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December 12, 2004
Dear Paul,
I suppose we have already talked a little about money, when we considered why it is a person should work hard and make a living. but I think the subject of the Queen's paper is one that deserves a little more attention. Money is like food - you need it to live - but too much or too little of either can deliver a world of hurt. Remember I said how I likened my prayers after old Agur ?
Not too little and not too much - that is a wise man's prayer. And one we would all do well to make a regular part of our devotions.
Now, I suppose we ought to start with thinking about where our money should come from. What's clear in the New Testament and Old, is that the brunt of it ought to come from the sweat of our brow.
There's very little fast money in this world. The sluggard spends all day scheming how to get it and goes to bed hungry. Another man inherits a safe-full, and it's gone as fast as it appeared.
No, the Bible way to gaining your riches is through regular hard work over time.
Whether he works 12 hours or 3, a man deserves to be paid at the end of the day and that is what we call his income . And most of us say, "Come in!" However, for many that income has an unfortunate outcome! It seems to me that one of the simplest lessons the simple never learn, is that you have to spend less than you earn. Cars don't run on fumes. Cows don't live on air. Yet, lots of folks try to live on less than either! No, a man or woman has to learn to always have a little left over at the end of the month.
Of course, we live in a day when folks tell us the opposite is true. "Just put it on your line of credit" and the like. Well, I don't need to tell you that Credit Card companies and Casinos have a lot in common - they are both run by folks who keep smiling and telling you that losing is winning! Pity that man who uses the one to fund the other!! I say his problem is not with who he listens to, but for what he desires and lusts after!
Jesus said, " No servant can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money." (Luke 16: 13)
Every son of Adam and daughter of Eve needs to work out in their own heart who it is they are going to love. Money is just a thing, really. not evil in and of itself. But it is death to the person who loves it.
Money is like cotton candy - it tastes good but never satisfies. A man ought heed Solomon's warning: "A knife to your throat" before falling in love with money!!
Some men love money so much they are willing to be wicked in order to get it. That wickedness may be fudging a number on a tax form or robbing a bank at gunpoint - I don't suppose there is a bit of difference between the two in the Lord's eyes. "The love of money is the root of all kinds of evil" (1 Tim 6). But, like the old King said:
I've known lots of men with a driveway-full of stones in their mouth. Sure, they seem to have all that the world offers - but the wicked only earn "deceptive wages" (Pr 11:18 ) and they will not deliver when needed most! I once waited in line for two hours to see a new movie. Only, when I finally got to the theatre door, they turned me away! Seems they had sold too many tickets and mine was one of them. No matter how I pleaded, my ticket couldn't get me in! That's the problem with money, too.
"The emperor has no clothes," as the saying goes. Lots of men feel and act powerful and fearless in life who will stand naked and helpless in death. If you gain more peace about your situation from your bank account than your bond to the Lord, Walter says, "Watch out!" Earthly treasures will run away, but heavenly ones eternal stay!
I've had more than three friends watch a lot of money fly away. Some were businessmen who went from millions to debt in a matter of hours. Some were from wealthy families who squandered the stash in a matter of months. Either way, they proved to old Walter that trusting in money is like leaving your baby with your pet tiger. Sure, he may not have done anything in the past to make you doubt him, but he's a beast and can turn in an instant!
Money is like my morning porridge - it looks perfect in the bowl when your hungry after chores, but all you've got is a dirty pot when it's gone. There's a barn full of people in life who are staring at the pot and wondering where it all went. That's nothing to put your hope in!
Even if you die with millions in the bank, that's where it stays while you stand before the Lord. I listened to some sermons on Romans 2, and what's for certain is that no one will be bribing or buying their way through the judgment! No wonder Jesus said:
Besides, having money in the bank brings with it its own set of troubles. I'm too old to have taken French in school, but I am guessing "entourage" must be the French word for "leeches." I see these rich athletes and rock stars on the news never going anywhere without their little group fawning and following after. Well, these poor fellows ought to mind the words of the King:
Some of my wealthier friends have the regular trial of deciding who to help. Everybody figures some of that wealth ought to come to them - and that they would be quick to do likewise had they the same. A rich man has to say, "No" sometimes, and that may be harder than pulling stumps in a muddy field for some people. I say, leave the rich alone and let them trust the Lord for where their money ought to go. If a wealthy Christian hears by providence of some particular need, he'll be more than happy to help. (It might even help you to pray!)
Money will always buy companions, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother (Pr 18:24 ) and He won't be bought. When money leaves, so to do the leaches! So Solomon warns the rich who might be tempted to think that their money has nothing to do with their popularity:
Not that a man ought to hate money. "It is the blessing of the Lord that makes rich" (Pr 10:22 ). The church can use some money to do the will of God and so the Lord often blesses some folks with more than they need. The trick is what you do with it!
Jesus told the story of a man who looked at all his great wealth as his own - for himself (Luke 16). He built bigger barns instead of a bigger treasure and died without hope of heaven. If the Lord prospers a man, it is more than likely so the man can take care of some of the Lord's needy ones.
Remember Paul's warnings to Timothy:
I advise the rich, decide early-on how you are going to live. The leeches daughters will always be crying, "Give! Give!" (Pr 30:15) and a man has to have some defense against it. I know of a lawyer who makes more money than could fit in my silo, but lives in a tiny apartment, drives an older car and wears suits off the rack. He decided early on what his standard of living would be and everything past that he gives away. Well, did you know that this man just keeps making more and more money! Now, who is in charge of that? Why, the Lord, of course! Seems to me that the Lord is just directing what belongs to Him to that man since that man is faithful to give it to those who need it!
