Adding Trouble

Have you ever played Monopoly with your family? The object is to win by amassing so much wealth that you ruin the other players but a more subtle "win" is one of bringing the family together to build relationship and have fun together. It just depends on what you put value on. 

"The blessing of the LORD brings wealth, and He adds no trouble to it." Prov. 10:22

First, let me talk about the twinge you most likely had while reading this verse. Wealth and religion have always been interesting mates and to be honest, I could care less because I'm not a "religion," I'm a christian. But the two are irrevocably tied together. 

Religions (the organizations of like minded people) have done things like say, "if you are wealthy and blessed it is because you have followed all of God's rules and done nothing evil." Or even better, "if you are poor and suffering it is because you have been a bad person or done something wrong."  It's as if people need a way to tie one to the other... I think because wealth and being right in our own eyes are at the core of man. We also need to make sense of things - 1 plus 1 equals 2. Good behavior equals blessing. Wealth has become a scarlet letter of sorts in the realm of christianity but it needn't be.

The definition of wealth is "an abundance of valuable possessions or money." And what is valuable to man? Money, obviously, but also peace, family, friends, love.... anything that holds value! If we have something of value then we have been blessed. It's all in our perspective.

"The blessing from the LORD [The I Am, the One we have given control of our life to] brings wealth...."

Wealth is granted, not earned. Some of us baulk at that idea because we've seen that if someone works hard enough, they can earn a lot of money. There is truth in this but at what cost? If money is what we value there is nothing we won't do to get it but in doing so, we lose all integrity. How peaceful, then, is that life? Hard work is just hard work and not a guarantee to bring us anything. It is God who gives wealth. It is His blessing, His presence that is the wealth. It is not tied to our accomplishments or how much we've done right or wrong. We could work hard our whole lives and never make a dime but still be wealthy. Wealth can be in family, relationships, a life lived with integrity, etc. Anything that holds value to us. It is so much more than money and God is the One who gives it.

"... And He adds no trouble to it." 

I had to laugh at this part because if we wouldn't derail ourselves so effectively and quickly, we would enjoy the blessing of God in immeasurable ways. God loves to give to us. We add the "trouble!" We mess up the wealth He has given.

Think about it.... what wealth have we added trouble to? Here are some of the troubles I add:

I value family and yet I have judged, been impatient, intolerant, and selfish with them, making our relationships struggle.

I value friends but I have been lazy and not willing to put forth the effort to show them how important they are to me. 

I value closeness to God but often do not take the time to spend learning from Him. I also haven't taken the opportunity to learn with others, something that can add great depth to my relationship with Him and them. 

We are blessed with so much of value but I would guess we all have some fabulous ways of undermining or "adding trouble" to them. Diligence is the antidote. Diligence in keeping the trouble away... the trouble we ourselves create. When our focus is on developing our relationship with God and not on checking the boxes of religion or working harder and smarter to get what we want, then we will see the wealth in our lives. 

Playing the game is fun. Winning is cool, too, but what we count as a win makes all the difference. For me, God is the win, God is the wealth. Everything else is just trouble.