Quick Money/Reward Often A Trap

As I sit here writing articles and working on social media platforms, it’s hard not to come across a message that relates to “get rich quick” because they are everywhere. While I am certain that we have different viewing habits, it is almost a guarantee that you have come across one of these messages in some form whether it’s a book, an email, a video on social media, or a post that promises to give you secrets how an individual or group of people made so much money doing little of nothing.

Sound good? Probably. Sound too good to be true? Absolutely. One lesson that I have learned in this life is anything that sounds too good to be true almost certainly is. This is not to say that there are not ways to get rich but rarely are you able to get rich, quickly. Outside of inheriting a large sum of money or winning the lottery, obtaining a lot money quickly usually involves something that is not on the up and up and requires the individual to participate in an activity or activities that they should not be.

Proverbs 13:11 tells us “Wealth gotten by vanity shall be diminished: but he that gathereth by labour shall increase.” Labor is something that is common to most Americans as it is our way of life and this is true even for those who are considered to be well off, wealthy, and/or rich. For most Americans throughout our short history as a nation, all they knew was work regardless of the period in history whether fighting for Independence with Britain, building up the nation time and time again, farming, exploring the newly found land, and on and on.

It’s safe to say that work is in Americans DNA at least, it used to be. Of course, there are still many upstanding, hardworking Americans whether male or female, young or old and hopefully, this will always be the case for the United States as we were founded upon the ideas that there is more ahead and something better out there. Our Constitution clearly describes we how were endowed by our creator and that our rights come from God. We are made in His image and from the very beginning, God worked and it was clear that man, too, was created to work.

Adam and Eve were placed in the Garden of Eden to work the garden. They were there to keep it clean and running effectively and this was true before the fall of man but they were also expected to work even after the fall and their exile from the Garden of Eden. One of my favorite men of the cloth, Charles Spurgeon, explained “It is one of the first and last qualifications of a good workman for God that he should put his heart into his work.” This is true regardless of what type of work we do but we must be careful about following our heart because the heart can be misled and we do not want to become Judas.

Over the last several weeks, I have worked harder on my career than at any point in my life and while I have been experimenting with different ways of doing things, I have found that there is no easy path to success that does not involve hard work. Much of the work I do is ministry work of some sort and because I am involved with so much workings for God, I have a lot of time to think on such things and have come to the realization that God meant for it to be this way or for hard work to be a part of the process. Otherwise, too few people would have the discipline needed to take care of what is needed.

When we look back to the Garden of Eden, we see that this is true. Adam and Eve were good workers, I assume, but they did not have the required discipline and this is obvious as their actions led to the fall of man. Judas was a disciple of Christ but he sold out the Savior for 30 pieces of silver. This was quick money for Judas and Adam and Eve lacked the discipline of obedience. What they hear from the serpent tickled their ears and while it sounded good—that they could be like gods—it contradicted what God told Adam so it was in violation of God so this should be just one more reminder of what and/or where quick rewards will often times lead you.

Spurgeon also went on to explain that “Hard work will do almost everything; but in God’s service it must not only be hard work, but hot work. The heart must be on fire.” In other words, hard work is a must when we are trying to get ahead and/or working for God but we must be careful in our pursuits on this Earth. Great men and women of God have gone down the wrong paths many times before and delayed much because of their wrong directions and scripture is clear that we can only serve one master: “No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon” (Matthew 6:24).

To make a long story short, quick money and/or reward is usually a trap set by the enemy.