Wisdom For Your Wealth
Sermon Notes
Intro:
Today we’re continuing our teaching series on a book of the bible called Proverbs, which is about gaining practical wisdom for everyday life, and today we’re talking about our wealth. We’re talking about gaining practical wisdom when it comes to our wealth, and immediately some of you are ready to put the ear plugs in. I know that because it’s how I used to think when I was an atheist and wasn’t a pastor. I hated when churches talked about money and wealth. But we need to talk about it for two reasons. 1st we need to talk about it because God talks about it, and 2ndbecause there’s a money idol in our hearts causing all kinds of burdens, anxieties, discontentment in our lives. One of the reasons God talks about our wealth so much is because He wants to free us from the burdens it’s creating in our lives. But if the church talking about money is such a hindrance to you, then don’t give to our church. I’m serious when I say that, because I care way more about discussing the money idol in your heart than the money in your pockets. I care way more about discussing the money idol in your heart, that’s creating burdens and discontentment in your life. Proverbs says a lot of things about our money and wealth, and the things it says isn’t to crush or guilt us, it’s to liberate us. So, let’s turn to Proverbs 30 and get into it. You’ll find Proverbs in the middle of your bible, and we’ll start in Proverbs 30:7-9. The title of today’s message is Wisdom with Your Wealth, and the big idea is there’s more freedom in scattering than gathering.
Context:
Here’s your context. These proverbs come from King Solomon who’s considered one of the most famous, wealthiest, wisest kings in history. Historically people traveled from all over the world to gain from his wisdom, and today we’ll draw from his wisdom when it comes to our wealth. We’ll draw from several of his proverbs to gain a more wholistic view of his wisdom on wealth, and as we do, we’ll learn 6 wise principles about our wealth. Here’s the first.
Principle #1 There are dangers in both poverty and wealth
Proverbs 30:7-9 states, “Two things I ask of you; don’t deny them to me before I die: Keep falsehood and deceitful words far from me. Give me neither poverty nor wealth; feed me with the food I need. 9 Otherwise, I might have too much and deny you, saying, ‘Who is the Lord?’ or I might have nothing and steal, profaning the name of my God.” This is actually the only prayer in the book of Proverbs, it’s the prayer of Agur who Solomon doesn’t say much about. But the truth in this prayer is still true for us today. Agur prays “Lord don’t make me too rich or too poor,” because the truth is there’s dangers in both poverty and wealth. For example, vs. 9 says one of the dangers of poverty is it can tempt you to steal. It can tempt you to steal from your employer by taking company supplies, relaxing on company time, using an expense account on things that aren’t work related because you feel you deserve it. Another danger of poverty is it can cause you to covet the wealth of the rich, make you bitter towards the rich, or even make you think you’re being more holy and spiritual by having less worldly possessions than the rich.
But notice vs. 9 also addresses the dangers of being wealthy. It says your wealth might cause you to deny the Lord or deny you even need the Lord. The more money you make and the more successful you are, the more in danger you are of being proud and overconfident. It can cause you to think your wealth and success is based on your own gifted abilities, instead of based on the Lord who gifted you with those abilities. I mean you did absolutely nothing to create the DNA in your body allowing you to have the talent and intelligence to do what you do, so any success you have comes from the Lord gifting you with the DNA to do it. But another danger of being wealthy is it can corrupt your integrity. It’s amazing how much money can change people, causing them to engage in unethical business practices like overcharging customers, underpaying employees, fudging the numbers, cheating the system just to climb the corporate ladder or make a profit. Wealth can corrupt your integrity. The point is there’s dangers in both poverty and wealth, which is why Agur prays “Lord don’t make me too rich or too poor.” He doesn’t want to have so little that he loses trust in the Lord’s provision or have so much that he forgets his need for the Lord’s provision. In the words of Jesus, “Give us this day, our daily bread.” In the words of Paul in 1st Timothy 6, “If we have food and clothing, we will be content with these.” One of our codes here at City Awakening is we want to “live contently, give generously, to reach more missionally.” When you’re content with the Lord’s provision, it frees you from the dangers of wealth and poverty, but also frees you to be more generous towards God’s mission.
Principle #2 View both the rich and poor as equals.
Proverbs 22:2 states, “Rich and poor have this in common: the Lord makes them all.” Both rich and poor have this in common, they’ve been created by the Lord, created in the imago dei, created in the image of God, and so they’re to be viewed and treated with equal worth, value, and dignity. But the problem is we tend to glamorize the rich and demoralize the poor. We tend to put the rich on pedestals, magazines, and episodes of MTV cribs watching in awe over their theater rooms and infinity pools. We tend to look up to the rich, and down at the poor. But on the flip side sometimes the poor try shaming the rich, they try making the rich feel guilty for being rich. This proverb’s teaching us the rich shouldn’t look down at the poor and the poor shouldn’t try shaming the rich, because both come from the same Creator. We might dress differently, live differently, spend money differently, but underneath all the dollars and cents we’re of the same anatomical essence. We’ve all been created by God, in the image of God, and struggle to live life without the help of God. Both the rich and poor face struggles in life, face sins and situations that no amount of money can ever overcome. We need the help of our Creator. So, if you’re rich have compassion for the poor, instead of looking down at the poor. If you’re poor have compassion for the rich, instead of looking up at the rich or shaming the rich. Don’t view each other based on economic statuses like the world does, instead view each other as equal statuses like God does.
