By Van Yandell
Retired Industrial Arts teacher, an ordained gospel evangelist and commissioned missionary
vmy2121@outlook.com
Acts 3: 6 “Then Peter said, silver and gold have I none; but such as I have give I thee: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk.”
In the song “House of Gold” we hear the lyrics, “I’d rather be in a deep dark grave and know that my poor soul was saved than to live in this world in a house of gold and deny my God and lose my soul.” Is it possible to believe this and live in this world?
With the growth of atheism and agnosticism in the world, the point of discussing scriptural economics is probably like beating one’s head against a wall. But for those of us that hold in very high regard the Word of God, we readily see, God knows all things and that includes economics.
Did God invent money? Of course not! But He did include a few basic rules and guidelines for us in the wise use of our resources. We have found the scriptures to be useful in many areas of life and the lessons concerning money are included.
In the beginning of humanity on earth there was no such thing as money. The barter system of exchanging goods and services was utilized that all could benefit from the skills and expertise of others.
As logical and effective as the barter system was, as the population grew, it became inadequate. Thus, the invention of money established an evil medium for humans to manipulate and misuse. The ability to cheat, lie and steal reached a new level and has accelerated ever since.
Ecclesiastes 5: 10 “He that loves silver shall never be satisfied with silver; he that loves abundance with increase: this is also vanity.” King Solomon warned 3000 years ago the dangers of loving monetary substance.
It appears Solomon may have been telling us, monetary substance is no substance at all. If it is only something to accumulate, what is it worth? I used to hear people speak of “spending money.” Is it not all spending money? We are encouraged to save but the savings are purposed to eventually spend.
We’ve not known of any person, poor or rich, that was able to take his/her money or anything else (including their own body) with them once the heart and brain stopped functioning. For many of us, the notion of “what’s the use in accumulating all that silver” is a pressing question.
If one has accumulated billions in funds and hoards it only to see his neighbors in need, what kind of person is that? If someone manages appropriately and increases a bank account or portfolio, what’s the reward?
Many in our world measure success by one’s accumulations. My most precious possessions are my experiences. For some of us our greatest challenge is to find our next challenge.
If a person invests wisely, others regard him/her as a scrooge and the demeaning remarks are certain to be voiced. If another refuses to plan and work for the (seemingly) inevitable future, he is seen as lazy and unmotivated. Human opinion will never cease and perspectives will always be included.
1 Timothy 6: 10 “For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.” Misplaced priorities have caused many of us loads of trouble and loving money would be a classic case. Money is a medium of exchange, not a god to be revered and worshiped.
Notice in Paul’s writing to Timothy he specified “the love of money,” not the money itself. Wise use of funds would not include such pagan attitudes and to use one’s monetary resources wisely is a precious gift.
Many in today’s world consider capitalism as evil and the concentration of wealth as discriminatory. While we understand the shallow attitude, the fact remains, without the movers and shakers, everyone would starve.
Without the high-dollar management people to keep industry in motion, jobs would be a thing of the past. Without capitalism we would be eating grubs and tree bark to stay alive.
2 Thessalonians 3: 10 “For even when we were with you, this we commanded you, that if any would not work, neither should he eat.” Many see this verse written by Paul as being selfish and cold-hearted. In the first century, the luxury of keeping up the non-workers was not possible.
Work by everyone was seen as necessary for survival. Also notice, Paul wrote “would not work.” He did not write “could not work.”
Another concept strongly discouraged in the Bible is that of excessive debt. Proverbs 22: 7 “The rich ruleth over the poor, and the borrower is servant to the lender.”
In a western world society, no one wants to be either a servant or a slave (ebed in Hebrew). Yet we place ourselves (in many cases) in a situation of servanthood to the lenders for many years. Many die in debt leaving those debts to be paid by their family or not at all.
Once again we find scripture given by God (2 timothy 6: 10) that could tremendously improve our lives if we would just listen.
Many today believe mankind can eliminate poverty. While that is an admirable thought, it will not happen. Matthew 26: 11 Jesus said “For ye have the poor always with you; but me ye have not always.”
Poverty is not only finding many people with a shortage of monetary funds; there are many in our world that are spiritually impoverished.
We must always teach that eternal salvation is attained by a faith-based belief (Ephesians 2: 8) in Christ Jesus crucified (Matthew 27: 35) for the remission of sin (1 John 1: 9) and resurrected (Matthew 28: 6).
