READING: Proverbs 22-24, 2 Corinthians 8
“Don’t wear yourself out to get rich; stop giving your attention to it.”
Proverbs 23:4
As I write this devotion, I’m already tired. I work more than one job, and I enjoy both of them. I try to get to the gym early each morning. I work late into the night far too often. The older I get, the more weary I become – yet still I press on.
If I’m honest, my drive for work is in some ways a desire to be secure financially; that is, I work hard so I don’t worry much financially. I don’t think this desire has become controlling, but words like these make me prayerfully reflect on my life: “Don’t wear yourself out to get rich; stop giving your attention to it” (Prov. 23:4). Indeed, what I’m learning is that there is a very, very fine line between working hard for financial peace and working continually to get rich. The former can be wise stewardship; the latter can be idolatry.
It is the latter that the writer of Proverbs warns against. You can wear yourself out trying to get rich, he warns, as you strive to gain only that which is fleeting: “As soon as your eyes fly to it, it disappears, for it makes wings for itself and flies like an eagle to the sky” (Prov. 23:5). Wealth can disappear as soon as you secure it, and you’ll have to start searching again. In an obvious irony, that which one thinks would provide security hardly does that; there can be little security in that which disappears quickly.
If I as a believer must guard against this tendency, how much more is it an issue for those who don’t know Jesus? They live for the temporary, not recognizing that wealth cannot last. My fear is that many will learn these truths only after they’ve lost much in their wearisome toils. Wisdom means learning this truth before you get there.
ACTION STEPS
- Evaluate your own motives for getting/earning dollars. Confess if necessary.
- Ask God to help you steward your blessings wisely.
PRAYER: “Father, thank You for Your gifts to me. Help me never to allow them to control me.”
TOMORROW’S READING: Proverbs 25-26, 2 Corinthians 9
