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-Proverbs 1:13
I’ve heard this joke several times (and will probably get in trouble for repeating it here, but I think it’s appropriate):
A man and a woman meet in the bar, and they talk for a while. After a few minutes, the man asks the woman if she will go to bed with him for a hundred thousand dollars. Her eyes go wide, and after a moment’s pause, she accepts the terms.
They talk some more, and eventually the man reveals that he doesn’t have a hundred thousand dollars, would she consider fifty dollars?
She slaps him hurriedly, saying, “I’m not a hooker!”
The man calmly replies, “We both know what you are; now we’re just negotiating price.”
This verse in Proverbs speaks of another temptation we sometimes face. We’ve already discussed, in previous blog entries, temptation of power and revenge, but in this verse Solomon is telling us about greed.
Money, in and of itself, is not an evil thing. People will often misquote the Bible, saying, “Money is the root of all evil.” The Bible doesn’t say that, and it doesn’t even suggest that. What it does say is, “For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs” (1 Timothy 6:10).
Huge difference here, and an important one. Solomon was a rich dude, and he knew it wasn’t a sin to have money or get money. The moral question was what do you do with it, and what do you do to get it?
I like the way Mark Driscoll puts it: You either love people and use money, or you love money and use people. Isn’t that true? We all know people who use money as a tool, and others who have money as a goal.
If money is your goal, then this temptation is going to be a difficult one for you. Like the woman in the joke, you will eventually betray all of your beliefs if the price is right. In the end, you may say, “I’m not a hooker,” but if you sell yourself out for money, no matter the amount, then that is exactly what you are.
The sinners in this verse are tempting us to commit highway robbery for money. Maybe you wouldn’t go that far. But what is your price? People say that everyone has a price.
I’m glad Jesus does not. When He came to earth, Satan tempted Him in the wilderness. There were three temptations, but this one is particularly appropriate for us:
And the devil took him up and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time, and said to him, “To you I will give all this authority and their glory, for it has been delivered to me, and I give it to whom I will. If you, then, will worship me, it will all be yours.” And Jesus answered him, “It is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and him only shall you serve.’”
-Luke 4:5-8
The whole world. That is what was offered. Everything. Not a hundred thousand, not a hundred billion, but every bit of it. And all He had to do was bend a knee.
But He didn’t. Jesus knew that some things were more important than wealth. “For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul?” He would later ask us (Mark 8:36).
Christ is worth our worship, and worth our praise. He is worth giving up everything else to acquire. And once obtained, the wealth of this world will seem less important. If you do not know Him, turn away from the ways of this world, which will wither and fade, and turn to Him, for He does not fade, and He does not wither, for He is forever. Do not put yourself in me, or yourself, or your spouse, or someone else who may have a price, but in Him who obviously does not. In His death He can grant you life, for in death He took the punishment that was rightfully yours because of your greed, ambition, and lust.
If you do know Him, spend some time in praise today, for you have something that is far better than gold or jewels, and you got it freely.
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