THE REFORMED WITNESS HOUR"Labor Not to Be Rich”Rev. Carl Haak July 26, 2009; No. 3473
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Dear Radio Friends,
In our series of sermons in the last Sundays on our response to
economic woe, we have seen, as children of God, that the economic downturn, or
recession, in our country has been sent for our good. Our Lord Jesus Christ, in
Luke 21,
says that in the last days, when men see all God’s judgments falling
upon the world, their hearts will fail them for fear. Rather than responding
with fear and dread, we look up in these days and see our heavenly Father
reminding us of crucial lessons that we have forgotten.
We have seen, first of all, that God reminds us of the truth
that He will supply our earthly needs. He says that our life does not consist
in the abundance of the things that we possess, but rather in being rich toward
God. He reminds us that we must seek first the
We have seen, further, that God is reminding us that we are His
stewards. He owns all things as the Creator and as the God of providence He
upholds them. And He also dispenses them as the great sovereign. The economic
downturn is God’s spiritual slap on our hands. And when we reach out and begin
to say concerning the earthly things, “It is mine, and I have a right to it,”
no, we have no ownership. We have only responsibility.
We have seen that God is reminding us of the calling that is
ours to work and that the purpose of work is not to amass millions or to amass
more than the other guy or to make a name for ourselves. But it is to labor as
God labors. It is to enjoy the good of being able to work productively. It is
that we might have priorities in seeking first His kingdom.
And, last week, we were reminded by God’s Word of the grace of
giving, that we are to have a heart that looks to God not as the Taker of all
things, but as the One who has given us all things. And out of a bountiful,
cheerful, willing heart, we are to contribute liberally for the needs of God’s
kingdom: the church, the poor, the Christian schools. Whatever the cause of the
kingdom might be, we are to contribute willingly and joyfully as a privilege
that He gives to us.
Today we want to hear a warning of God against the sin of
materialism. It is found in the book of Proverbs, chapter 23, where we read in
verses 4 and 5: “Labour not to be rich: cease from thine own wisdom. Wilt thou set thine
eyes upon that which is not? For riches certainly make themselves wings; they
fly away as an eagle toward heaven.” Here we are confronted with a basic
question: Why do you work? Even more basic: “What is the goal of your family;
what is your own personal goal? And how does that goal differ from that of an
unbelieving person?
This proverb describes a materialistic man. He is a man who
labors to be rich. He ignores God’s Word. He ignores the truth that God is the
owner of all things. He thinks that life consists in what he has. He sees life
on only one level: the earthly, materialistic level. He does not see God. He
does not see His own soul.
Jesus says that this is folly. Man’s like consists, Jesus says in
Luke 12,
not in the abundance of things that he possesses. And then He went
on in a parable to say of a man who thought that he could feed his soul with
earthly things, “Thou fool. This night shall thy soul be required of thee. And
then whose shall these things be that you have accumulated?”
We must be warned of idolatry, for covetousness, says the Scriptures
(Col. 3:5),
is idolatry. If you work and if
you labor and your goal is simply to be rich, then God says that you have an
idol, you are guilty of the sin of idolatry. You have opened your home to
idols—all types of idols in your home.
This sin is a sin that is destructive of the covenant family.
Materialism destroys covenant families in hundreds of ways.
Think of
So, why do you work? What is your goal? So that you can have
what others have? So that you can reach the American dream?
So that you can have more than your father had? So that you can keep up with the Joneses? Do you work simply
so that you can have the latest fashions, a bigger home, greater
pleasures? And the result of all of these things when you gain them in your
home is discontent, jealousy, envy, bickering, self? Great idols of self:
constricted hearts, no communication.
Little children of faith, do not labor to be rich, but rather
press to the mark of the high calling that is ours in Christ Jesus. Whatsoever
ye do, do it for the glory of God!
As I was saying, the proverb that I quoted (23:4) is a warning
against the sin of materialism. “Labour not to be
rich: cease from thine own wisdom.” There the
Scriptures are seeking to remove from us the cancer of greed. Let us be clear
what that means.
It does not mean that it is wrong to work and to work
diligently. We saw that a few weeks ago, that work is a calling that God gives
to us. It is a good calling, and we must not be lazy, which is a great sin. Nor
does it mean that it is wrong to work for money and seek the return from your
investment, to increase your wage-earning ability, or to invest your money
wisely. We are stewards of God in His house and we are called to invest His
goods carefully in His name.
