Proverbs 23:4-5

 The book of Proverbs gives us a lot of instruction on a lot of different subjects. One subject that can keep us in God’s wisdom is Godly Follower-ship. Who we follow; where we follow; how we follow are all spoken about in Proverbs. Here is one of them about wealth:

Proverbs 23:4 (NASV)

Do not weary yourself to gain wealth, Cease from your consideration of it.

Proverbs 23:4-5 (ESV)

Do not toil to acquire wealth;

be discerning enough to desist.

When your eyes light on it, it is gone,

for suddenly it sprouts wings,

flying like an eagle toward heaven.

In our modern society we have become self absorb with finances, savings, retirement and accumulation of wealth. Even Christians have become predesposed to focus on "fiscal responsibility" and "financial freedom." We have many talking heads who tell us how to save and how to earn and how to spend and how to invest. And, if you are incline to "lay up treasures on the earth where moth and rust doth corrupt," these talking heads advice is very convincing. However, I have never heard one of them talk about Solomon's words in 23:4 (which doesn’t mean they don’t). This proverbs is so simply it confuses you with profoundness. The word translated "consideration" is actually better stated as "understanding." Solomon seems to be saying we are not to focus on gaining wealth and we are to "cease" (pretty clear word use) from trying to understand it. Yet, we do. We study it; we analyze it; we put each penny under a microscope to grasp it. If you are in that camp that holds to this philosophy please tell me how we focus so heavily on money and "cease from our consideration of it."

There are a lot of people in the media today who make a lot of money telling us what to do with our money. These money talking heads have many listeners. People invest where they tell them to invest and do what they tell them to do. However, I doubt if any “call-in money shows” would ever quote Solomon's words in 23:4,5. You can't help but read Solomon's words and sense that Solomon (perhaps the richest man who ever lived ... certainly in his day) had no use for money and saw how meaningless it was. Read his words on money in the book of Ecclesiates. He tells them to forget about the money and don't even consider it. We are to let it go. It will fly away anyhow. Like an eagle in the sky. People obese about their money. God tells us here to let it go and don't even consider it. Good advice ... we won’t hear this kind of advice in the media.

We are not to work for the purpose of gaining wealth. This cuts across most of our thoughts about work.  Working to accumulate will leave us wanting at both our bank accounts and our jobs.  Solomon tells us when we do set our purpose for work as money, that money will "suddenly" be gone.  The accumulation of wealth is NOT our aim.  The glory of God in work is to be our purpose.  That is when we find satisfaction in our work.  When we make it about money we will find our jobs bankrupt and, eventually, our accounts, as well.  Money, like an unpredictable eagle, flies where it wants, when it wants.