“Trust in your money and down you go! Trust in God and flourish as a tree.” Proverbs 11:28
By John E. Schrock, Businessman
Underline the key concepts found in this principle.
The American dollar reads, "In God We Trust." Do we? Our ancestors did. They risked their lives for what they stood for. They understood the value of trusting and believing in God and the Bible. The Bible became the court’s handbook, and was one of the absolutes that gave them faith and courage. It was the foundation and cornerstone from which they structured the Constitution and built our prosperous society. They were aware that money could become our god, so they printed those words as a reminder. Our lives and country will continue to flourish if we keep ourselves committed to God and His principles. Has America flourished? Yes indeed. Are we still flourishing? Yes, but it’s on shaky grounds. Why? Because we trust in money rather than in God. Why will trusting in money take us down?
First, a heart without the fear of God has no control from within, and will become self-willed and rebellious. Without the fear of God, societies become self-righteous. They will compare themselves among themselves, and justify their actions. Money, rather than God, then becomes the standard by which we value ourselves, and it will take us down. The Soviet Union tried it and failed miserably - and so will any society that rejects God’s law as their standard. If we want to flourish, we must believe and trust in God, and see money only as a bi-product of certain values and a medium of exchange.
Second, without trusting God and establishing right morals and values, our money will go through our pockets as if they had holes. Without God’s laws for governing we become unbalanced. We become wasteful and lose our sense of productivity, then we want to raise taxes rather than plug the holes in our pockets.
What does it mean to trust God? It does not mean that we stop planning and working toward our dreams. Trusting in God should not make us passive and lazy. It means we rely on and believe in God to the extent that we pattern our lives and businesses around His values. Trust means to count on or have confidence in. Trust comes from experiencing and knowing someone. We can’t buy or demand it; it is earned. When we experience and get to know God, we will find Him faithful, all-knowing, honest, and reliable. So we put our confidence in Him and pattern our lives after His law and values, which will give us the good life.
When we trust in money, it is temporal and perishable. God’s laws are fixed and can be trusted. They are everlasting; heaven and earth will pass away before His law does. Trust in God causes us to live by the rules that bring prosperity, but trust in money will cause us to become greedy and out of balance, which destroys our character.
There are three ways we can measure our trust in God:
1. When things go wrong, what source do you turn to?
2. How much effort do you put forth in studying the Principles of God?
3. What would it take to make you lie or steal for gain?
This principle is part of the one year character development program: Foundations For Achievement.
Thoughts to Ponder:
Our problem is since we know God can do anything, we want Him to do everything..