The Two Dangerous Financial Extremes

Money is an amoral element in our lives. It does not contain a moral value in itself. You can do good with it, or you can do bad.

So why does it cause so much conflict? We need a certain amount, but we all want something different.

Two things I ask of you; deny them not to me before I die: Remove far from me falsehood and lying; give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with the food that is needful for me, lest I be full and deny you and say, “Who is the LORD?” or lest I be poor and steal and profane the name of my God. Proverbs 30:7-9

The Book of Proverbs has much to say about finances. That’s a good thing because, as people, we are often consumed with our financial status, and we desperately need God’s wisdom from His Word. In this passage, the author requests something unique but necessary. He asks that he be spared from being either wealthy or poor. I can imagine many people would pray against poverty, but who would also pray against prosperity?

The Danger of Prosperity

The reasoning is solid. If we become so wealthy that our living conditions are marked by unnecessary excessiveness, we risk neglecting God. We look at all we have and pridefully assume that our hands provided it. Ignorantly, we live our lives ignoring the presence and provision of God. The more we have, the more prideful we often become. Rich people are prone to deny God’s provision because they are busy boasting about their performance. The more we accumulate, the less likely we are to acknowledge God.

The Danger of Poverty

On the other hand, if we live in poverty, we might be tempted to take from others what does not belong to us. Robbing man and profaning God in one stroke, we attempt to justify sinful thievery based on our meager amenities. If you believe you deserve more than you have, you might be tempted to justify taking it by any means necessary. Instead of working hard and remaining content, we take matters into our envious hands. Honest, hard work honors God, but deceptive, lazy thievery dishonors Him.

The Nature of Balance

You can experience financial ruin at any extreme by disregarding God. It’s not about what you have but what you do with it. Scripture teaches that money itself isn’t evil, but the love of money is (1 Tim. 6:10). The heart condition is much more important to investigate than any banking amount.

The biblical balance is learning to work hard and steward wisely, providing for one's needs and offering what one has to others without transforming into an arrogant consumer.

Our prayer should be: “God, give me what I need but not everything I want.”

So, that might be a good thing if you don’t have everything you want right now. Look around at what you do have and thank God for it. Even if your job gave you the money to buy that item, who gave you the abilities and opportunities to work in the first place?

Beware of the two dangerous financial extremes.

Work hard to avoid a poverty lifestyle, and worship hard to avoid a prosperity mindset.

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