Command those who are rich in this present age not to be haughty, nor to trust in uncertain riches but in the living God, who gives us richly all things to enjoy. – I Timothy 6:17 NKJV
We should never prioritize the material things over the spiritual things because then you run the risk of becoming arrogant and self sufficient. It’s not a sin to be rich but we must not let wealth blind us to from perusing godliness with contentment. God is the only source everything we have and this verse shows us that it can be for our enjoyment.
A feast is made for laughter, wine makes life merry, and money is the answer for everything. – Ecclesiastes 10:19 NIV
This verse is saying that money used correctly can answer the challenges that we face in life. With money we can get a good education. We can invest and start businesses to support our families. With money we can afford to buy food and medicine when our loved ones are sick. Money has the ability to provide a solution to every need in our lives. We are to be good stewards over what God has given us and on one level we are to use our money for meeting the needs of life.
After Jesus and his disciples arrived in Capernaum, the collectors of the two-drachma temple tax came to Peter and asked, “Doesn’t your teacher pay the temple tax?” “Yes, he does,” he replied. When Peter came into the house, Jesus was the first to speak. “What do you think, Simon?” he asked. “From whom do the kings of the earth collect duty and taxes—from their own children or from others?” “From others,” Peter answered. “Then the children are exempt,” Jesus said to him. “But so that we may not cause offense, go to the lake and throw out your line. Take the first fish you catch; open its mouth and you will find a four-drachma coin. Take it and give it to them for my tax and yours.” – Matthew 17:24-27
Jesus is showing here that they were under the authority of the government and had to pay the taxes owed. This is true today also. To pay our taxes we have to have money and Jesus showed Peter where he can go to get the money to pay his taxes. A fishes mouth. This was a miracle because how could Jesus have know that the fish was going to have enough money in its mouth to pay its taxes? This shows that God is also concerned with us having enough money to pay for things that we owe. So having money to do this is not a bad thing.
Ship your grain across the sea; after many days you may receive a return. Invest in seven ventures, yes, in eight; you do not know what disaster may come upon the land. – Ecclesiastes 11:1-2 NIV
This verse is saying that we shouldn’t be dependant on only one stream of income. We don’t know what may happen that might cause that income to dry up. We should diversify our revenue streams. The bible says that we should have seven or eight so that we would get a good return after some time.
In the land of Uz there lived a man whose name was Job. This man was blameless and upright; he feared God and shunned evil. He had seven sons and three daughters, and he owned seven thousand sheep, three thousand camels, five hundred yoke of oxen and five hundred donkeys, and had a large number of servants. He was the greatest man among all the people of the East. – Job 1:1-3 NIV
It was God who blessed Job with all he had. Though Job went through so much throughout his life, God saw fit that he restore him in the end by giving him back even more than he lost in the beginning of the book of Job. An argument could be made that if having material possessions didn’t matter then there would be no reason for God to bless Job at the end of the book of Job. But God did. So with all you have, you have to remember to be blameless like how Job was. Don’t allow your material possessions to become Idols. God is the one who gives us all things and we are to worship the giver of the gifts and not the gifts themselves.
So God said to him, “Since you have asked for this and not for long life or wealth for yourself, nor have asked for the death of your enemies but for discernment in administering justice, I will do what you have asked. I will give you a wise and discerning heart, so that there will never have been anyone like you, nor will there ever be. Moreover, I will give you what you have not asked for—both wealth and honor—so that in your lifetime you will have no equal among kings. – 1 Kings 3:11-13
Solomon had the opportunity to ask God for wealth and riches but he instead asked God for wisdom so that he could lead the people. This is key for us to remember because God will give us wisdom so that we can do His will. As we do his will, all the other things that we desire will also come into our lives. Matthew 6:33. God was pleased with Solomon’s answer that he gave him wisdom and everything else that he didn’t ask for. You can read more about Solomons wealth in 2 Chronicles chapter 9.
““Again, it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted his wealth to them. To one he gave five bags of gold, to another two bags, and to another one bag, each according to his ability. Then he went on his journey. The man who had received five bags of gold went at once and put his money to work and gained five bags more. So also, the one with two bags of gold gained two more. But the man who had received one bag went off, dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money.” – Matthew 25:14-18 NIV
God expects us to use what we have and multiply it to do more. This parable speaks about bags of gold that were given to three servants. Tow of them were wise stewards over what their master gave them and one was not. God also expects us to use what he has give us to bring increase. If you have materials possessions, use it to give God Glory or to point people back to Him. This is one way that we can be a good steward over what God gave us.
A good man leaves an inheritance to his children’s children, But the wealth of the sinner is stored up for the righteous. – Proverbs 13:22 NKJV
God expects us to leave back an inheritance to our children’s children. For us to leave this inheritance, we need to be wise in our dealings so that it can be passed down without it being lost or stolen by others. We will not be able to take anything to heaven with us. So we should work to leave back as much as we can to our families so that they can continue the work and give God glory with what he has started in our life.