Wise Words on Wealth (Part 1)
Once upon a time, a wise man gave this advice to a woman: “If you could marry four men, marry a banker, an actor, a preacher and an undertaker.” Puzzled, the woman asked why. The wise man replied, “One for the money, two for the show, three to get ready and four to go.”
Seriously, as far as wisdom are concerned, I would go to the Book of Proverbs. King Solomon, whom I call “the ultimate wise guy,” wrote, compiled and edited this collection of wise words with the guidance of the Holy Spirit. And, when it comes to money, we don’t have to marry a banker. We just have to follow his wise words on wealth.
To make it easy for us to remember these wise words on wealth, I came up with the acronym F-I-N-A-N-C-E-S.
“Honor the Lord with your wealth and with the best part of everything you produce.” (Proverbs 3:9) [1]
“F” stands for “First Give To God.” When we give, we honor God. Yes, worship involves our wealth, too. We recognize that He owns everything and we are His managers. We give not because the Lord needs our money. It all belongs to Him, anyway. We give because we honor God. Thus, we are to give Him “the best part of everything [we] produce,” not the leftovers. He deserves no less than the best. (Read my previous blog posts: “Experience Grace Giving” Part 1 and Part 2)
We also honor God with our wealth when we help the needy. “If you help the poor, you are lending to the Lord—and he will repay you!” (Proverbs 19:17) He considers Himself indebted to us when we care for the poor. The Message version goes like this: “Mercy to the needy is a loan to God, and God pays back those loans in full.” (Read Matthew 25:34-40) Now, this a loan that won’t go bad. The Lord is a good borrower. He will pay back the loan and He will pay it in full.
“Do you see any truly competent workers? They will serve kings rather than working for ordinary people.” (Proverbs 22:29)
“I” stands for “Invest In Yourself.” The best investment is the investment we make in ourselves. According to The Message version, “Observe people who are good at their work—skilled workers are always in demand and admired; they don’t take a backseat to anyone.” And we can only be good at our work when we constantly improve our skills. I heard that there are big companies that even require their employees to submit their resumes every six months. If an employee’s resume did not change at all (like he did not even attend a seminar, that employee gets fired. So, invest in yourself. Read a book. Attend trainings. Upgrade yourself. And investing starts with ourselves. Before you invest in the stock market or in real estate or any investments, invest in yourself first.
If we will not be promoted within our company, we will be promoted somewhere else. “Being diligent and skilled ([“competent”] māhîr can also mean ‘quick or prompt’) in one’s work is the best way to influence an employer. Diligence often results in a promotion (serving before kings and not just obscure people). Hearing about a good worker, a king (or other leader) will want to hire him.” [2] And if we are not diligent, it results in demotion or, worse, dismissal.
Somebody wrote, “Success is when opportunity meets preparation.” Opportunity comes to everybody. But only those who are prepared grab it. Warren Wiersbe wrote, “The reward for faithful hard work is—more work! … One of the blessings of diligent labor is the joy of developing the kind of ability and character that others can trust, thereby fitting ourselves for the next responsibility God has prepared for us.” [3] More than always being on a look out for an open door, we must seek to prepare even before it opens.
Read: “Wise Words on Wealth” Part 2 Part 3
[1] All Bible verses are from the New Living Translation, unless otherwise noted.
[2] Sid S. Buzzell, “Proverbs,” The Bible Knowledge Commentary, Old Testament. Eds. John F. Walvoord, Roy B. Zuck and Dallas Theological Seminary (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1983, 1985) 956.
[3] Warren Wiersbe, Be Skillful (Wheaton, IL: Victor, 1995), 91.
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| Image credit |
To make it easy for us to remember these wise words on wealth, I came up with the acronym F-I-N-A-N-C-E-S.
 |
| Image credit |
“Honor the Lord with your wealth and with the best part of everything you produce.” (Proverbs 3:9) [1]
“F” stands for “First Give To God.” When we give, we honor God. Yes, worship involves our wealth, too. We recognize that He owns everything and we are His managers. We give not because the Lord needs our money. It all belongs to Him, anyway. We give because we honor God. Thus, we are to give Him “the best part of everything [we] produce,” not the leftovers. He deserves no less than the best. (Read my previous blog posts: “Experience Grace Giving” Part 1 and Part 2)
We also honor God with our wealth when we help the needy. “If you help the poor, you are lending to the Lord—and he will repay you!” (Proverbs 19:17) He considers Himself indebted to us when we care for the poor. The Message version goes like this: “Mercy to the needy is a loan to God, and God pays back those loans in full.” (Read Matthew 25:34-40) Now, this a loan that won’t go bad. The Lord is a good borrower. He will pay back the loan and He will pay it in full.
 |
| Image credit |
“Do you see any truly competent workers? They will serve kings rather than working for ordinary people.” (Proverbs 22:29)
“I” stands for “Invest In Yourself.” The best investment is the investment we make in ourselves. According to The Message version, “Observe people who are good at their work—skilled workers are always in demand and admired; they don’t take a backseat to anyone.” And we can only be good at our work when we constantly improve our skills. I heard that there are big companies that even require their employees to submit their resumes every six months. If an employee’s resume did not change at all (like he did not even attend a seminar, that employee gets fired. So, invest in yourself. Read a book. Attend trainings. Upgrade yourself. And investing starts with ourselves. Before you invest in the stock market or in real estate or any investments, invest in yourself first.
 |
| Image credit |
Somebody wrote, “Success is when opportunity meets preparation.” Opportunity comes to everybody. But only those who are prepared grab it. Warren Wiersbe wrote, “The reward for faithful hard work is—more work! … One of the blessings of diligent labor is the joy of developing the kind of ability and character that others can trust, thereby fitting ourselves for the next responsibility God has prepared for us.” [3] More than always being on a look out for an open door, we must seek to prepare even before it opens.
Read: “Wise Words on Wealth” Part 2 Part 3
[1] All Bible verses are from the New Living Translation, unless otherwise noted.
[2] Sid S. Buzzell, “Proverbs,” The Bible Knowledge Commentary, Old Testament. Eds. John F. Walvoord, Roy B. Zuck and Dallas Theological Seminary (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1983, 1985) 956.
[3] Warren Wiersbe, Be Skillful (Wheaton, IL: Victor, 1995), 91.
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