Wealth Comes From God – It’s The Focus On Greed That Is Evil
Word-of-the-Day: ‘<Moses said to the Israelites,> (17) You may say to yourself, “My power and the strength of my hands have produced this wealth for me.” (18) But remember the LORD your God, for it is He who gives you the ability to produce wealth, and so confirms His covenant, which He swore to your ancestors, as it is today.’ (Deuteronomy 8:17-18)
Last week, Elon Musk became the world’s first trillionaire, which is a mind-boggling amount of money. His skills as an innovator and entrepreneur are unique and his drive and initiative earned him this massive amount of wealth, and he has earned it without question (though there are some who do). He is the epitome of capitalism and how it works.
The opposite of capitalism is socialism and communism, which are the same except for degrees of governing control, and both ‘peas of the same pod’ reward people for doing the minimum amount of effort (or sometimes for doing no effort) and often espouses ‘equal results’, regardless of the differing levels of effort.
Capitalism, on the other hand, rewards people for doing their maximum amount of effort, and is based on ‘equal opportunity’ to achieve results, though the results may vary by individuals doing similar efforts. Overall, the results for every person are typically far better than if done under the socialist construct.
Some of the loudest protagonists against the wealthy are indeed wealthy themselves, just not as wealthy as the people they denigrate. Some of those who are protagonists promote socialism as their profound ideology, yet seem keen to desire and obtain the rewards of the capitalist system that they are against. One could say it is a case of ‘it’s good for me but not for thee’, which seems to be how many of our politicians abide in.
Wealth is not a product of evil, as some purport it to be. Moses, in promoting the Levitical or Mosaic Law given to him by God, states in Deuteronomy 8:18 that God gives people the ability to produce wealth. God promoted Caanan as a land of abundance, a land full of ‘milk and honey’, and wants His people to thrive in an abundance of provisions.
We also need to understand that God also promotes a degree of accumulation of wealth, to save and prepare for those ‘rainy days’ when an unexpected need occurs and we need to tap into what we’ve set aside to cover that emergent need, with the example being the storehouses Joseph built in Egypt for the impending drought that limited the crop production and caused the famine in the Egyptian/Canaan region in Genesis 41. (In that case, it was food and grain set aside for the ‘non-rainy days’.)
Some have misinterpreted wealth as being evil through an incorrect interpretation of 1 Timothy 6:10, ‘the love of money is a root of all evil.’ It is not money or the accumulation of it that is necessarily evil, but to place it as an ‘idol’ or as a false god that drives one’s life. A more in-depth verse on the matter is Ecclesiastes 5:10, ‘He who loves money will not be satisfied with money, nor he who loves wealth with his income; this too is meaningless.’
In other words, when someone makes wealth their focus and pursuit instead of God, they become a fanatic to make more money instead of becoming more in tune and in depth of the Lord’s knowledge and will. Moses gives us this warning in Deuteronomy 18:7, that when we pursue wealth, we begin to worship it and our own strength and wisdom in making money, and not giving God the credit for providing us the means to make and accumulate wealth. This is a root of evil, that love of money that becomes insatiable and, without God, becomes in the end meaningless, as when we die all the money in the world cannot buy us Salvation or a ticket to Eternal life with Christ.
Why does God allow us to achieve and accumulate wealth (which may not always be money; it may be livestock, land, and other stuff like your baseball card collection)? In part, it is for us to take care of our needs, but it is also so that we may use it to share and love on others. Proverbs 22:9 provides, ‘The generous will themselves be blessed, for they share their food with the poor.’ In addition to call to tithe to the fellowship within our church (and provide offerings above that for specific needs), what the Lord provides for our needs is also to be used selflessly to help those who may be in distress, or having problems that they cannot in their own provisions handle.
The tithe is given to allow the church to operate, to collectively support missions, education and local outreach in the name of Jesus. Beyond that, the wealth we have is also to be used to assist those who need support that collectively the church may not be able to reach or know about. Our neighbors, our family, or that person in front of a restaurant who is hungry but can’t afford a meal. The church may not be able to immediately help that person, but you can, if you are willing and able.
It is not money that makes someone evil, but what they intend to do with it, or not to do with it that does. Being selfish is not a money issue but a moral issue, and it can also be withholding our blessings of time or talents from others. I try to be both willing and able to help others when I can; I may not always be able to control the ability to do so, but I do have control over my willingness, and I pray the Lord allows my willingness to be open to those who need it as a blessing to them, and not someone who wants to take advantage for selfish needs.
For Mr. Musk, my prayer is that, if he has not done so already, seek the Lord for the wealth of the Lord through His Saving Grace. Do not be envious of Mr. Musk’s phenomenal wealth; for all the money he has on earth is worthless – meaningless – without the security of Eternity in Jesus. I also pray for those who disparage what the Lord provides someone, or is against people seeking to do their best. Doing the best we can do, especially while focusing on the Lord, is Godly and Righteous.
