The 7 Biggest Money Mistakes Series

We’re in the series, “THE SEARCH, Solomon’s Secrets to a Happy & Successful Life.” We’re ruminating on the topics that Solomon covers in the wisdom given by God.

One big topic, not only in Proverbs, but also in the entire Bible, is money.

It stands to reason that the Bible talks a lot about money since our lives intersect with the subject all the time and since God is interested in us succeeding in handling money just as He desires our success in every area of life.

We’re going to approach this topic by uncovering…

THE 7 BIGGEST MONEY MISTAKES

When we correct these errors that the Bible reveals, then we will experience greater financial breakthroughs. Our lives will bring more honor to God and we’ll be happier.

The first big money mistake spoken of in Proverbs is…

1) MEASURING SELF-WORTH BY NET WORTH

"Rich people may think they are wise, but a poor person with discernment can see right through them." Proverbs 28:11 (NLT)

If God blesses us with wealth, that doesn’t necessarily mean we’re smarter than others who don’t have wealth are. Many people without money are very wise. Jesus owned very little while on earth and He was the wisest man to ever live. Life is like playing Monopoly. Doesn’t matter what property you owned, after its over, it’s all going back in the box.

Having a lot of money can inflate our ego but God never intended for us to use money as a measurement of how important we are. Each and every human being is eternally valuable because they are created in God’s image and He loves every one of us so much that He sent Jesus to suffer and die on the cross, shedding His blood for our sins. When you want to know how truly valuable you are don’t look to your checkbook balance – look to the cross!

The Word of God goes on to say…

"Those who trust in riches will be ruined, but a good person will be healthy like a green leaf." Proverbs 11:28 (NCV)

Circle those two words “good person” in that verse. Our emphasis in life should be on being a “good person,” not necessarily on being a “rich person.” If we trust in our money it will ruin us. Money will become our god because who or what you trust in is what you worship. Money is a tool to be used; not something that should be worshipped or worried about.

Another money mistake identified in the Book of Proverbs:

2) INVESTING IN “GET-RICH-QUICK” SCHEMES OVER PLANNING & HARD WORK

"The plans of hard-working people earn a profit, but those who act too quickly become poor." Proverbs 21:5 (NCV)

One of the biggest pipedreams in the world is that we can earn a profit by investing in little planning and doing little work. This mistake has a special appeal to the laziness of our fallen nature. That’s why “get-rich-quick” schemes are so inviting AND WHY the Bible warns of staying away from them.

Wouldn’t all of us love to believe those late-night infomercials that show people riding on a golf cart saying, “I made $100,000 last month and only worked five hours and you can too!?” Of course they made that money. They had their infomercial on one hour per night for five nights and waited for naïve people to send in their money for their product that would further advance the pyramid scheme.

Don’t whittle away what God has given you by falling for get-rich-quick schemes. Instead, keep working hard and slowly building wealth. GOD’S WISDOM IS, PLAN WELL, WORK HARD, & BUILD WEALTH SLOWLY.

"Wealth from get-rich-quick schemes quickly disappears; wealth from hard work grows over time." Proverbs 13:11 (NLT)

Studies have revealed that the average lottery or sweepstakes winner is flat broke one to three years after their windfall. Why? Because they didn’t work hard for that money and consequently they took it for granted.

We need to heed the wisdom of God’s Word.

"The trustworthy person will get a rich reward, but a person who wants quick riches will get into trouble. Greedy people try to get rich quick but don’t realize they’re headed for poverty."

Proverbs 28:20 & 22 (NLT)

Profit, the Bible says, comes from good planning and hard work. You can’t beat that formula for success. These verses let us know that things like playing the lottery and other forms of gambling to get rich quick are not wise. For one winner out of 50 million people in a lottery there are 49,999 losers. Think of the billions of dollars that could have been invested in plans that actually brought a return back to people had they not fallen victim to the lure of taking a hasty shortcut.

Plan carefully and work hard. Don’t just sit around and talk about earning money, or hoping for your ship to come in - we need to get to work!