And still more. It does not mean that if the Lord so prospers us
that we are wealthy, there is something wrong with this.
Proverbs 10:22:
“The blessing of the Lord, it maketh rich, and he addeth no
sorrow with it.” Even in the sharpest warning in the Bible concerning the peril
of riches, the apostle makes this point (and I am referring now to
I Timothy 6:17),
where he has warned Timothy to “Charge them that are rich…that they be
not highminded,” nevertheless, in that verse, the
apostle (the Holy Spirit) says that God “giveth us
richly all things to enjoy.” When God blesses us in riches, that is not
something to be suspicious about, but we may enjoy those things. And we do not
need to feel guilty over that prosperity.
But what is that Word of God warning us against? Well, it is
very simple. It is to labor with the goal of being rich, to have that as your
set purpose—I work because I want more and I want to be wealthy.
Solomon speaks of a man who is dedicated. He goes to work with
purpose. He works hard, very hard. And if you ask him, “Why are you working so
much?” he says, “So that I can get ahead, so that I can be rich, so that I can
have more, so that I can have more than my parents, so that I can increase my
net worth, so that I can have more of the earthly fun and pleasures.”
We must ask, Why do I (you) work? How do you answer that
question as a child of God? Is it an answer that is different from the world’s
answer? It must be different. Jesus once said to His disciples, “Children, what
do ye more than others?” That is, how do you
distinguish yourselves from others who are of the world and who believe not in Me? What is your goal? What is your purpose? What is your
work ethic? How is your work ethic different from that of the world?
The proverb says, Labor not to be rich. And then it goes
on to say, Cease from thine own wisdom. What is our
own wisdom? Our own wisdom, apart from God, is: the more you have, the happier
you will be. The good life is just around the corner. Money makes the man. You
should have more, you deserve more. Cease, says the Word of God, from your own
wisdom. Humble yourself, by the grace of God, before the cross and seek the
wisdom that is from God, the wisdom that is from above.
In verse 5 of
Proverbs 23,
the question is asked, “Wilt thou set
thine eyes upon that which is not?” To set your eyes
on something means that it has captured your thoughts and your desires. You set
your eye upon that car, that home, and suddenly you say, “Honey, we need it. We
need to have it. In fact, we really can’t be satisfied unless we have that.”
Think of
Children, labor not to be rich.
The warning here is to labor not for self, to labor not for our
own wealth and possessions. But rather, we are to labor as stewards in the
service of God in all that we have. Christianity, you see, is a radical truth.
It is utterly contrary to the world. It is a truth based upon grace, what the
grace of God does to the heart and to the thinking of a man or of a woman. This radical grace is displayed in
Colossians 3:22-24,
where the apostle says,
“Servants, obey in all things your masters according to the flesh; not with
eye-service, as menpleasers; but in singleness of
heart, fearing God: and whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and
not unto men…for ye serve the Lord Christ.” Now that is speaking to the
Christian working man. What is to be our motive, what is to be our desire, why
do we do what we do, why do we get up in the morning, why do we pursue our
business? And the answer of the child of God is: We do all things to serve the
Lord Christ. We do all things that we might seek His kingdom, the kingdom of
heaven that is above.
So, why do you work? What is the goal of your family? What is
life to you? What is your world-and-life view?
It is very easy, of course, to excuse ourselves here, to say,
“Well, no, I don’t love money. I’m happy with what I have. I have a modest
income. We’re struggling, still trying to support the church and the causes of
the kingdom.” God’s Word is not finished with us if we answer Him so today. His
Word is warning us of the heart.
Where is your heart? Is it upon the broad way or the narrow way?
What is your goal in life: financial security, or to be faithful in the
kingdom? What about the jealousy in your heart over what other people have,
over what they get paid, over their home, business, and beauty? How do you
define yourself? How do you define life? By what you have, by
what you make, by what you wear? Or is it by what you are by grace in
Jesus Christ?
