When we think about our wealth and our possessions, are we focused more on getting or on giving? In 1 Timothy 6:9 we are warned, “Those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction.”
God blesses hard and honest work and he blesses those who share (“sow”) freely. But profit that is made in underhanded ways is “deceptive.” It will not last and it will not bring lasting benefits. Think of the slave traders of the Netherlands, who each had a Bible that states, “Anyone who kidnaps another and either sells him or still has him when he is caught must be put to death” (Exodus 21:16). In the end, the slave trade brought only trouble and bankruptcy to the Netherlands. On the other hand, think of the United States’ “Marshall Plan,” by which they collected money to help European countries to recover after World War II. The world economy, and the US itself, benefited greatly from this.
18 The wicked earns deceptive wages, but one who sows righteousness gets a sure reward.