Principle #3 Don’t try to keep up with your neighbors.
Proverbs 13:7 states, “One person pretends to be rich but has nothing; another pretends to be poor but has abundant wealth.” Okay so I don’t know about you, but I don’t know a lot of rich people pretending to be poor...I know some rich people who are humble and generous, but I don’t know of any pretending to be poor. I mean most rich people I know love to show off their wealth with big houses, nice cars, and Instagram posts of their 1st class flights to Tahiti. I don’t know any rich people driving a Prius. Nothing against a Prius, they’re great on gas. Zack rented me a Prius one time when I was preaching somewhere. I’m 6’3, weigh 200 lbs., and he rented me a Prius. I had to drive it up a mountain and almost got stuck. But I don’t have issues with a Prius, I’m just saying most rich people are choosing a Tesla over a Prius. You don’t see a lot of rich people driving economy cars, flying economy class, living in doublewides pretending to be poor.
But what you do see is a lot of poor and middle-class people, pretending to be rich when they really aren’t. This is especially true right now with all the lower interest rates and stimulus checks. People are buying all kinds of new gadgets, toys, remodeling their homes, which makes it very tempting for us to do the same. It’s always tempting to want to keep up with the Joneses! A lot of times we don’t even realize we’re trying to keep up with the Joneses, because the desire starts so quiet and subtle. It starts so quiet and subtle with us riding in our friend’s car, enjoying the luxury of their car, and then we start thinking we need a new car. We see our friend’s home, see a few episodes of Fixer Upper, then we start thinking we need to do our own Fixer Upper. As a result, you end up living house rich, but cash poor...A lot of people are living house rich, but they’re really cash poor. The wisdom in this proverb is looks can be deceiving, so don’t try to keep up with your neighbors. Instead of trying to do what others are doing with their wealth, ask the Lord what He wants you to do with your wealth. Don’t try keeping up with your neighbors.
Principle #4 The more you have, the more you’ll be enslaved by what you have.
Proverbs 13:8 states, “Riches are a ransom for a person’s life, but a poor person hears no threat.” What a brilliant, eye opening proverb! I mean think about what Solomon’s saying here. He’s saying you can seek a ransom from a rich person, but you can’t from a poor person. Why? Because a poor person doesn’t have anything to ransom! So, like this proverb says, they don’t have to worry as much about the threat of losing things. But the more you have, the more you’ll worry and be enslaved by what you have, because you’ll worry about losing it. Think of how enslaved you become when you buy something new. For example, I used to drive a beat up 05 Pontiac G6, and one day my kids said, “Hey dad, somebody hit your car with a shopping cart.” I was like “Oh yeah, you’re right. But it’s so beat up I’m just happy it drives.” But then I bought my wife a used Toyota Camry in great condition and started flipping out over every little scratch. I was like “How’d that happen! How’d that scratch get there! Man get off the roof! Who decided to go Freddy Krueger on the side of the car?” What changed? I became enslaved...I became enslaved by the newness of the car...I was so free when I had the G6, there was no threat. But the moment I bought the nicer, newer car, is the moment I became enslaved...Many of you are being enslaved by your things, and you don’t even realize it...New car, new house, new flooring, new furniture, new clothes, new salary, new ransom to be paid...The bible isn’t against you having such things, it isn’t against you buying a nice house, a nice boat, taking nice vacations, or even having a lot of wealth. It’s against you being greedy instead of generous with your wealth. So, this proverb isn’t saying you can’t have any of those things. It’s saying the more you have, the more you’ll be worried about what you have. The more you’ll be enslaved by what you have.
Principle #5 Money can buy you some things, but it can’t buy you everything.
Money can buy you some things, but it can’t buy you everything. Solomon gives us numerous examples of this throughout Proverbs. For example, money can’t buy you eternal life.
Proverbs 11:7 states, “When the wicked person dies, his expectation comes to nothing, and hope placed in wealth, vanishes.” He says the hope we’re placing in our wealth eventually ‘vanishes.’ Why? It’s because you can’t take any of it with you when you die. There’s a reason you don’t see U-huals following hearses. It’s because you can’t move into eternity with your possessions. Like we learned last week we’re to work diligently, while keeping in mind the grander plan of God’s economy in eternity. We’re to work diligently, save diligently, and use our money wisely, but remember your money can’t buy you eternal security. Your money can’t buy you eternal life.
