Last week, we saw that easy money promises community and security. Don’t fall for it.

My son, do not walk in the way with them;
Hold back your foot from their paths,
For their feet run to evil,
And they make haste to shed blood.
For in vain is a net spread
In the sight of any bird,
But these men lie in wait for their own blood;
They set an ambush for their own lives. (Prov 1:15-18)

Security

Where is the promised security? “But these men lie in wait for their own blood; they set an ambush for their own lives.” All the promises of an easier life with fewer worries are simply lies. If we murder an old lady for her credit cards, we’re likely to be imprisoned or executed. The authorities are not very forgiving with tax evaders. Buying more stuff puts us in more debt, which costs us more in the long run.

Even winning the lottery can be more trouble than it’s worth. For example, consider Canadian Gerald Muswagon who won $10 million in the lottery, spent it all in seven years, and then hanged himself in 2005. Or William “Bud” Post, who in 1988 pawned a ring to buy some lottery tickets, won $16.2 million, racked up $500,000 in debt within three months, and had to declare bankruptcy. He ended up with numerous homes full of unused junk and declared, “I was much happier when I was broke” (Source: Maclean’s Magazine).

Please note that Proverbs is not condemning all wealth. The warning is against the unjust acquisition of wealth (what I’m calling “easy money”), which happens whenever we trample on others to gain it. Proverbs expects that wise people will gain wealth: “Honor the Lord…[and] your barns will be filled with plenty” (Pro 3:9-10). However, the methods for acquiring wealth make all the difference:

• Diligence in gainful employment: “Whoever works his land will have plenty of bread, but he who follows worthless pursuits will have plenty of poverty” (Prov 28:19).
• Inheritance from wise forebears: “A good man leaves an inheritance to his children’s children, but the sinner’s wealth is laid up for the righteous” (Prov 13:22).
• Patient endurance over time: “Wealth gained hastily will dwindle, but whoever gathers little by little will increase it” (Prov 13:11).

In addition, the motivation for gaining wealth ought to be to serve others and not ourselves. God provides money and possessions to those who will share it with others: “Whoever multiplies his wealth by interest and profit gathers it for him who is generous to the poor” (Prov 28:8).

From Prov 13:22 and Prov 28:8, quoted above, we see that you can’t keep your wealth; either you plan to give it away, or you have it taken from you. Is that your perspective on money? The critical point is that the wise person never finds his security in his wealth, but rather in the Lord. “The name of the LORD is a strong tower; the righteous man runs into it and is safe. A rich man’s wealth is his strong city, and like a high wall in his imagination” (18:10-11).

Community 

Not only does easy money fail to keep its promise of security; it also can’t deliver on community.

One hint of this failure to provide community comes in Prov 1:15: “My son, do not walk in the way with them.” When I trample on others to gain wealth, they’ll eventually withdraw to avoid my folly.

People will catch on to my selfishness and run away: “for in vain is a net spread in the sight of any bird” (Prov 1:17). If I come to you with a proposition for easy money, and you have the wisdom to see through the empty promises, you will fly like a sparrow. I can lay the net out to catch you, but—unless you are blind to reality—I’ll never gain your confidence.

That last fact gets at the heart of the matter. How often am I willfully blind to reality? I hear the promises of easy money, and I want to believe them! Gaining wealth, by hard work over a long time, in order to serve others, doesn’t sound like much fun. It sure doesn’t give me much hope that my stress will go away. So I spend more money, get nicer things, go further into debt, and leave it to my next of kin to pick up the pieces. This plan of action does not build community with those I love the most!

Now, not only does easy money fail to deliver on its promises; it also is highly self-destructive (Prov 1:19). More on that next week.

This post was first published in 2012.