The Bible tells us that "They that would be rich fall into a snare". Well, certainly, we don't want to fall into a snare. Yet, we see millions of people running around trying to get rich. Some look for ways to earn it, some look for ways to get it without working such as gaming and lotteries, and some simply try to take what others have earned.

There's an interesting article that appeared on MSN.com. A friend pointed it out to me. You can read the whole thing here: articles.moneycentral.msn.com/RetirementandWills/EscapeTheRatRace/will-you-get-rich-someday.aspx. It did a good job in briefly bringing up important questions such as, what is rich, and how does one become rich?

According to the article, "One-fifth of Americans believe that starting a business is the most likely way to get rich today.

History supports that belief. Most self-made millionaires are small-business owners, says Greg McBride, Bankrate.com's senior financial analyst."

On the question of how much makes you rich the article said, "Choosing a high-paying job or career comes in second (19%) as the most likely path to getting rich.

Unfortunately for most people, having a high-paying job is the ticket to an expensive lifestyle and nothing more lasting, says Todd Tresidder, a financial coach at FinancialMentor and self-made millionaire."

But back to that important Biblical warning - where does that fit in for a Christian who is trying to get ahead, or perhaps just trying to get out of a hole?



Well, primarily, the Bible is not even trying to deal with the questions of how much money makes you wealthy. It is trying to deal with an individual's attitude toward money and wealth. You see, the fact is, it takes money to live. And everything we do, good or bad, takes money. So simply the fact or act of getting money is really not under consideration. If it were, then what would you do with those passages that say, "if a man does not work then neither shall he eat?" or, what would you do with the command to give to others. If you are making just the bare minimum to survive, you can't fill a Biblical command! So you have to be making at least a little more than you need.

There are over 800 verses in scripture that deal with money, its nature, and our relationship with money. It is important, if we wish to obey scripture, to become familiar with all of them, and not obey one or two verses to the exclusion of all the others.

How important is this? Well, consider that there are some key Bible doctrines that are established with a single verse. In fact, one core Christian doctrine - the trinity - is only clearly and definitively stated in one verse - a verse that happens to be one of the most hotly contested verses in scripture. So if God gave us 800 verses to establish our relationship with wealth, do you get the impression I do - that He felt it important that we get the message?

So, is it a sin to want or work for wealth? Well, that really depends. Why do you want the wealth? Are you working for wealth and leaving out other things scripture commands? Would you give up that wealth if necessary to obey God? Or, are you willing to let your stand for Christ suffer in order to obtain and maintain wealth? What of the person who gets wealth and then gives it away in order to fund good and godly projects? Wealth for wealth's sake really is vanity. It really does take wings and fly away. It is likely that someone else will end up enjoying what we worked so hard to obtain in that circumstance. But if you goal and aim is to glorify God with the wealth He blesses you with, who could possibly take your reward?

The important thing is to closely examine your "why". Why do you want more money? Why do you want to be wealthy? Make sure you have a why that passes Biblical standards. Then make sure you have a vehicle (means to obtain wealth) that also passes Biblical standards. Finally, once you have it, do not put your hope and faith in it, rather, keep your hope and faith in Him who provided it.