Some of you will remember the old TV show “Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous.” (For you younger folks, MTV once produced a very similar show called “Cribs.”) Robin Leach was the host of “Lifestyles,” and on every show he would give us a behind-the-scenes look at the lavish comfort that was enjoyed by some rich and famous person. Normally, the show would focus on that person’s house, their cars, and all of their other possessions. The producers of the show were often criticized for their apparent adoration of people who often looked very selfish, but Robin Leach simply responded to the criticism by saying, “No one would watch ‘Lifestyles of the Poor and Unknown.’”
I suppose he was probably correct. People want to learn about the rich and famous because that’s what many people aspire to be. You can gain a crowd easily by promising people that you can tell them how to be wealthy.
Well, believe it or not, Proverbs actually describes the lifestyle of a person who is both wise and prosperous. It also tells us what we should do if we would like to become poor. Today we’re going to look at what Proverbs says about the path to prosperity and the path to poverty.
Now as we look at this subject today, it is very important that we remember that proverbs are principles, not promises. Proverbs tell us what the normal outcome of our behavior will be unless some other factor intervenes. So as we look at the path to prosperity, God is not promising any of us that we will be wealthy. Sometimes He allows other factors to intervene. Sometimes people become wealthy without any connection to wisdom. Some people are rich simply because they are 6’6” and 300 pounds—we call these people “football players.” Some people are rich in spite of their foolishness—we call these people “rock stars.” And sometimes people are poor despite the fact that they are very wise. So don’t automatically assume that rich people have been wise and poor people have been foolish. That isn’t always the case. (By the way, this is why we have the book of Ecclesiastes in the Bible—it tells us how to live when life is not like we expect.)
So with this frame of reference in mind, let’s take a look at the path to prosperity and the path to poverty.
I. What characterizes the path to prosperity?
A. Honoring the Lord with your money (3:9–10)
Let’s look at Prov. 3:9–10 [READ 3:9–10]. This is quite a statement, but it makes sense when we remember the biblical concept that we are simply caretakers of what God has entrusted to us. So if we honor God with His money, it makes sense that He might entrust us with more of it.
Now at the time that these verses were written, honoring God with your money would have involved basically two things—first, paying your tithe to support the priests and Levites who served at the Temple; and second, being generous to the needy. Taking care of the needy was explicitly commanded in the Old Testament law, so if you did so you were obeying God and thus honoring Him.
Today, honoring God with your money would look very similar. The center of our worship as a community today is not the Temple but the church, so we can give to support the ministries of our church. We also have organizations today that seek to help the church—like radio programs, Bible colleges, and missions agencies. We can give to missionaries and of course we can give to those in need. These are all ways that we can honor the Lord with our money.
Again, it all goes back to remembering that our money is really God’s money anyway. One pastor said it well when he said, “There are two ways in which a Christian may view his money: ‘How much of my money shall I use for God?’ or ‘How much of God’s money shall I use for myself?’”* If we remember that everything belongs to God, then we will be on the path to prosperity.
B. Giving generously to those in need (11:24, 19:17, 28:27)
We’ve already touched on this thought a little bit, but Proverbs mentions it several times, so we can, too. Look at a few verses with me [READ 11:24, 19:17, 28:27]. Now at first, this might seem counter-intuitive: if we’re going to end up with more money, doesn’t it seem like we should hang on to everything we get? Well, again, we have to remember where our money comes from—it comes from the Lord, and if we use His money the way He wants us to, then He may be inclined to entrust us with more of it.
But the opposite is also true: if we don’t use God’s money the way He wants us to, then He may not entrust us with more of it. Imagine if you gave your son or daughter some money to buy clothes and he or she came home with a new video game instead. Would you be very inclined to give them more money? No, because they hadn’t used the other money the right way.
So it is with God. He cares for the needy and He wants us to be channels of blessing for them. So if we are generous to them, then God will see to it that we have enough to continue being generous.
C. Working hard at your job (10:4–5)
Let’s read Prov. 10:4–5 [READ 10:4–5]. In many ways, our income is tied directly to the effort that we put out. Those of you who are self-employed certainly understand this. You could certainly choose to be lazy if you wanted, but your income would reflect that. For you farmers—you could choose not to prepare your fields for the harvest, but your yield would reflect that. Even for those of us who have employers—if you work hard at your job, you may be rewarded with a raise or a promotion.
As our parents used to tell us, money doesn’t grow on trees. We have to work for it, and hard work will put us on the path to prosperity. This doesn’t mean that we need to be workaholics. Verse 5 shows us that its all about working hard at the right time. Harvest is the time for work; there will be time for rest later, but when its time to work, work hard, and you’ll be headed toward prosperity.
But what about the path to poverty? What kind of lifestyle would put us on that path?
