A Quick Buck

"[H]e that maketh haste to be rich shall not be innocent." (Proverbs 28:20b)

It's only a matter of time before people who are always out to make a fast buck are presented with ways that are not legitimate. It may or may not be against the law, but it will always be against God's “royal law,” found in James 2:8: "Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself." There are those who have given up perfectly good jobs in order to spend all their time in "on-line trading," and though some may have gotten rich, others have become examples of verse twenty-two, which tells us that such a person "considereth not that poverty shall come upon him." It's easy to be talked into a fast scheme for making money, but verse 19 warns, "He that tilleth his land shall have plenty of bread: but he that followeth after vain persons shall have poverty enough."

You may wonder what all this has to do with you, but I bring this up, because I see in this verse something that involves more than money. It reflects, I think, a life principle of some people. "Ten Steps to Godliness"; "How to Know the Bible in Two Weeks"; "Shortcuts to Spirituality"; the list goes on and on. This kind of method and mindset is completely foreign to the Word of God—and reality. And anyone who would subscribe to it shows just how spiritually immature he or she is. In a world of high-speed, world-wide Internet connection, instant physical gratification, and life in the fast lane, it would seem good to remind ourselves that the most important quality to cultivate if one wishes to know God and His Word is the rare virtue of patience. "For ye have need of patience, that after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise" (Heb.10:36)

Everything in my life that is good, worthwhile, and precious to me, did not come quickly. My abiding relationship with Jesus Christ; the intimate bond my husband and I share; any knowledge I have acquired (Bible or otherwise); any respect I have earned from others—all these, and much more, have taken time and patience. But trust me; they have been well worth the wait!