as long as...

here is another proverb about money, proverbs 13.11 (lb), wealth from gambling quickly disappears; wealth from hard work grows.

i lived in a town that was built on this concept. the only winners in vegas were the casinos. what is gambling? it is a get-rich-scheme. at lease six or seven times in proverbs, it teaches to not get involved in get rich quick schemes. easy come, easy go. you make it quick, you'll lose it quick.

look at proverbs 14.23 (ms), hard work always pays off; mere talk puts no bread on the table.
over and over again the bible teaches the value of hard work. work is a legitimate honest way to increase your income. if you talk all the time, dream, plan-get-rich-quick schemes you're not going to prosper in life. GOD approves of work as a means to wealth.

proverbs 14.23, in the niv says, work brings profit, talk brings poverty. proverbs 11:16 in the today's english version, lazy people will never have money, but aggressive people will get rich.

what matters to GOD is not so much how much money you have made but how you make it. now there is no set limit to the amount of money you make. the bible says you can make as much money as you can in your life as long as...

… it doesn't hurt your own health. some people literally work themselves to death. they pile up a personal fortune and then have a heart attack. the bible teaches that health must always take priority over wealth. proverbs 23.4, don't wear yourself out trying to get rich; restrain yourself! there are so many people working themselves to death trying to afford things that really we don't need. don't wear yourself out trying to get rich. health must take a priority over wealth.

...it doesn't hurt my family. how many families have fallen apart because kids are being ignored while parents are too busy making money to buy things for their kids? have you discovered that what your kids wanted was you more than things?. they just want you to spend time with them. as rick warren has said, ''we get so busy making a living that we forget to have a life.''

...it doesn't hurt other people. this is the exact opposite of the world's view which says, it's a dog eat dog world, get all you can get, sit on the can and spoil the rest. GOD demands that we make money honestly and fairly. proverbs 16:8 (ncv), it is better to be poor and right than to be wealthy and dishonest.

...i keep my spiritual life on the same level. the principle of balance. as long as my spiritual growth is progressing at the level as my financial prosperity, go ahead and make what you can. 3 john 2 (ms), i pray for good fortune in everything you do...as well as your soul! john says i pray that GOD will bless you financially as you are blessed spiritually. i pray that you will prosper as much financially as you prosper spiritually. GOD wants us to be in balance. if my income and your income were at the same degree as your walk with the LORD would you be a millionaire or a pauper or somewhere in between? there must be a balance.

GOD says if you're going to set financial goals, you need to set spiritual ones too. set some relational goals. if all you do is set financial goals then you are out of balance and GOD says it's wrong.

just some thoughts from the front porch...