Like I said, the rich man has a high calling and an extra burden. He needs to care for the poor and help those in debt and give to those in need. And once he helps one, you can bet his name will spread faster than dandelions amongst those looking for a way up. Now he has to figure who to help and when. That takes a truckload of godliness and discernment, so that a man better be wise to be rich. Not too many can handle lots of money. That's why old Walter says. "Better a little!" Yep, that's my motto and I'll stick by it!
I say a man ought to take a step back and ask what he wants to live his life for. Sure lots of folks are living for money. but are they happy? My god isn't my happiness, at least I pray not, but it strikes me that only the man who is not living for money is able to enjoy the money he actually gets - whether it be lots or little.
It was after he had lived a lot of life and made and spent a LOT of money, that Solomon wrote:
Lots of folks are busy chasing money when they should be chasing integrity of character and peace with God. They might find the Lord blesses them with the former the more they gain the latter!
Now, one other thing. Mr. Spurgeon said, "Sins and debts are always worse than we think." And I agree with him 100%.
Do not lend what you're not willing to lose. Nothing puts a fence between friends like a debt not paid. I was anxious to get Mrs. Walter out for a date once and had nothing in the bank. I knew my pay was coming, but not for another week so I borrowed $20 from my friend. But did you know I forgot all about that loan - and after several months asked my pal why he seemed so cool and distant. He quietly reminded me of my debt and Old Walter felt 2 feet tall and 3 feet thick. I learned then, better to go without than go in debt.
Some smart person told me if you total up what everybody in Canada owes on a credit card and average it out per person, then every one of us owes more than we make in a year. There are 74 million credit cards in Canada - three for every Canadian over the age of 18. Well, all I can tell you is that there is one credit card in Walter's wallet that gets used very little and paid every month. Did you know nearly half of Canadians don't even know how much interest they pay a month on their credit! The same folks gripe for an hour when they pay 15% in government sales taxes - if they only knew they were paying twice that much on their credit cards!
If a man has trouble using too much plastic I hand him a pair of scissors. You don't give free cocaine to a drug addict so why give what feels like free money to a man in debt. There's always a way out of debt for a man or woman willing to work hard and live light. It may not be the most comfortable life, but they'll sleep sound with a good conscience at night.
Used furniture, old clothes, fruits and vegetables are the way to get rid of debt. You may not be as good-looking or well-fashioned as the next lady, but it would shock you to know how little she really owns anyway. There's nothing so freeing as a debt paid. Just think of when you came to Christ and your most unpayable debt was taken away. how light and joyful you felt! Well, to some degree that's what you'll feel when the credit card says zero! Debt is a four-letter word and ought to be avoided like a sinkhole on the highway. Pay off that debt as fast as you can and never get in it again!
Now, I realize the lot of you live down there in the Big Smoke and just finding a place to live can be tricky. I've wondered for many years about whether a mortgage is a good thing or not. I've talked with some Christians who won't buy a home until they've saved all the money. As much as I admire that, it makes me think there won't be a lot of Christians left in the city if we make that law! I suppose there is some form of balance, where a man can take a loan, but one he is reasonably sure to be able to pay with the money he makes.
I say "he" since too often young couples buy their homes based on what "they" make. Then little Johnny or Mary appears and they want to have mom stay in their nice home, but the house is too big (if you catch my meaning). No, I suggest that right from the start you learn to live off of Dad and whatever mom makes is gravy on your meat. That way, should there be any surprising providences, you're all set! I suppose what makes a house different than other kinds of debt is that most of the time you can sell it and pay off what you owe on it. But, even then, there is no guarantee and so a man best think carefully and pray thoughtfully before loading his shoulders with a big mortgage.
A person, who gets their money under control, might find it helps them in other areas of life too. Most of our over-spending is just giving way to our lusts and sinful pleasures. so spending less than you earn will help check those excesses. Not that a frugal man is a sinless man! A man can err just as severe on the other side by hording and lusting like Scrooge in the story. Better to be a man who chases hard after godliness in all areas.
When it comes to putting others into debt, I agree with Solomon:
I'd sooner give my neighbour a shovel than have him borrow mine. I'd rather make him a dinner than lend him the money to buy it. I'd rather have him stay under my roof than loan him my tent. Those in need are usually the worst borrowers - until a man learns to take care of himself he probably won't take care of your stuff. I once leant a great deal of money to a friend that I totally trusted. He was going to pay it off in a month! Well, over a year later I had most of it back again. He and I both would have been better off had I given him what I could've spared.
And I suppose having a little to spare is a good plan.
If I can die with a little for my kids and grandkids, I will be a happy man. I once saw a flyer for a company that would help you to die poor - spending all your money in a content retirement so that your bank account and heart would expire at the same moment. Well, I never did figure how they could time those things so right without a needle or hammer, but never mind, because the goal was all wrong. Money is just a tool to live by, and if a little more might help my kids, than I am happy to leave it for them.
I say, learn to spend less than you earn and most of these things will take care of themselves. Then, once you have a little in the bank, be willing to give it away to whomever needs it if the Lord should lay that on your heart. Well, I wrote too much again - sorry. Have fun talking about all this together. I wish I could be with you!
Your Brother,
Walter
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