Investments can be exciting. They can also be horrifying. There is a level of skill, boldness, and patience in any good investment strategy. Money can be made quickly, but it can be lost quickly. The key is knowing how to manage the money you have as best as you can for as long as you have it. That may not mean you’ll be rich, just responsible.
Responsible people pay attention to signs, they watch out for dangers, and they listen to good advice. Solomon happened to be the wealthiest guy any of us will ever hear from. Therefore, he’s a pretty good source of learning about what a responsible person does with money, but he’s also a good example of what an irresponsible person does with money.
He gives some great advice in Ecclesiastes 11:1-2, “Send your grain across the seas, and in time, profits will flow back to you. But divide your investments among many places, for you do not know what risks might lie ahead.” Diversify your investments so you won’t have all your eggs in one basket.
Ecclesiastes 5:14, “Money [that] is put into risky investments [will] turn sour, and everything [will be] lost. In the end, there is nothing left to pass on to one's children.” Once again we’re reminded to be responsible. Do your homework. Look before you leap.
However, there does come a time for action. Ecclesiastes 11:4, “Farmers who wait for perfect weather never plant. If they watch every cloud, they never harvest.” Be assertive. That can be done with a fair level of certainty, but at some point you just got to do it.
Ecclesiastes 11:6, “Plant your seed in the morning and keep busy all afternoon, for you don't know if profit will come from one activity or another—or maybe both.” Try to find multiple income streams to help diversify, and perhaps the extra income can help pay off debts.
The biggest challenge in obtaining wealth is learning how to get rid of it. That may seem counter-productive, but the more we view our money as a tool for God’s kingdom, the less worried we are if we end up with less than our prospectus promises. Solomon said in Proverbs 11:24, “Give freely and become more wealthy; be stingy and lose everything.”
Solomon didn’t always use his money to glorify God, and in the end his irresponsibility hurt his legacy. He said in Ecclesiastes 10:19, “A party gives laughter, wine gives happiness, and money gives everything!” The reality is that too much money really can open all kinds of doors to sin. For Solomon, his abundance of wealth afforded him the ability to seek pleasure in women… lots of women.
Nehemiah said in Nehemiah 13:26-27, “Wasn't this exactly what led King Solomon of Israel into sin? There was no king from any nation who could compare to him, and God loved him and made him king over all Israel. But even he was led into sin by his foreign wives…” Money is a wonderful tool, but it’s a dangerous one. Be careful not to get tangled in the love of it. Money doesn’t care if you ruin your life or not, but God cares very much about your life.
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