Principles from proverbs

The bible and money

19 April 2009

Proverbs 3:1-10

Introduction

Here are some Principles from Proverbs about the use of money. But first a few short verses -

The rich man has his limousine
His country and his town estate
He owns a digital TV
And jeers at fate.

He frivols through the livelong day
He knows not poverty nor pain
His lot seems light, he drinks latte,
He lives on gain.

Yet though my lamp burns low and dim
Though I must slave for livelihood
Think you that I would change with him?
You bet I would!
Well, maybe, maybe not.

Here are some principles from Proverbs to think about.

1. Put God first (3:9-10)

The ‘firstfruits’ are his. The OT harvest festival began with the offering of the first of the crop (Exodus 23:16; Lev 23:9-21). It was ‘a statute forever’ to remind them of the priority of God’s kingdom.
This applies to all of life, of course. If we really believe that God is God than this is obvious. Either he is God or he isn’t. And if he is, then by definition, he comes first. Otherwise, he is not God.
Jesus taught this – he urged us to make the kingdom of God a priority. (Matt 6:33).
It certainly applies to what we do with our money. God has first claim on it. Hence, giving to God ‘honours’ him (9).

2. Get your values straight (3:13-16)

People put a lot of value on money.
Some have more than their share. For example, Sylvester Stallone earned $10 million per Rocky movie plus a percentage of the profits. One commentator wrote: ‘No one can say he didn't earn his money... for Rocky Four he went through more than 200 rounds in the ring. He took some terrible blows and put his own health at risk. At one point he even went to hospital.’ Poor chap. And all he got was a measly $10 million.
Twenty years ago, Clint Eastwood was receiving $5 million per film, Robert Redford $4 million and Bill Cosby $6 million per annum. Consider also the enormous sums earned by champions of sport. And have pity on Adelaide investor Con Polites— with $55 million he was only 152nd richest person in Australia in 1990.
In 2003, the Rolling Stones charged $13 million for one private concert. Celine Dion came cheaper at only $6.5 million, while Elton John at $2.6 million and Bob Dylan at $1 million were a relative bargain.
Nicole Kidman is possibly the highest paid female actress with some $17 million a film and an annual income of more than $25 million. Mel Gibson earns an estimated $185 million per annum – a figure which it looks like he might need in the near future.
In the year June 2007 to June 2008, Kylie Minogue earned a mere A$40 million. But the Wiggles did even better with an income of some A$45 million.
By contrast, Australian parliamentarians have a base salary of just under $130,000 plus allowances and the PM earns something over $300,000. The base salary for a UC minister is just over $45K plus housing and travel allowances.

But wisdom is worth far more than money.
See also 4:7; 8:11; 15:16; 16:16; 17:16.
See James 3:13-17. Wisdom is universal in value. It is not a synonym for intelligence or academic excellence. Even a child can be wise. Wisdom is humble, pure, peace-loving, gentle, submissive, full or mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere.
The value of such qualities is beyond measure.
Consider the Asian view of education: to give children a good education is to give them something that can never be taken away from them. This also applies to wisdom.

3. Work hard (6:6-11)

Here is a sluggard – lying under a tree, dozing when he should be working. In contemporary terms he is snoozing at the office desk, or playing computer games. Or maybe in Hyde Park taking an extended lunch break. Or lying in bed on Sunday mornings too sleepy to rise and worship.
But poverty will come upon him like a bandit, sneaking up and then springing on him without warning. A bit like the current recession.
See also 10:4-5; 24:30-34; 27:23.

4. Be business-minded (24:27)

In other words, use your money productively. Invest in ways that will enable you to do more, not less. Provide for the future (Proverbs 6:6ff).
Consider those who think it is wrong to invest in property or to money in the bank or to have superannuation or insurance policies because these are all expressions of lack of faith in God. It is true that we must trust God for our daily bread (as in the Lord’s Prayer), but this does not mean we should not be wise in our use of the resources God gives us.
This also applies to the management of a church. Hence our Planned Giving Covenant program – it gives both you and the Congregation a means of careful, planned giving.
The Planned Giving Covenant enables is to promise to give a certain amount each week for the work of WIC. You can do this in several ways –

You can put your pledged amount in the offering each week
You can use the weekly envelopes that we provide for this purpose
You can authorize a monthly direct debit from your credit card

Next Sunday we will invite you to complete a pledge card and return it to us. Your pledge will be confidential. Of course, this is just between you and God – if for some reason you cannot keep your pledge, you are free to withhold it. Or you can increase it. However, generally we believe that this is a way I which we can ensure that we give thoughtfully, faithfully and reliably to the Lord.
It is also important for us to know the total of what people are proposing to do so we can then plan our WIC budget wisely and well.

5. God blesses generosity (3:10)

See also 10:22; 11:24-25; 22:9; 28:22; 28:27
When we renovated our new College property at Unley Park, South Australia, in 1980, we discovered a framed picture under which were the words of Proverbs 10:22. We had cause to claim that promise many times in the years that followed as we had constant financial challenges.
God blesses generosity. See Proverbs 19:17. Giving to the poor is like lending to the Lord. It is making a sound investment. The Lord will repay. [Although sometimes it would be nice if the dividends were paid a bit sooner!]
Wesley Mission is an example of this with its widespread ministry to the poor.

Challenge

When we are challenged to give, we need to ask, Where do our true values lie?
I hope you will be faithful to God’s Word in the way you give.

Something to think or talk about

See the sermons section for helpful notes on this passage. You don’t have to answer all the questions: choose those that seem most relevant.

Biblical

What do you think verse three means?
There are five sets of instructions in verses 1 to 10. What is the outcome of obeying each set?
Re-write verses 9 and 10 in 21st Century language.
What is the principle behind 9b? (Compare Matthew 6:33)
Read 3:13-18. Why is the gain from wisdom more than the value of money?
Read 3:27 and 28. What principles do we learn here about our use of money? Consider both our responsibility to others and our responsibility to God.

Personal and practical
In what practical ways can we ‘honour the Lord’ with our money? (9)
Imagine you are asked to show God a detailed statement of what you have done with your income over the last month. Make a rough list now. What would you change if you could and why?
There is an old saying, ‘Give a man a fish and he will eat for a day; teach him how to fish and he will eat for a life-time.’ Which verses in this passage express this truth in a different way? How can we apply this principle in how we give to the needy? (Be practical here.)
Read 3:21-26. How does this passage relate to your financial position today?

Christian Life