I am enjoying preaching through Proverbs because I am learning so much about the book as a whole. Doing a sermon series such as this also keeps my preaching fresh because I am challenged by all these passages that I have never preached before. I hope others are getting as much out of these sermon series as the preacher! What follows is the sermon from the 11th Sunday in Ordinary Time.
“Getting Rich Quick”
Proverbs 13:11, 20:21, 28:20, 28:22
Rev. Dr. Teri McDowell Ott
June 13th, 2010
They say, “Money talks.” But we don’t talk much about money, do we? We, meaning we people of faith, we church folks, we Christian-living types. Sure we’ll have our occasional stewardship drive. We’ll talk about the church’s budget and how we are going to pay for that new fellowship hall. But none of this gets too personal. None of this involves our day-to-day financial decisions. I mean we are polite people after all. We certainly don’t want to offend. And talking about how we manage our personal finances….well that just might really offend.
Money is one of those taboo topics avoided in polite conversation because it hits close to home. Our money is our security. It is our key to every locked door. It is our god (little “g”). We underestimate the power money has over us until, like a disgruntled lover, it threatens to leave us…or actually does leave us, and we suddenly realize what an unhealthy co-dependent relationship with money we actually had.
I didn’t want to preach about money today. I’ve been stewing over this sermon all week. Not only do I not want to offend. But I’m also afraid of what I might hear. I asked a Christian friend once to help me with a decision over whether or not to buy a new car. She said I should go buy a nice used one. Which wasn’t what I was hoping she’d say. I’m also a little afraid of exposing my own bad behavior. I bought that new car….lured into it by it’s new car smell. So I’ve been stewing over this sermon. Wishing I could avoid it. But also knowing that talking about our money would do us all some good. The last sermon in this series will reveal that a recurring theme in Proverbs is that a fool is someone who avoids wise council. And I certainly don’t want to be a fool. So we’re talking about money today.
Proverbs does share some good, practical wisdom when it comes to our money. Some good, practical wisdom that would be foolish to avoid.
Proverbs preaches against fast money. According to the Israelite sages, money that is quickly made (and quickly spent) is unstable and easily lost. An estate quickly acquired in the beginning will not be blessed in the end. (20:21). Wealth hastily gotten will dwindle, but those who gather little by little will increase it. (13:11) In a culture that values fast food, fast cars, and instant-gratification-impulse-buys, Proverbs advises us to slow down when it comes to our money. Be more deliberate. Be more careful. Be more conscious of what you are buying and what you are supporting with your powerful dollars and cents.
Amazon.com knows my weakness for buying books so they exploit it terribly by placing a large glowing button on my computer screen that says, “BUY NOW with 1 CLICK”. Yes, with one quick click of my mouse I can buy a book, or a DVD, or a new pair of shoes, or anything else in all the world (since Amazon sells literally everything now.) I don’t have to go and get my credit card. They conveniently keep all my information on file. I need not worry about shopping around for a good price because they guarantee a good price. In fact I need not worry at all, or think for that matter. All I need to do is click “BUY” and the book will be delivered to my door in days, or seconds if I decide to go with a wireless book.
The Israelite sages certainly had no frame of reference for online shopping and the speed with which money comes and money goes in our society today. But even in the days when shekels were exchanged the writers of Proverbs recognized that fast money isn’t very valuable because we don’t stop to consider what it is worth. We often hear the advice to stop and ask yourself if you really need something before you buy it, or if you just want it. But beyond purchases of food, clothing, and adequate shelter, it’s pretty hard to label much of anything as a real need. So in light of what we have already learned about the wisdom of Proverbs perhaps we should be asking ourselves if the desired use of our money is just? Is it righteous? Will it promote equity amongst our friends and our neighbors here in this country and around the world? Are we using our money in ways that will give glory to God? Or are we just glorifying our own desires for more? Slow down when it comes to your money, Proverbs advises us today. Be more deliberate. Be more thoughtful.
