Be Still And Know

Proverbs 11:28 We hear a lot about money in the book of Proverbs. In many ways the writer speaks very positively about it. The acquisition of money is often seen as a sign of God’s blessing and he encourages his readers to work hard so that they will get more of it. But he was also keen to put money in its place. If money shapes our lives, we have missed the point completely. The only one we should trust is the Lord himself. We can lean on him and know that he will always be faithful and true. By way of contrast, money is temporary and should never control our lives. It is a wonderful servant but a terrible master. This teaching poses a great challenge to our society, which is obsessed with money. Bishop J C Ryle summarised the problem well when he wrote: “Nothing I am sure has such a tendency to quench the fire of religion as the possession of money.” Money feeds arrogance and a feeling of self-satisfaction, which pushes God away. Jesus was acutely conscious of this and spoke so bluntly on the subj