Wisdom And Wealth, Part 1

Today on Fellowship in the Word, Pastor Bill Gebhardt challenges you to become a fully functioning follower of Jesus Christ. You see, if you don't honor the Lord with your wealth, you dishonor the Lord. That's the point. If you honor yourself with your wealth, you'll dishonor God with your wealth.

That's the point. That's what Jesus talked about when He said that you'll love the one and you'll hate the other. No man, He said, no person can serve God and man.

You can't. There's either one you're going to honor or the other you're going to honor. What we like to say is, no, I think I honor both. He says you can't.

It's a matter of your perspective. Honor God, He says, with your wealth. Thank you for joining us today on this edition of Fellowship in the Word with Pastor Bill Gebhardt. Fellowship in the Word is the radio ministry of Fellowship Bible Church located in Metairie, Louisiana.

Let's join Pastor Bill Gebhardt now as once again he shows us how God's Word meets our world. The last few months, Sprint, the telephone company, has been running a couple of different commercials that are subtitled The Stupid Rich. The first commercial is three young people, a private jet pulls into a hangar and three young people get off a private jet. And one of the young men says, as he's going down the stairs, that he said that Sprint has contacted me and said I could save 50 percent of my phone bill if I would switch from Verizon to Sprint.

And he stopped for a moment, looked startled and said, why? And then they would show some getting down and they he said, well, they said that I could spend my money on things that I want. And that shows each of the three of them getting in their own sports car in the hangar, little convertibles. And the young man and another young man said, but we have everything we want. And then they get out of their sports car, they drive it about two feet, stop it, get out. And then they go up the stairs to another private jet. And as they're going up the stairs, the young girl that was there, she said, well, where are we going? And one of the young men said, basketball. And she said, oh, sports. And they get in there and it says, don't be stupid like the stupid rich.

The second one is much more to the point. It's a mother and daughter and they're in an auction and they're sitting at the auction and there's a little cat, a little tiny feline that has like rhinestones on it. And it shows the daughter has her paddle up. And so does the mother right beside her.

The only paddle's up in the room. And you hear the auctioneer say $100,000. And so when he says $100,000, the mother then says that the people at Sprint had contacted her and said that if they would switch from Verizon to Sprint, that they would save a lot of money. And the daughter said, but, Mama, we don't need to save money, do we?

And she said, no. And then the daughter gets a funny look on her face and she says, like Daddy always says, money can't spend itself. That's funny enough, but then meanwhile they still have the paddles in the air. And the mother notices her arm when she puts her paddle up.

So she starts going muscle bend, muscle bend. And then the girl starts beside them and they're just going like this. And you hear the auctioneer near the end of it say $1 million. And then the announcer comes on about, unless you're stupid rich, you might want to consider the ad. I think the reason that those commercials resonate with us is we all know someone who is stupid rich.

You've met people like that. We know that wisdom and wealth are not always traveling companions. And that may be the way it is in the world, but that's not the way it should ever be for us. So what I want to talk about this morning is a wise perspective of wealth. Now, I'm going to make an assumption here that most of you are going to try to deny. And that is I'm going to start with the assumption that you're wealthy. Now, notice that you always this is a typical American response. Absolutely not. We know a few wealthy people, but that's not us. Okay. So what I decided to do is let's see if you really are wealthy.

Pastor Brad gave me an article that I thought was very, very helpful for this. Theglobalrich.com. They say there are tests to wealth. If you are considered rich in this world or wealthy in this world, there are tests.

If one of these things applies to you, you are rich in this world. Even before, by the way, I read that, let me just say I read myself this week online that this is the wealthiest individuals have ever been in the history of the world worldwide. And that the average annual income for an income earner worldwide today is $2,920 a year. That's the average. Now, are you above average?

But this is what globalrich.com says. If one of these applies to you, you are considered wealthy or rich. That you have at least a kindergarten education.

I'm going to assume that. That you stand in front of a closet with an option of shirts, pants, sweaters, blouses, lamenting that you have nothing to wear. That you have more than one pair of shoes. That you change your clothes because you have special outfits to wear to different activities, like exercising, sleeping, relaxing, those things. That you have a technology phone in your own possession. And that you change phones from time to time. That you have a mechanically sound vehicle with some cash for the car that does essentially the same thing. In other words, you can actually drive from one spot to another in a vehicle that's reliable. That you have the ability to take off at least one day a week and still make enough money to eat or feed your family.

And that you have food for your next meal in a refrigerator or freezer or pantry. Now, if you have any of those, you're considered rich. You see, the problem that we have in America is because of the kind of economy we have been, we have never seen ourselves that way. And so what we end up as a defense mechanism is we never see ourselves as rich at all. But when you consider everybody else that lives on this planet, not only now, but have ever lived on this planet, you're wealthy and you can't really escape that. And so the issue comes down to what is the wise perspective of wealth? And one way it's almost not worth talking about in this sense, that Jesus said that money is a very little thing.

