What Money Can’t Buy

Read Proverbs 11

Riches won’t help on the day of judgment, but right living can save you from death.

Proverbs 11:4

Make no mistake about it—both the Old and New Testaments describe a “day of judgment,” a time when God will vanquish evil and make all things right. No matter how rich we are, our money will be worthless. We cannot purchase salvation—it was already purchased by the blood of Christ.

Of course, the writer did not know about Jesus Christ. All he knew was that a relationship with God was available and that God’s people attempted to live by God’s standards. “Right living” does not mean that good deeds can give salvation, for the New Testament clears that up for us. However, right living—a life lived through the power of the Holy Spirit because of one’s belief in Christ—does indeed “save from death.” It is not that we will never die. Instead, it pictures that death is not the end, but merely a step into the next life—an eternal one with God.

A WORD FOR TODAY

Real life inoculates against death.

Lord, may I learn to see my money (no matter how little or much I have) as your gift to me. Teach me how to use it wisely to meet my needs and then to do your work in the world.