“The ransom of a man’s life is his wealth, but a poor man hears no threat.” – Proverbs 13:8
Mo’ money, mo’ problems. Notorious B.I.G. taught that lesson with all the artful subtlety that gangsta rap employs.
He bemoans the increased scrutiny brought by his burgeoning bank accounts. For all its accompanying headaches, however, one gets the sense he still take the money. B.I.G’s “complaint” sounds like the backhanded boast of the rich. You find it hard to sympathize with a CEO singing the blues from his yacht off the Cayman Islands.
There is a dark side to riches though, and Proverbs doesn’t hide that. Most of what Proverbs has to say about money could pass for modern hip-hop, minus the obscenity: “Stay on your hustle. Get your money right!”
Proverbs does not dismiss money with a wave of the hand, as if there are higher, more spiritual things you should be concerned about. Solomon, whom the Bible says will never meet his match in the combined powers of wisdom and wealth, knew that money works like the skeleton key that opens almost every door (Ecclesiastes 10:19).
Where Proverbs parts from Jay-Z is when it holds up a candle to the underbelly of riches. Money is not an unmitigated blessing; it’s more like a golden anchor. You can still move around with your money-anchor dropped, but the bigger that anchor gets, the more it will drag.
You can think about money like having a big family. The blessings are many, but the responsibilities multiply just as fast. For as many new opportunities that money provides, it brings just as many complexities and demands. Where will you give? Where will you invest? How much do you spend and what do you spend on when budgeting becomes theoretical?
As this proverb warns, when people know you have money, they will go after it. Your guard has to go up. You’re not as free as you were when you could throw all your stuff in the back of your Camry, and still have room to sleep in it for the next few months if need be.
Living on a shoestring comes with strategic advantages in living for the cause of Christ, or any cause for that matter. If you know someone else can sue you for millions, how does that change your math when calculating the truth you’re willing to speak? Once you’ve built up an empire, how do you make decisions with integrity rather than living captive to the wallets that keep the wheels turning?
Could Jesus have done what he did with a trust fund? That’s like asking whether you could win a street race with a Prius. Anything’s possible, but there’s a reason why his ministry didn’t look that way. More likely Jesus would have delegated it to a 501c3, or some authority would have confiscated it.
Are you blessed with resources? Pray that they enhance rather than hinder your efforts for Jesus. Are you blessed with poverty? Sleep well. You have an unencumbered path towards authentic, Christ-following freedom.
