God's Economy #9: Curses of Money

God can use money as a blessing in the lives of his people, but he can also use money as a curse. To be cursed by God is for Him to allow the consequence of your sin to be felt, to reap what you sow. The curses of money primarily fall in three areas: upon the individual, the individual and family, and the community or nation.

We feel the curse when we begin to trust riches rather than the Lord. The person who trusts in riches thinks the money belongs to him and that he has obtained wealth through his power, schemes, smarts, and abilities.

Trusting in riches means placing your confidence in things rather than God. It means to think humanistically instead of biblically. There are consequences to such "fallen" thinking. Proverbs remind us, "as he thinketh in his heart, so is he." Such idolatry changes how we think about ourselves, others, temptation, and God.

Second, God visits the curse of poverty upon the lazy, drunkard, and glutton, affecting the individual and his family.

Finally, when businessmen defraud customers or governments commit fraud by debasing the currency, the curse of inflation results.