Honor Jehovah with Your Possessions

by    Bryan Matthew Dockens, 

INTRODUCTION
A. Proverbs 3:9
Solomon teaches us to honor God with what wealth we have.
B. 1st Kings 3:4-15
God gave Solomon his wisdom and God gave him his wealth.
1. 1st Kings 4:29-34
2. Ecclesiastes 12:9
His wisdom from God was exceedingly great and well recorded, much to our benefit.
3. 1st Kings 10:14-29
Besides significant additional income, Solomon’s annual income in gold alone was 666 talents.  Since a talent of gold was thought to be about 120 pounds in troy weight, with 12 ounces to the troy pound, Solomon was taking in 959,040 ounces of gold each year.  At the current market value for gold, $1,775 per ounce, his annual income in gold alone amounted to $1,702,296,000 in our currency.
C. Considering his wisdom and his wealth, Solomon is a worthy financial advisor, so in this lesson concerning financial management, we will focus mostly on what Solomon taught in the Proverbs and Ecclesiastes concerning wealth.

I. TREAT MATERIAL PROSPERITY AS A BLESSING FROM GOD
A. Proverbs 3:9-10
By being generous toward God, He blesses us with abundance.
B. Proverbs 10:22; 15:6
Gaining wealth is a blessing.  It can be a reward for righteousness.
C. Proverbs 14:24; 21:20; 24:3-4
Those who are wise and knowledgeable enjoy “desirable treasure” and “precious and pleasant riches”.
D. Psalm 37:25
Solomon’s father David taught that God always provides at least the basics for His people.

II. REMEMBER THAT WEALTH IS NOT THE PRIORITY
A. Proverbs 13:7
Money is not the only measure of success.
B. Proverbs 3:13-18; 8:10-21; 16:16
Wisdom and understanding excel over gold and silver.
C. Proverbs 16:8
Justice is more important than vast revenues.
D. Proverbs 28:6
Integrity is better than riches.
E. Proverbs 22:1
A good reputation is most important.
F. Proverbs 15:16-17
Godly fear and love are better than treasure.
G. Proverbs 17:1
Peace is to be desired over abundance.
H. Ecclesiastes 4:6-8
Companionship is better than money.

III. BE AWARE OF WEALTH’S DANGERS
A. Ecclesiastes 5:10
Some people will never be satisfied with what they’ve acquired.
B. Ecclesiastes 10:19
Some will regard money as the answer to everything.
C. Proverbs 18:23
With power, the wealthy may forget their manners.
D. Proverbs 19:4, 6-7
With wealth, it can be difficult to determine who one’s true friends are.
E. Proverbs 15:27
Domestic strife can arise from greed.
F. Proverbs 11:28
Wealth must not be where our trust is.
G. Matthew 19:16-26
We must be willing to surrender wealth if it interferes with our devotion to God because “it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven”, “but with God all things are possible”.
H. Luke 16:13
Wealth must not become our master, lest it deter us from God’s service.  We should make money serve us instead.

IV. PRACTICE CONTENTMENT
A. Proverbs 30:8-9
We should be content with enough, neither too much nor too little.
B. Philippians 4:11-13
We should be capable of adapting to various circumstances without wavering in our trust of God.

V. DO NOT UNDERWORK
A. Proverbs 18:9; Ecclesiastes 10:18
Laziness is destructive.
B. 2nd Thessalonians 3:10-12
Work is essential.  If we are unwilling to sustain ourselves, we deserve no sustenance at all.
C. Proverbs 28:20, 22; 21:5
To be hasty to become rich is dangerous.  This principle rules out gambling and get-rich-quick schemes.  Such schemes will fail.

VI. DO NOT OVERWORK
A. Proverbs 23:4-5
Workaholism is ultimately pointless since wealth is temporary; it can’t last beyond this lifetime.
B. Ecclesiastes 6:9
We must be content with what we have instead of always pursuing what is beyond the horizon.

VII. BE DILIGENT
A. Ecclesiastes 9:10
Work hard.
B. Proverbs 10:4-5
Diligence will be rewarded.
C. Proverbs 14:4
We have to be willing to get our hands dirty in order to advance.
D. Proverbs 6:6-7
We must be self-motivated, not the type of people who need to be micro-managed.
E. Proverbs 12:11; 28:19; 14:23
When it’s time to work, it is just that, time to work, not to play golf or otherwise waste time, including useless chit-chat.