from this your own wisdom. Will you set your eyes upon wealth, when [suddenly] it is gone? For riches certainly make themselves wings, like an eagle that flies toward the heavens." Proverbs 23:4-5, Amplified

Riches are one of those things that promises everything but delivers little. I do not know how many times that my wife and I have gotten ahead and had a little stored away when something happens that takes it all. I mean thank God we had it, but the Lord always wants our focus to be upon Him. It was never the money that took care of the problem, it was the Lord who used to money to take care of the problem.

Spongebob is a Teaching Tool? (Proverbs 19:4)

There are many different verses in the book of Proverbs that happen to deal with money. I think I have made myself perfectly clear on where I stand with money. I like money. I wish I had more of it. However, need can quickly turn to want and that desire for more can corrupt the heart.

"Wealth makes many friends, but the poor is avoided by his neighbor." Proverbs 19:4, Amplified

The concept of wealth making many friends is something that is easily understood by many different types of persons. Even children understand this concept. I remember watching a Spongebob episode where he had sold a large pearl to a jeweler. Eventually, he had so much money he was just giving it away. New faces emerged as dedicated friends. But as soon as the money ran out, the new friends were gone. But Patrick still remained.

Forgive me for using Spongebob as a teaching tool, but I felt the spirit of the episode fit so neatly within the confines of the subject of the verse. Even watching shows on E! about people who have won the lottery and the new friends they received from the new found fortune.

There is a friendship however, that goes deeper than wealth and actually finds the wealth of the soul. Jesus knows the real person of who I am. No amount of money will change that. My wife would not love me more if I had more money, nor would my children. There are friends who would not be affected by money. But I know right now I have great friends for I have nothing to give but myself.

Love Thy Neighbor (Proverbs 14:20-21)

The Bible commands us that we are to love our neighbor. These Scriptures tell us the same thing, but come with a warning.

"The poor is hated even by his own neighbor, but the rich has many friends." Proverbs 14:20, Amplified

The man with money has many superficial friends. Everyone wants to be close to him because they love the smell of money. A man with money is a man with means. But the poor man can do nothing for himself, let alone for someone else.

"He who despises his neighbor sins [against God, his fellow man and himself], but happy - blessed and fortunate - is he who is kind and merciful to the poor." Proverbs 14:21, Amplified

We are commanded to love our neighbor by Jesus Himself. The question is asked who are neighbor is and the Lord tells the parable of the Good Samaritan. Everyone is our neighbor in the eyes of the Lord. We are to love them despite skin color, race, religion or monetary value. If we turn our back on our neighbor then we are sinning.

I have to admit, I question the people sitting on the side of the of ramps of the freeways with signs. Beggars have admittedly stated that they make quite a bit of money on the side of the road. My father told me of a time that he watched as a couple he saw everyday day, begging, on his way to work get into a Beemer.

Remember the Bible never commands us to give them money, it tells us not to despise them. If you see a man, or woman, and are compelled to give money then do it. But we can also pray for those people, we can offer them a meal. There are plenty of things that we can do as a Christian to show love love of Christ.

Monies Gained (Proverbs 13:11)

It seems that everyone in the past was trying to make an honest buck. Of late, that honest buck has turned in to a fast buck. Scams and other means of gaining that money have come about to get that money deceitfully. That money will not last.

"Wealth [not earned] but won in haste, or unjustly, or from the production of things for vain or detrimental use, [such riches] will dwindle away; but he who gathers little by little will increase them." Proverbs 13:11, Amplified

What is trying o be conveyed here is that an unjust or hasty gain of fortune will not last. I am talking about the up and coming star who finds himself in a lot of cash. One who did not have has no idea how to handle the fortune. Parties, drugs, booze, women is how the fortune dwindles away. I know this because I have a friend who did this. Lance Kerwin became famous from his hit television show, James at 15. He was also in the Steven King film, Salem's Lot. Fortune overtook Lance, and he became a user and an abuser, he lost it all. Lance landed in a rehab facility where I happened to be. Now he is a youth pastor in Temecula, California.

But if you take someone like Donald Trump, who gained his vast fortune little by little understands how to deal with the money that they have received. If someone knows how to save a $100, then the know how to save $1,000. If they know how to save $1,000 then they know how to save $500,000.

The Lord wants us to be good stewards of what we have. If we are faithful in little, He will entrust us with more. This is not to say that He will give us $500,000. Be a good steward of the money that you have. Save a little, spend less and that nest egg will begin to grow. This is not a theological concept, it is economical. The Lord uses the logical things of this world to bless His children. Does He want us to be rich? Maybe. But for now, be faithful to Him with what you already have and not with what you want.