| Giving the Master Charge--Part 2 |
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by Woodrow Kroll Study 2: How to Make Money What does the Bible say about the ways to acquire wealth? Perhaps the best way to begin is to look quickly at some of the ways people make money that are not acceptable to God—ways that do not please Him. Some of these things are seen going on in the world every day, and the Bible is a clear guide in the ways not to make money. Stealing God prohibits our making money by stealing it. In fact, the eighth commandment unmistakably says, "Thou shalt not steal" (Exodus 20:15). It is not a proper way to get wealth. That is very plain—it would be hard to find someone who could misinterpret that. There is simply no place in God's economy for stealing. What does not belong to us must never become ours by theft. False Representation We are not to make money by false advertising, by cheating someone, or by giving false testimony. For example, it is prohibited by God to tell a stranger that a used car is in "mint condition" when you know it needs a new engine, a new set of shocks and a lot of other things. False representation is purposefully leading a buyer to believe that the value of something is more than it really is. Bible verses to help you dig deeper: Weights, measures, and accurate scales were important parts of life to biblical merchants and their customers. The warnings given to them are equally clear for us today through what could be called the "principle of dishonest scales."
No argument can be made against what these statements are telling us. It is very evident here that God says we can never make money by falsely representing our product or falsely representing ourselves. God wants a just balance. He does not want anyone tipping the scales in their favor. Perhaps the modern parallel to dishonest scales would be the unjust use of the time clock. God never condones our making money by punching the clock before we actually begin to work. Nor does He condone sitting around waiting to punch out. The principle is the same—give what you say you give, and work what you say you work. Do not earn any money by false representation. Nonpayment If the last prohibition is related to labor, I think the Bible teaches another that relates to management. It is wrong for workers to seek wages for work that they did not do. But managers, it is equally wrong to require that work be done without paying appropriate wages. If it is wrong for the worker to cheat the company, it is equally wrong for the company to cheat the worker. Bible verses to help you dig deeper:
The laborer is worthy of being paid for what he has done. To withhold payment in order to increase dividends is condemned by God. We should never seek to make a profit at the expense of workers. Usury This is a practice that was very common in Bible times. In fact, a statement of condemnation against the practice follows every mention of it in Scripture. Usury is charging a rate of interest on borrowed funds that are higher than the rate allowed by law. Deuteronomy 23:19 instructs: "Thou shalt not lend upon usury to thy brother." This included usury of money, usury of food, or usury of anything that was capable of being lent to another. The very next verse tells us why: "That the Lord thy God may bless thee in all that thou settest thine hand to do." We are not to loan money to our relatives, to our friends or to people at church and expect to get back from them more than the law allows. We are not to loan out money for usury. That is not a way the Bible condones making money. What are the ways the Bible says we can make money? Inheritance There is nothing wrong with getting an inheritance from parents, an uncle, an aunt, or someone else. Ezekiel 46:16 states: "If the prince makes a gift from his inheritance to one of his sons, it is to be their property by inheritance." It is legitimate for parents to give and for children to receive an inheritance. We all know the story of the Prodigal Son. While we may not appreciate his attitude when he said, "Give me the portion of goods that falls to me" in Luke 15:12, we do understand that he was rightfully getting an inheritance. The Bible also encourages us to leave something to our children. Proverbs 13:22 states: "A good man leaves an inheritance for his children's children." The verse also implies certain things about faithfulness and stewardship, but it states the very biblical concept of leaving an inheritance to your children. Receiving an inheritance is one way that you and I honestly accumulate money and be blessed in God's eyes at the same time. Saving Another divinely approved way is simply to save money on a regular basis. Proverbs 6:6-8 is the story of the industrious ant: Go to the ant, you sluggard;consider its ways and be wise It has no commander, No overseer or ruler, Yet it stores its provisions in summer And gathers its food at harvest. Isn't it interesting? Here is a little ant, without a credit union, without a payroll deduction, and without mandatory "savings" by the IRS. Yet, the ant knows enough to save from its summer labors so that it has food in the winter to stay alive. The Bible approves of and encourages such wisdom. Remember the words of Proverbs 21:20?
In the house of the wise are stores of choice food and oil, Saving today for the needs of tomorrow is a legitimate way of making money. Investing What about investing money? What about the stock market? The Bible puts its stamp of approval on investing as a way of increasing wealth. That is exactly the point of Jesus' parable of the talents in Matthew 25. It is also the point of the parable of the pounds in Luke 19. In the parable of the talents, a man prepares to take a journey into a far country, and calls his servants to a meeting. He gives each of them some money—wanting to see exactly how they will handle it. To one he gave five talents; to another he gave two; to the last one he only gave one. As the story progresses, the servant with five talents invests them wisely and gains five more. The one with two talents also invests them wisely and he doubles his amount. The one with only one talent basically hides the money in a sock under his mattress. When the master returns, each servant is called into account. He gives a "well done" to the first and a "well done" to the second. But he strips the third of his money and rebukes him harshly. Why? Because wise investing is a way that God approves for us to make money. Did you notice that I am talking about wise investments. There are some people who are widely speculative or foolhardy in the way they invest. If it sounds too good to be true then it probably is, and the wise investor avoids it. The master in the story wanted his servants to make wise investments. God is that master and we are His servants. Make wise investments according to the faith and temperament He has given to you. If you do not have it to lose, then do not invest it in a way that you could lose it. What is the bottom line? What is the absolute, most guaranteed way of making money? Hard Work The best way to get money is to earn it through good, old-fashioned hard work. For years I worked with students who had to come up with ways to pay for their college education. Many would ask me, "Are there any grants available? Can I get any loans?" I would say, "Sure, there are grants available and there are loans to students. But if you want to get an education, get a job." That is the best way—pay as you go with lots of hard work. In 2 Thessalonians 3 Paul leaves a final admonition with the believers at Thessalonica. He commands them to withdraw from those so-called Christians who walk in a disorderly manner, those who are not seeking to pull their own weight in the community. Then he very sternly warns them: "For even when we were with you, we gave you this rule: 'If a man will not work , he shall not eat.'" Of course, there are times when a person is out of work, and legitimately cannot find a job. At these times, none of us would fail to want to help that person. That's not what Paul is saying here. He is telling the Thessalonians to not feed the lazy or the indigent—those who have the opportunity to work but have no desire. Hard work and personal effort are the best methods of gaining money, wealth, and possessions. Conclusion All money, wealth and possessions ultimately come from God, because they all belong to God. Just because that is true does not mean that you and I should just sit back with our umbrellas inverted, waiting for pennies from heaven. Do you see a man skilled in his work?He will serve before kings; He will not serve before obscure men (Proverbs 22:29). God feeds the little birds, but He does not throw it into their nests. He has a program for acquiring money, just like He has a program to accomplish everything else in life. There is only one way to ultimately enjoy what God wishes to give us, and that's to earn it legitimately and to receive it thankfully. If you want to follow God's principles but are still having a tough time finding real work, why not commit your need to some Christian friends? Ask them to pray daily with you about your need, or e-mail us here at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it ? We'll pray for you about that need. Let everyone see that you want to honor the Lord and you're not afraid of hard work. It may not be God's desire for you to be super wealthy, but it is His desire to meet your needs. Through this study, we have discussed both illegitimate and legitimate ways to make money according to God's Word. Make sure that the ways you make money are always legitimate ways. |
