Better/Than Statements

Devotional for 2.6.12

Happy February, friends! Hope your new month and week are off to a wise start as we together seek to get wisdom which is better than gold, silver, paychecks, and savings accounts. Have a blessed week!  

During the month of February we’re focusing on Wisdom about Money. Let’s turn to Proverbs to get wisdom that goes beyond the gold!

BETTER/THAN STATEMENTS

Better the poor whose walk is blameless than the rich whose ways are perverse.

Proverbs 28:6

A wacky icebreaker that gets girls giggling is the Would You Rather? Game.

Ø  Would you rather drink one gallon of ketchup or one gallon of mustard?

Ø  Would you rather be in a room with 500 spiders or 1,000 crickets?

Ø  Would you rather have a snake or a skunk for a pet?

The girls’ responses to those questions are as varied as their personalities. However, ask girls of all ages (and boys of every generation, too!) if they’d rather be rich or poor and the majority vote will probably favor wealth over poverty.

The wisdom found in the book of Proverbs always trumps popular opinion. When posed with the would you rather be rich or poor question, it’s considerations go far beyond finances, money, possessions, things, and stuff. It cuts to the heart.

In the book of Proverbs we learn that it’s better to be poor than rich if wealth . . .

√ Keeps you from being honest and trustworthy (28:6)

√ Becomes your fortress and protection (18:11)

√ Makes you surly and unapproachable (18:23)

√ Deafens your ears to the cry of the poor (21:13)

√ Causes you to forget and dishonor God (30:9)

The bottom line is that riches are not the problem. Moreover, when God gives someone wealth and possessions, and the ability to enjoy them, to accept their lot and be happy in their toil – this is a gift of God (Ecclesiastes 5:19).

The trouble comes when we love riches more than God and treasure things more than the Giver of all gifts. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs (1 Timothy 6:10). The book of Proverbs says that it’s better a little with the fear of the LORD than great wealth with turmoil (15:16). How much better to get wisdom than gold, to choose understanding rather than silver (16:16)!

There are two sides to every coin and two parts to what the book of Proverbs teaches us about money. Within this book of wisdom it teaches the positive side to earning, managing, and using our possessions, and warns that there is a negative side to gaining and maintaining wealth. Understanding God’s perspective on possessions and honoring Him with wise stewardship of all that He’s entrusted to us will keep us from the potential pitfalls that riches can bring.

Wisdom Step: How much do you treasure or fret about money? Would it be better for you to be poor than rich?

Some people are so poor they only have money!

Ivor Powell