Wealth an Entrusted Talent
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The Acquisition of Wealth Not a Sin
The Bible does not condemn the rich man because he is rich; it
does not declare the acquisition of wealth to be a sin, nor does it say
that money is the root of all evil. On the contrary, the Scriptures state
that it is God who gives the power to get wealth. And this ability is
a precious talent if consecrated to God and employed to advance His
cause. The Bible does not condemn genius or art; for these come of the
wisdom which God gives. We cannot make the heart purer or holier
by clothing the body in sackcloth, or depriving the home of all that
ministers to comfort, taste, or convenience.
The Scriptures teach that wealth is a dangerous possession only
when placed in competition with the immortal treasure. It is when the
earthly and temporal absorbs the thoughts, the affections, the devotion
which God claims, that it becomes a snare. Those who are bartering
the eternal weight of glory for a little of the glitter and tinsel of earth,
the everlasting habitations for a home which can be theirs but a few
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years at best, are making an unwise choice. Such was the exchange
made by Esau, when he sold his birthright for a mess of pottage; by
Balaam, when he forfeited the favor of God for the rewards of the king
of Midian; by Judas, when for thirty pieces of silver he betrayed the
Lord of glory.
It is the love of money that the word of God denounces as the root
of all evil. Money itself is the gift of God to men, to be used with
fidelity in His service. God blessed Abraham, and made him rich in
cattle, in silver, and in gold. And the Bible states, as an evidence of
divine favor, that God gave David, Solomon, Jehoshaphat, Hezekiah,
very much riches and honor.
Like other gifts of God, the possession of wealth brings its increase
of responsibility, and its peculiar temptations. How many who have
in adversity remained true to God, have fallen under the glittering
allurements of prosperity. With the possession of wealth, the ruling
passion of a selfish nature is revealed. The world is cursed today by
the miserly greed and the self-indulgent vices of the worshipers of
mammon.—
The Review and Herald, May 16, 1882
.