Financial impropriety will ruin your influence. Therefore, Solomon commands us straight-out to reject the enticement to easy money.
“My son, if sinners entice you,
Do not consent” (Prov 1:10)
It’s not all that complicated. “If sinners entice you, do not consent.” Just say no. Turn away from evil. Don’t even consider it.
Sinners entice us, and they entice us constantly. They entice us from within, and they entice us from without. In other words, sometimes the enticement comes from “out there” (peer pressure, advertisements, and cultural expectations), and sometimes it comes from “in here” (our own sinful nature that says “I want”). We can’t avoid the enticement. We can’t prevent it. Sweet promises of monetary delights are all around us. All we can do is either accept or reject it, so Solomon cuts through the deception and excuses with a simple command: “Do not consent.”
Sometimes the enticement comes in the form of another credit card application. Sometimes it happens when a neighbor gets a new vehicle, and you want one, too. At other times, you look at the bills piling up, or at the out-of-date sound system, and you wish for something more. Perhaps you slack off on your job search because the unemployment compensation is both sufficient and convenient. Maybe you spend too much time at work, to the neglect of your family or spiritual development. Or, you‘d like to give money to your church, but so many other things just keep coming up. Whatever shape the enticement takes, do you consent to it? Are you a willing participant?
You might wonder why I’m focusing on money and possessions, when it’s obvious that there are all kinds of enticements to sin in our fallen world. Why not focus on alcoholism, cheating, illicit sex, or violence? The reason is that Solomon clearly explains what sort of enticement he is referring to when he concludes the current section in Prov 1:19: “Such are the ways of everyone who is greedy for unjust gain.” He is concerned with the unjust acquisition of wealth. In other words, the pursuit of a quick buck, at the cost of serving others, will always keep us from being wise.
This post was first published in 2012.
I like these posts about the easy money. It is something that I think absolutely everybody thinks about. Whether or not we act upon it, is another question entirely. I see it in myself, in my bible studies, in my friends. It is absolutely pervasive.