Do you neglect your family? Do you neglect church? Why? Because you are forever, ever, ever seeking after the earthly
things and never, never, never finding time for the spiritual things? Do
you find it hard to be generous? Do you grudge the fact that thirty, forty,
fifty, sixty percent of your income goes to the
The proverb not only gives us warning but it also gives us good
instruction as to why we must take heed to the warning. It tells us, first of
all, that the earthly things upon which we would be tempted to set our hearts are vanishing and are deceptive. Wilt thou set thine heart upon that which is not? asks
the proverb. For riches certainly make themselves wings. They fly away as an
eagle toward the heaven. Will you set your heart upon that which is not?
Now here you have wisdom and the truth of God, a wisdom that you
will not get out of the world. Man says that earthly things, money, possessions
are real. When you have that, especially when you have gold or silver, you have
something. Man says, those spiritual things—well, who knows about those? What
good can they ultimately do you? Oh, it is nice if you want to have it. Maybe
in the days of tears and sorrows it might be nice to have some type of spiritual
life. But that is not the real world. We are in the real world when we
are seeking the earthly things.
And God says, “You have it all wrong. You have it seriously
wrong. All the earthly things, everything that your eye sees, everything that
the heart of man would set his heart upon, is a
delusion. It will vanish in a day. It cannot satisfy. It cannot sustain.” God
says, “I, I alone am real and true. I am the fount of life eternal. Apart from Me there is only agony and death. In Me is life.”
Now, will you set your heart upon that which is not? Earthly
things, possessions, are a mirage. They vanish in a day. They cannot live up to
the expectations that you have of them. They are deceptive. They will not
satisfy you. Look at the people of the world, the millions and now, perhaps,
billions that they make. Are they happy? No, they are some of the most
miserable and tortured souls that Satan has. Because earthly
things and the mega bucks cannot satisfy. God alone is the fullness of joy. God is the only One who can make you happy.
Psalm 16:11,
“At thy right
hand is fullness of joy.”
Here, then, is the principle. It is the principle about lust. It
is a principle of lust for money, or for things, for honor, for sex, for
alcohol. Set your heart upon something other than God, and it does not simply not satisfy, but that thing will leave you empty and will leave you wanting more and more. Read
Proverbs 30:15
and 16. You will
end up saying, “Give, give, give. It’s never enough.”
In the universe, God has created what is called a dark hole
that, they say, sucks all matter into itself and leaves nothing. Why would God
make something like that? I’ll tell you why. To show you what is the sin of
lust. When you make the center of the universe yourself, money, things,
pleasure and not God, you are sucking all things into an eternal emptiness.
But there is more. Not only will those earthly things vanish,
but there is another reason here. And that is, as the proverb points out, the
peril of setting your hearts on the earthly things. It is not just that they
disappear, but they will bring you bitterness. Love of riches leads to all
kinds of sin: jealousy, envy, discontentments, selfishness. Funerals can bring out the worst. Even before
the dead body of Mom or Dad is buried, there is the fight for the inheritance.
Who will get what?
But the peril is still more. The love of riches becomes a
barrier to the love of God, for no man can serve two masters. He will love the
one and despise the other. “Ye cannot serve God and mammon.” The love of riches
opens the door to the loss of the love of God, to high-mindedness, to pride, to
heady living.
The alternative is, by the grace of God, to labor for the meat that the Son of man shall give you
(John 6:27).
Labor in this way that, through
all of your work, the Word of God, the manna of heaven, the true Word of God,
and especially the church where that Word is purely taught to you—that this is
the focal point of your life. Work for that. Put effort into it. It takes
diligence. See that you spread a full table for your children—not a table
filled with the earthly things, but a table filled with spiritual things, the
things of God’s kingdom, the truths of God’s Word. Lay
hold of eternal life.
The alternative is, by the grace of God, to labor to be rich
toward God, seeking first the things of God. Think of your heavenly birth.
Think of the fact that you are begotten for that life that is above, that in
Jesus Christ you have abiding treasures. Think of the blessings of God’s
covenant. Think of where true happiness is to be found. It is not to be found
in the things of the earth. It is to be found in God. Think of the things that
make you joyful. It is not what you wear, not where you live or what you drive.
It is Jesus Christ, the true and everlasting riches.
God grant such a faith in the truth of His Word among us that,
with the apprehension of glory in our souls, we might, with Moses, esteem the
reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures of
Let us pray.
Father, we thank Thee for Thy Word, and we would ask, through
Jesus Christ, that it be applied this day to our hearts.
In
Jesus’ name, Amen.