But that was from his perspective. He said money is a very little thing. The Bible also says that a good reputation is more desirable than great wealth. The Bible even says that a loving, peaceful home is better than wealth. But I want to talk about what the Bible says with wisdom and with wealth. Open your Bibles to Proverbs chapter 8. Proverbs chapter 8. We will look at several passages this morning on wisdom and wealth.

Proverbs chapter 8 and verse 10. Now, the man writing this, by the way, is very qualified. This is Solomon. So he has two things going for him. He's the wisest man in the world.

And simultaneous to that, he's also probably the wealthiest man in the world. So if anybody can speak to wisdom and wealth, it would be Solomon. And in verse 10, he says this. He says, take my instruction, he says, and not silver, and knowledge rather than the choicest gold. For wisdom is better than jewels, and he says, and all desirable things cannot compare with her or wisdom.

He says wisdom is infinitely better than wealth. Now, be honest. When's the last time you said that? You see, when you think about it as an American, and you start thinking about that idea, it's sort of like, really?

Are you kidding? And I think the reason for it is, you know, in our country we say, well, you know what money can do? I've spent so much of my life trying to get more and more of it. How could wisdom be better than money? We know what money can do for us.

Turn to Proverbs 18, just to the right, Proverbs 18. And there's an illusion here of one of the things that we really believe that money does for us. Solomon understands that in verse 11 of Proverbs 18, he says this, a rich man's wealth is his strong city, like a high wall in his own, and then this word, imagination. Let me paraphrase. A lot of people think that wealth gives them security. And you might be one of those.

And to a certain degree, that's true. But you notice, it's my strong fortress. He says, I've got my wealth. I've got a strong fort. I'm secure. We spend so much of our life trying to be secure. It's an astounding thing, isn't it? I mean, just think of how many ads and things you have seen over the years of telling all of us who are in the sort of workforce as you start approaching this special age, which we all call retirement, that the most important thing in the world is to be financially secure.

Nothing can compare to your financial security. But there's an assumption there, isn't there? You're going to live. You see, that's an assumption. Be careful with that. Let's go to the New Testament for a moment and look at Luke chapter 12 and let Jesus speak to it. Luke chapter 12, a very famous parable in verse 16.

Luke 12 and verse 16, and Jesus told them a parable. And he said this, the land of a rich man was very productive. Now, notice the first thing that happens. Jesus says, this man is already rich. He's already rich. He's already wealthy. And here's this man who's already wealthy and his land is very productive. And he began reasoning to himself and said, what shall I do since I have no place to store my crops? Now, understand, he's already a rich man. So he has places to store his crops, but not quite this many crops.

In other words, his ship came in. He's got a ton of money. And he says, now what am I going to do?

How am I going to store my crops? Notice what never crosses his mind. Share it. Never crosses his mind. He's already rich. He's having a bumper year with crops. Then he said, this is what I will do. I will tear down my barns and build larger ones. And there I will store all my grain and all my goods. And I will say to my soul, soul, you have many goods laid up for many years to come. Take your easy drink and be merry. Wow.

You see what he said? I'm sliding for home. I've got it made. I've got the money. I've got so much money. Soul, this is going to be great.

You see, I am secure. Now God steps in. But God said to him, you fool.

Now think of that. We're studying wisdom. And we said there are three kinds of people that are not wise, the naive, the fool, and the scoffer. God calls this very successful wealthy man a fool. And God says, you fool. He says, this very night your soul was required of you.

And now, he says, who will own what you have prepared? In other words, there was no real security in that at all. You thought there was. Now remember, the Bible is not talking about saving or anything like that. It's not talking about planning. The Bible says much about both of those.

We should do that. But ultimately, it's only in our own imagination that your security is going to come from money. That's what he is saying. He said in verse 21, so is the man who stores up treasures for himself and is not rich toward God. So the whole idea is, and by the way, why do we store up treasures if we're really honest?

For ourselves. Because that's not really what you should be doing with treasures. So we think that wealth, riches, money, gives us a sense of security. But the Bible says it doesn't. There's something else we think that wealth will give us.

Notoriety or even friends. Go back with me to Proverbs 19. Proverbs 19, sometimes I just love the subtlety of Solomon's genius. Solomon is known, as you read the Proverbs in the book of Ecclesiastes, to become very sarcastic at times.

It just goes with his sort of brilliance, I guess. And he says in verse 4 of chapter 19, wealth adds many friends. Wealth adds many friends. And then he says, but a poor man is separated from his friend.

Yes. Wealth adds many friends. Now, if you don't believe that, talk to a lottery winner. You see, that's what Solomon is saying.

Boy, if you come into great wealth, you'll be amazed. People want to be your friend. Now, Solomon was the wealthiest man going, and he sort of had a certain, like I said, a certain point of view here. He also said, by the way, in verse 6, many will seek the favor of a generous man, and every man is a friend to him who gives gifts.

Now, we both know something, you know, that they're not really your friends. I mean, you kind of got to get that from this idea, but we have this tendency to think that it adds to us a certain amount of notoriety. You see, one of the things that we believe with all of our heart is that wealth makes us significant. You see, that if I have money, I am somebody.

