Treasure Hunting

Probing Proverbs 10:14-16 Wise people treasure knowledge, but the babbling of a fool invites disaster. The wealth of the rich is their fortress; the poverty of the poor is their destruction. The earnings of the godly enhance their lives, but evil people squander their money on sin.

What do you treasure? This proverb brings to light such an important understanding. Whenever money is brought up in the Church, there is a full range of reactions! From guilt to cynicism, generosity to debate, from receiving Scriptural teaching to becoming angry and leaving the church! It is a real button for most. Why? There are many reasons; one clear reason, is all the evil individuals over the years that have used the Church to feed their greed. They claim their elaborate and gluttonous lifestyle is from God, when in truth it was manipulated out of human’s hands…many, sadly, are children of God that have been deceived. 

This is nothing new; remember Judas was motivated by greed. When the woman anointed Jesus, Judas condemned her for the waste, but Scripture exposes the true motive, and in Matthew it was right after this incident that Judas when to the Pharisees to betray Jesus

John 12:4–6 But Judas Iscariot, one of His disciples, who was intending to betray Him, said, “Why was this perfume not sold for three hundred denarii and given to poor people?” Now he said this, not because he was concerned about the poor, but because he was a thief, and as he had the money box, he used to pilfer what was put into it.

Matthew 26:14–15 Then one of the twelve, named Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests and said, “What are you willing to give me to betray Him to you?” And they weighed out thirty pieces of silver to him.

I have no love for what these charlatans do, and pray that God will expose them and that they will repent and come to salvation.

Sadly however, many times the reasons given why we don’t want to discuss money from a Scriptural point of view, even if those reasons are valid, is just an excuse because we love our money a little too much.

Money is not the issue, it never has been the issue…our attitude toward money is the issue. Notice in this Proverb the word treasure is applied to knowledge, not gold! Knowledge applied brings wisdom, which in turn produces a proper mindset concerning all issues of life including finances. So the real issue is what do we treasure? Jesus put it quite succinctly:

Matthew 6:20–21 “But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal; for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

Clearly God is not against money! He owns everything, and when He trusts someone enough to give them wealth, if they use it wisely, notice how it is described.

“The wealth of the rich is their fortress” & “The earnings of the godly enhance their lives”

This is positive! God is delighted that they have protection and comfort from their wealth. Understand, a wise person may derive benefits from wealth, but they will never place their trust in it! That’s the big difference. They “treasure” God and His wisdom. If He gives them the stewardship of wealth, they will use some for His kingdom and use some for their enjoyment. There is nothing wrong with that. From my own experience the richer the godly person is, the more generous they are!

The last statement of this Proverb is a sobering reminder of where the problem lies:

“but evil people squander their money on sin.”

Paul warns us:

1 Timothy 6:10 For the love of money is a root of all sorts of evil, and some by longing for it have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.

Notice, it is not money, it is the Love of it! I have seen individuals with a lot of money end up in poverty, due to their love for it. Treasure God and His wisdom…then you will be content with whatever God entrusts to you!

Meditation questions:  How much of your time do you spend thinking about money? Do you worry about money? What does that show? Do you think if you won the lotto you would the money properly? When was the last time you received unexpected money? What did you do with it? Where is God on the list of how you spend your money, first or after everything else is taken care of…including your desires? Have you ever said after spending something, “I deserve this!”? What does that mean?