50 Days of Wisdom

How can we tell if we have the wrong attitude toward money? Well, a materialistic attitude towards money will cause anxiety, covetousness, selfishness, preoccupation, greediness, discontent, idolatry, pride, confidence, and trust in your money instead of God. Fortunately, scripture has a lot to say to cure us from materialism. And the first thing to understand is that you have the right to possess money. This is good news. I'm not asking you to give it all up. We're not saying that, and neither is the Bible. You have the right to possess money. The Bible teaches that all that you have comes from God, and He gave it to you and to me. So it's a trust. It's a test. It's a stewardship, but it's from Him, and He wants us to have it. The Bible teaches that all money is really God's. And if it's all His, then what you have comes from Him, through His providence, through your skills, talents, and work. In fact, Deuteronomy 8:17-18 says, "You shall remember the Lord your God. It is He that gives you power to make wealth." Once again, we see the presence of providential skill, opportunity, coincidence, and all those related features. It's God who owns it all and it's God who gives you the ability to make wealth. Proverbs 8:20-21, "I walk in the ways of righteousness ... to endow those who love Me with wealth." Wow! "To endow those who love Me with wealth, that I may fill their treasuries." That is amazing. God wants you to enjoy richly all things (1 Timothy 6). First Corinthians 4:7 says, in a very generic sense, "And what do you have that you didn't receive?" Listen, I don't have anything that I didn't receive. Everything I have was given to me. I just showed up in the world one day, laid claim to nothing, and everything from the time I was born and my parents picked me up has come to me from an outside source. I have created nothing, and the same is true for all of us. And God gives this to us because it is His to start with. If He didn't give it to us, we wouldn't have it, because it's all His. It has to come from its source, and He's the source. And therefore, everything that is ours is a gift. It's more than a gift; it's a stewardship. So it's fine to have money; it's a gift from God, and whatever you have received, God has allowed you to receive. It all has come out of this planet. It all has come out of this creation, all of it. And it's in your hands as a believer, and it's OK. It's even honorable if you have gained it in the right way, but not if it was gained in an unrighteous way. Listen, God has designed a way for you to increase your wealth. How? By working? Ephesians 4:28 says, "Let him labor, performing with his own hands what is good in order that he may have something to share with him who has need." Now there's a perspective: Work, work with your hands so that you will have enough for yourself and to share with others. Stewardship always comes into play, doesn't it? Work so there's something for you and something for somebody else who has a need. So work is the first way that God has designed for us to increase the wealth that He gives generously to us. Therefore, work is a biblical doctrine. It's a God-honoring doctrine. It started in Eden. The first thing God said when cursing Adam was, "Adam, guess what? You're going to work, and it's going to cause you to sweat, and it's not going to be easy because there will be thorns and thistles biting you in the ground, but that's how it is. But out of that are going to come blessings, treasures, and riches that you'll enjoy." But we are never going to have a harvest if we don't plow. So don't just hang around thinking your ship is going to come in. Go to work. It's God's design. Repent and believe! GTY.org (42-207) - Escaping Materialism

Today's Wisdom

Day: 1054

October 10, 2026

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Grace and peace,

My name is Mark Paul from Wauchula, Florida, and like the Apostle Peter said in 2 Peter 1:14, "I know that the laying aside of my earthly dwelling is imminent." Consequently, my goal is to leave a legacy that will continue to advance the kingdom of God long after I have departed. In other words, bear fruit for eternity. And by simply reading and sharing my free eBooks, you too become contributors to the advancement of His kingdom. Thank you for partaking in this endeavor, and I look forward to greeting you on heaven's shore.

The Truth in Love,

Mark Paul - Servant of God

Now grant, O Lord, that when the souls who read these books cast their eyes upon these lines, their minds may be illuminated and their consciences convinced and awakened, that they may see with their eyes, hear with their ears, and be converted so that You may heal them. Amen!