Proverbs also warns us about the unstable, unsteady character of a person who wants to get rich. The faithful will abound with blessings, but one who is in a hurry to be rich will not go unpunished. (28:20) The miser is in a hurry to get rich and does not know that loss is sure to come. (28:22) This last proverb can be more literally translated as, “The person who is in a hurry to get rich is troubled for wealth.” The person who wants to get rich is troubled. The person who wants to get rich is not content with what he already has. He is not at peace. He wants more.
This morning Dan is preaching a brilliant sermon at Brownson Presbyterian in which he tells the story of King Ahab. King Ahab was a man who had much more than he deserved. He reigned as the King over Israel for twenty-two years. He was successful in battle. He had many sons. He managed his affairs from a stronghold in Samaria while also maintaining a palace in Jezreel where he spent his winters. But all of this was not enough for Ahab. He wanted more. He noticed a nice spot for a vegetable garden. Problem was that there was already a vineyard there that belonged to a man named Naboth. Naboth refused to sell the vineyard to Ahab and so the King sulked, he grew sullen, he was “troubled” by the vineyard that he could not have. He was so troubled in fact that his wife Jezebel decided to act on Ahab’s behalf. She had Naboth stoned to death on false charges. Ahab got his vineyard in the end.
We don’t have much sympathy for a character like Ahab. We don’t have much sympathy for corrupt CEOs, for greedy Wall Street tycoons, for individuals who have bankrupted themselves and lost their homes because of their exorbitant debt. We don’t have much sympathy for such characters. But it is hard not to be “troubled” for more while living in America today.
We are constantly ambushed by advertising and by messages meant to tap into our selfish, self-centered, and greedy desires. We are constantly deluded into thinking that we need and even deserve the bigger house, the better car, the faster computer, and the latest in style. And it’s not just material things we covet, we can also be “troubled” for more recognition, more success, more love, more time. Proverbs warns us, though, that such greed leads us fast to shaky moral ground. And it leads us to an uncertain, unstable state of discontent, a troubled state where we cannot be at peace with what we have because all we can see is what we don’t have.
Finally, Proverbs advises us to be prudent with our money. Prudence isn’t a virtue highly admired among us any more. Parents no longer name their daughters Prudence.[1] But it is a biblical virtue to which our scriptures consistently point. To act prudently is to act with care and thought for the future. To act prudently in the proverbs sense is to act with care and thought for the future keeping the Godly ideals of righteousness, justice, and equity in mind. Being prudent with our money, then, will require us to slow down and carefully consider each purchase. Is this purchase just? Is this purchase righteous? Will this purchase promote equity amongst the people of God? Being prudent with our money will also require us to overcome our selfish greed as we act with care for the future, not just our future.
So when we consider what food to buy, when we consider the produce at the local farmer’s market or the produce at our local grocery store, we need to think prudently, we need to consider the future, not just our future.
When we consider what clothes to buy or what toys to buy or what coffee to buy, we need to consider where these products were made and by whom, we need to think prudently, we need to consider the future, not just our future.
When we consider where to invest and in whom to invest, we need to consider the corporations we are supporting with our money, we need to think prudently, we need to consider the future, not just our future.
When we consider drilling a new oil well off the Gulf of Mexico, when we consider drilling a new oil well in deeper water than we have ever drilled before, we need to think prudently, we need to consider the future, not just our future.
Now I know all this prudent thinking can get overwhelming fast. Life was a lot simpler and a lot slower when the Israelite sages were scribbling ink on papyrus and recording the wisdom of proverbs. Our daily financial decisions come and go in the blink of an eye. But this doesn’t mean that the wisdom of Proverbs no longer applies. This doesn’t mean that living prudently is impossible. In fact, the true wisdom of Proverbs lies in its simplicity. Slow down. Think about what you are doing with your money. Consider the wider implications of your purchases for the children, for the planet, for the future. Living prudently doesn’t sound so overwhelming when stated so simply. Proverbs offers us wise council today, wise council that would be foolish to avoid when the future is at stake.
Now to the God of all grace, be all honor and glory, thanksgiving and power, now and forevermore. Amen.
[1] Ellen F. Davis, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and the Song of Songs, (Westminster Bible Companion, Westminster John Knox Press, Louisville, KY, 2000), pg. 118.
Dan
Teri
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