You have to be very careful of that. That's why, by the way, money is such a perfect false idol. Notice, it gives me security, and it gives me significance. By the way, that's exactly what I need, and that's exactly what God offers. You see, God offers me security, and God offers me significance.

He'll never leave me nor forsake me, and I'm a child of God. But money offers me the same thing. It makes me secure.

You see, it makes me significant. Therefore, money has a certain kind of drawback that can really hurt us. Turn with me to Proverbs 28 for a moment. Proverbs 28 and verse 11. These are principles, by the way. This doesn't mean every person who has wealth, but by principle.

Proverbs 28 and verse 11. The rich man is wise in his own eyes. The rich man is wise in his own eyes. In other words, wealth produces pride.

I'm going to use a word here, and you tell me something. I'm going to use the word snobbery. Now, how many of you thought of a poor person? You hear the word snobbery. You think immediately, don't you, of a rich person. You see, that's the problem. Money can produce pride in us.

It can also do something else. Go to chapter 30, just a page to the right. Chapter 30 and verse 7. This is a proverb by Agor, not Solomon.

But he's praying in verse 7. This is what he prays to God. He says, two things I ask of you. Do not refuse me before I die. Keep deception and lies far from me.

I want to be a man of the truth. And then he says, feed me with the food that is my portion. He said that I not be fool and deny you and say, who is the Lord?

He said, just give me a portion. In other words, what Agor is saying, please don't make me too wealthy. Because there's a tremendous temptation if I become too wealthy, I'm going to say, who needs God? I don't need God. Look what I've done.

Look what I've made of myself. Who is the Lord? So it can also drive you from God, as well as produce pride in your life. There's one thing for sure we need to look at if we're looking at a wise look of money in Proverbs 17. Proverbs 17 and verse 16. Solomon writes this, why is there a price in the hand of a fool to buy wisdom?

He says, when he has no sense. You know what wealth can't buy you? It can't buy you wisdom.

That's why they make commercials about the stupid rich. Just because you're wealthy doesn't mean you're wise at all. You can't buy wisdom.

You see, that's something else. So it can't give you friends, not the right kind, it can produce pride, it can drive you from God, it can't buy wisdom. But the point is, wisdom and wealth are able and should be able to peacefully and totally coexist. In other words, you can be wealthy and wise. Wisdom and wealth coexisting in all kinds of different levels. Turn to Proverbs chapter 10 for a moment. Another principle concerning wealth and wisdom.

Verse four. In verse four, Solomon says, poor is he who works with a negligent hand, but the hand of a diligent makes rich. What's that principle? The principle is clear. Hard work can produce wealth.

That's what he is saying. You stay at it. You see, hard work can produce wealth. There's a lot in the Bible about the sanctity of work and hard work. Wisdom and work can work together. When you read biographies of men like Henry Ford or Andrew Carnegie, you realize the enormous amount of work that they put in in the beginning of the empires that they ended up building and becoming extremely wealthy. So the idea of wisdom and work, they do produce wealth.

There's not a problem with that. But there's something else that wisdom is really supposed to do, the most important thing, and that's in Proverbs chapter 3 in verses 9 and 10. And this really is where the rubber meets the road. This is really the wise view of wealth. Verse 9 of Proverbs 3, Solomon says, Honor the Lord from your wealth. Honor the Lord from your wealth and from the first of all your produce.

Now, you might be thinking, the first thing you think there is, oh, yeah, I knew that I'd always get to something like that. That's sort of the reputation of the current evangelical church. But I think you'll be missing the whole point. He said, honor the Lord with your wealth. OK, I get that. But notice the next verse. He says, honor the Lord from your wealth and from the first of all your produce, so your barns will be filled with plenty and your vats will overflow with new wine.

Ah. Honor the Lord with your wealth so that you'll be wealthy. That's an interesting statement. And it's a statement that is repeated over and over again as a principle in the Word of God. You see, if you don't honor the Lord with your wealth, you dishonor the Lord. That's the point. If you honor yourself with your wealth, you'll dishonor God with your wealth.

That's the point. That's what Jesus talked about when he said that you'll love the one and you'll hate the other. No man, he said, no person can serve God and mammon.

You can't. There's either one you're going to honor or the other you're going to honor. What we like to say is, no, I think I honor both. He says, you can't.

It's a matter of your perspective. Honor God, he says, with your wealth. You've been listening to Pastor Bill Gebhardt on the Radio Ministry of Fellowship in the Word. If you ever miss one of our broadcasts or maybe you would just like to listen to the message one more time, remember that you can go to a great website called oneplace.com. That's oneplace.com, and you can listen to Fellowship in the Word online.

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That's fbcnola.org. At our website, you will find hundreds of Pastor Bill's sermons. You can browse through our sermon archives to find the sermon series you are looking for, or you can search by title. Once you find the message you are looking for, you can listen online, or if you prefer, you can download the sermon and listen at your own convenience. And remember, you can do all of this absolutely free of charge. Once again, our website is fbcnola.org. For Pastor Bill Gebhardt, I'm Jason Gebhardt, thanking you for listening to Fellowship in the Word. .