Solomon also teaches us our money can’t buy happiness. Proverbs 11:24, “One gives freely, yet grows all the richer, another withholds what he should give, and only suffers want.” The implication is the one who ‘gives freely’ and is generous with their stuff, is happier than the one who isn’t. It’s because the more you loosen your grip on your stuff, the less your stuff will have a grip on you. But the tighter your grip, the more you’ll suffer wants, because you’ll always be wanting more. In Ecclesiastes 5:10 he says, “Whoever loves money, will never have enough. Whoever loves wealth, will never be satisfied.” They’ll always want more. I’ve been a pastor for 15 years, and some of the most miserable people I’ve met are the wealthiest. It’s because they made it to the top, but they realize the top didn’t satisfy them, it still didn’t buy them happiness. They realize their money can’t fix their marriage, can’t fix their family, can’t fix their biggest problems in life. So many people are chasing the American Dream to be wealthy, but you can have a full bank account, and still have an empty soul...Money can buy you some things, but it can’t buy you everything. It can’t buy you eternal life and happiness.
Principle #6 You can’t out give God.
Proverbs 3:9-10, “Honor the Lord with your possessions and with the first produce of your entire harvest; 10 then your barns will be completely filled, and your vats will overflow with new wine.” The barns and vats being filled is a symbol of God’s continual provision. Solomon’s saying if you honor the Lord with your wealth, you’ll never run out of provisions. You can’t out give God, so you’ll never run out of provisions. But he also says we’re to give our first fruits to God, and the way to do that is to decide what percent of your income you’ll give to the church before your paycheck comes in. The reason you give to the church is because God is growing His Kingdom through the church. But decide what percent to give before your paycheck comes, so nothing else takes God’s place as a first fruit. Now what’s more important than the amount you give, is your attitude when you give it. You’re to give not reluctantly but joyfully, and God will provide you not with everything you want, but with everything you need. 2nd Corinthians 9 states, “Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. 8 And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things, at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.”
But one of the reasons we aren’t more generous with our wealth, is because we’re living in denial. We’re living in denial as to just how wealthy we really are, especially compared to the rest of the world. We’ll say things like “I can’t afford to give. I can’t afford to be generous.” But the rest of the world knows better. They see us sitting in our air-conditioned homes, Uber Eating Kelly’s ice cream, using irrigation systems to water our lawns, and think “Wow! They’re rich! Americans are super rich!” Just like a mark of an addict is denial, the mark of a wealth addict is denial. It’s not realizing you’re already wealthy. It’s not realizing that much of the stuff you buy and own isn’t a need, it’s a want. While much of the world is living off what they need, you’re living off what you want. If you travel overseas to non-tourist destinations and get exposed to true poverty, you’ll realize pretty quickly there’s a massive gap between what you think you need, and what you really need to survive. Most Americans are in denial of how wealthy they are and how generous they can really be. So, we’ll say things like “I can’t afford to give. I can’t afford to be generous. I have to pay off my student loans first, pay off my credit cards first, build up my retirement first.” There’s a lot of firsts hindering our generosity...But Solomon’s saying we’re to give God our firsts, and our giving should reflect the measure of faith we have in God’s provision. If you truly believe you can’t out give God, then let your giving grow to reflect that belief.
Do you want to be set free from the enslavement of wealth?
Do you want to be set free from the enslavement of wealth, and the worries that come with wealth? Then turn to the wealth and generosity of Jesus’ love on the cross. We give up our lives as a ransom for wealth, but he gave up his life as a ransom for us. He said, “I came not to be served but to serve, and to give my life as a ransom for many.” The more that generosity grips your heart, the less your wealth will grip your life. The more generous you realize he’s been with you, the more generous you’ll be with others. Don’t be deceived into thinking wealth is a better savior than Jesus. Wealth can fill your savings, but Jesus fills your soul. Wealth can make you greedy, but Jesus makes you generous. Wealth can enslave your life, but Jesus pays the ransom for your life. Jesus is a much greater savior than your wealth. He scattered the riches of his love for you, so don’t withhold an inch of your love from him. Instead let his love set you free from the enslavement of wealth and sin. Let his love grow you in generosity and carry you into eternity.
The Big Idea:
The big idea is there’s more freedom in scattering, than gathering...There’s more freedom in scattering your wealth, than gathering your wealth. Generosity will bring you freedom but being greedy will bring you misery. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t ever gather, because you need to gather to have something to scatter. But if all you do is gather and never scatter, then your wealth will be an enslaving prison to your soul. If you don’t scatter, you’ll be enslaved by the things you gather. The key to unlock that prison is generosity. It’s to receive the generosity of Jesus, loosen your grip on your wealth, and scatter some of what you’ve gathered. Every week you have a chance to scatter whatever wealth Jesus tells you to scatter, by giving to the church and the mission of Jesus in our city. Jesus loved and gave for you; will you love and give for him? Jesus scattered the riches of his love for you, will you scatter the riches of your wealth and love for him? Will you enjoy the freedom of scattering, or the enslavement of gathering?