II. What characterizes the path to poverty?
A. Guaranteeing someone else’s debts (11:15, 17:18, 22:26–27)
If you get on the hook for someone else’s debt, don’t be surprised when the collector comes knocking at your door. Let’s read a few verses [READ 11:15, 17:18, 22:26–27]. Today, guaranteeing someone else’s debt would take the form of being a co-signer on their loan. Now the reason that a bank might require a co-signer is because they have good reason to think that the person may not pay back the money. So don’t think that you’re smarter than the bank! Don’t be so sure that the other person will pay back the money when the professionals consider them to be a big risk. Don’t be quick to think that your broke friend’s latest investment scheme is going to pan out!
Be very wary of this with family members as well. Few things can ruin a relationship as quickly as a loan gone bad, whether it’s a personal loan or a loan that you co-signed on through the bank. So if you want to take a big step toward poverty, then guarantee someone else’s debt.
B. Going into debt yourself (22:7)
Look with me at Prov. 22:7 [READ 22:7]. What a picture! Solomon describes debt as economic slavery, and that’s true. When you’re in debt, whatever money you have really isn’t your own until your debt is paid off. You may only have to make a monthly payment on your debt, but your lender has a claim on the full amount of the debt until its paid off.
Now I won’t presume to talk about debt on your business or your farm, because I’m no expert in those things. I’m sure its not wise to run up a bunch of debt there either, but I can tell you that in your personal finances you will never get ahead if you run up debt on a credit card and then pay 19% interest on it. Not only that, but you really do lose a degree of control over your life. You may not be able to do what you would really like to do because you’ve got shackles on your hands that say “Visa” and shackles on your feet that say “MasterCard.” We have to learn to live within our means so that we don’t enslave ourselves with a bunch of debt.
C. Trying to get rich quick (28:19–20, 28:22)
I know all of you have seen the books and the infomercials that promise to show you the secret to getting rich quick. Well, many people have pointed out that if it really is easy and quick to get rich, then everyone would be rich! But since everyone is not rich, then maybe the path isn’t as quick and easy as it seems. Look with me at a few verses from Prov. 28 [READ 28:19–20, 28:22].
As we have already seen, the path to prosperity is characterized by hard, diligent work. When we try to take shortcuts on that path, we will only end up on the path to poverty. Now some people do manage to get wealth quickly and suddenly, but that money often becomes a destructive force in their lives because they haven’t forged the character that is required to handle wealth correctly. If you prosper through slow and steady hard work, that process instills a character in you that will help you manage money correctly if you end up with a lot of it.
Trying to get rich quick is usually motivated by greed and the false idea that money will bring happiness. The sad part is that if you try to find happiness through a pile of money, you’ll generally lose both.
D. Oppressing the poor or being generous to the rich (22:16)
Let’s read Prov. 22:16 [READ 22:16]. This verse describes two stepping stones on the path to poverty. The first is oppressing the poor in order to get rich. The reason that this leads to poverty is spelled out in Prov. 14:31—“Whoever oppresses a poor man insults his Maker, but he who is generous to the needy honors him.” If we insult our Maker—from whom our money comes in the first place—do you think He is going to cause us to prosper? No way! God does not bless that kind of behavior.
The second stepping stone mentioned is giving to the rich. The idea here seems to be that of trying to win the favor of a rich person by giving them gifts. I don’t think we’re talking about giving a birthday present to your wealthy relative; I’m sure that’s okay. The kind of giving mentioned in this verse would have selfish motives behind it, and it would be an improper use of your money. And again, if God entrusts us with His money and we misuse it, we have no reason to think that He will cause us to prosper.
E. Loving a lavish lifestyle (21:17)
Turn with me to Prov. 21:17 [READ 21:17]. The oil mentioned here may refer to the cooking oil that would be used to make fancy foods, or it may refer to a fragrant perfume. Either way, the point is clear—if you fall in love with the so-called “finer things in life,” you will be headed down the path to poverty. This verse is not saying that one should never enjoy such things; rather, it is talking about a love of them—an excessive pursuit and consumption of them.
How many times in our world have people proven this verse to be true? This is one of the reasons that so many people have so much credit card debt. They have fallen in love with nice things that they can’t afford, but they go into debt just to get their hands on them. We dig ourselves into a financial hole just because we won’t buy something that doesn’t have a name brand on it!
And it doesn’t matter how much money a person makes—if you fall in love with a lavish lifestyle, you can find a way to blow through any amount of money that comes in. Some athletes and entertainers demonstrate this for us every day. How many times have we seen people pull in a 7-figure income only to land in Chapter 7 bankruptcy? And its all because of the temptation to live in luxury rather than live within your means.
Once again, the book of Proverbs has laid out two very clear paths for us—the path to prosperity and the path to poverty. As we learned last week, we should not set our sights on becoming rich, but we do want to handle God’s money in a way that will cause it to prosper rather than disappear. So the path to prosperity is very clear and very straightforward—we must honor God with our money, be generous to those in need, and work hard. Shortcuts won’t get us there; debt won’t do it; a lavish lifestyle will only put us in reverse. But if we follow God’s path with God’s money, God may bless us with prosperity that we may enjoy and use for His glory.
*W. Graham Scroggie, as found at http://bible.org/node/16166, accessed 2/16/11
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