Written by
Uyoyou Christiana Charles-Iyoha
Money puts food
on the table. Goodwill does not. Money pays the rent and utility bills.
Goodwill does not. Money gives a good education. Goodwill does not. Therefore,
work for money and not goodwill. Making money is not a sin. Abraham made money.
Isaac made money. Jacob made money. Joseph made money. Nehemiah made money.
Jesus
demonstrated the significance of making money and money management in the
parables of the talents and the prodigal son. The Bible in both the old and new
testaments supports money making and celebrates wealthy men and women such as
Abraham, Isaac, Boaz, Job, Joseph of Arimathea, King Solomon, the virtuous
woman described in Proverbs Chapter 31, King David and many others. God is not against money making. What the
Bible condemns is the love of money, greed and mammon worship, fraudulent means
of making money like lying, cheating, duping other people of their hard earned
money, bribery and robbery.
The virtuous woman described in Proverbs
Chapter 31 made so much money from the work of her hands that she was able to
buy land even in her days when there was so much gender discrimination. Even
the skilled artisans mentioned in the Bible who received creative abilities in
designing from God and who worked in the designing of the tabernacle in Exodus
Chapter 36 and in the temple in 1st Kings were handsomely
remunerated.
Who can find a
virtuous and capable wife? She is worth more than precious rubies. Her husband
can trust her, and she will greatly enrich his life. She will not hinder him
but help him all her life. She finds wool and flax and busily spins it. She is
like a merchant's ship; she brings her food from afar. She gets up before dawn
to prepare breakfast for her household and plan the day's work for her servant
girls. She goes out to inspect a field and buys it; with her earnings and she
plants a vineyard. She is energetic and strong, a hard worker. She watches for
bargains; her lights burn late into the night. Her hands are busy spinning
thread, her fingers twisting fiber. She extends a helping hand to the poor and
opens her arms to the needy. She has no fear of winter for her household
because all of them have warm clothes, she quilts her own bedspreads. She
dresses like royalty in gowns of finest cloth. Her husband is well known, for
he sits in the council meeting with the other civic leaders. She makes belted
linen garments and sashes to sell to the merchants. She is clothed with
strength and dignity; and she laughs with no fear of the future. When she speaks,
her words are wise, and kindness is the rule when she gives instructions. She
carefully watches all that goes on in her household and does not have to bear
the consequences of laziness. Her children stand and bless her. Her husband
praises her. There are many virtuous and capable women in the world, but you
surpass them all. Charm is deceptive, and beauty does not last; but a woman who
fears the Lord will be greatly praised. Reward her for all she has done. Let
her deeds publicly declare her praise. Proverbs Chapter 31 verses 10 to 31, NLT.
Why then do you
want to work for free? How will you feed, pay your bills, on thank you? God
does not work that way. He gave you the talent, skills and abilities, knowledge
and expertise so that you can be a financially responsible citizen. The Apostle
Paul said that if a man does work by the altar, he should eat from the altar.
How much more when you give these skills and expertise and abilities to the
secular world! After all, the same Paul said that if a man does not work, he
should not eat. How then do you explain a person who works and does not get
paid?
Beloved,
evaluate your skills and abilities, talent, knowledgebase and expertise and
then place the right economic value on them. Do not let people take advantage
of you or under pay you through the peanuts they offer. If they cannot afford
to pay for your services, so be it. Let them go find people who will accept
their peanuts. But as for you who know and is sure of your true value and what
you are worth, God will bring the right people who can and are willing to pay
what you are worth. It is not by might nor by power but by the spirit of God
who will direct the right quality people to you because you have placed the
right quality economic value on your divinely endowed skills and abilities,
talent, knowledgebase and expertise.
Joseph was a
slave in Egypt yet he was handsomely remunerated as the head servant of
Potiphar. And when he eventually interpreted Pharaoh’s dreams, he entered into
wealth and fame. Daniel achieved the same feat in Babylon.
Why should you
achieve less when the stakes should be higher for you? Did God bless you with
these abilities to impoverish you, reduce you to a servant of servants; I mean
people who benefit from your skills and treat you cheap with their peanuts?
Certainly not! God blessed you with the skills to promote you in life, to put
bread on your table and to give you resources to bless humanity with. How then
will you ever come into these resources if you keep working for free? Beloved,
it is time to place the right economic value on you and your skills and to
skillfully negotiate that value at every time you find yourself negotiating
economic transactions.
Excerpts from Unlock the Billions in You by Uyoyou
Christiana Charles-Iyoha
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