In Your Bible Read This Out Loud: Proverbs 10:9 

Memorise This Verse: 1 Timothy 5:24 

Afterwards Talk About This:  What are the dangers of acting unrighteously in our finances.  

Something To Do Before Next Time:  Pray that God would reveal to you any areas of financial unrighteousness.   

Written Diploma Work:  List as many examples of financial unrighteousness as possible. 

Meditate Word By Word On This Verse:  Proverbs 11:18

So having seen that the devil will use money as a tempting snare against the people of God, this section will concentrate on the area that the devil wants us in :- namely, unrighteousness. The more we yield to sinful and unrighteous behaviour (particularly in the area of our finances), the more we close the door on God's ability to be at work in our finances and the more we open the door to the devil to steal away the good things of God. 

Sadly, Christians think that they can take financial short cuts and indulge in a little unrighteousness in the foolish belief that they will obtain greater financial well-being - if only they knew the truth!. This section will look both biblically and practically at the area of unrighteousness such that we can definitely conclude that the only way to long term financial stability is through long term holiness and righteousness in our finances. 

One of the most dreadful things about walking in unrighteousness is the fact that eventually you will be found out and exposed and you will experience the shame and disgrace of this either in this life or on judgement day. The scriptures below speak of unrighteousness eventually hunting you down and exposing you  either when you are on the earth as the quotes from Proverbs show, or on judgement day as the quote from 1 Timothy shows. 

God is all knowing and no matter how well you try to cover your tracks, your sins will hunt you down, find you out and shamefully expose you. Notice how the verse from 1 Timothy speaks of sins reaching the place of judgement before the person who committed them does. What an awful time it will be on judgement day when people come before Jesus who will have their false expense forms, fiddled time sheets and wrongly filled in tax returns in his hand, wanting an explanation. 

Proverbs 10:9 'He who takes crooked paths will be found out'

Proverbs 28:18 'He whose ways are perverse will suddenly fall'

1 Timothy 5:24 'The sins of some men are obvious, reaching the place of judgment before them'

Moreover taking financial shortcuts and acting unrighteously will only provide a temporary and fleeting benefit and will not provide a constant steady stream of long term blessings - as the scriptures below show. Notice how Proverbs 11:18 says that the wicked man earns deceptive wages - anything you earn through unrighteousness is deceptive as it is fleeting, temporary and falls short of God's best. People think that they can indulge in a little unrighteousness and 'get away with it' sadly, all they are doing are exchanging God's best blessings for their lives for their own unrighteously earned reward. Proverbs 10: 22 says, 'The blessing of the Lord brings wealth, and he adds no trouble to it', surely it is better by far to be satisfied with God's righteously earned blessings on your life than trying to unrighteously earn extra money with all the trouble, guilt and bad conscience that it brings. 

Proverbs 15:16 'Better a little with the fear of the Lord than great wealth with turmoil'

Proverbs 11:18 'The wicked man earns deceptive wages'

Proverbs 13:11 'Dishonest money dwindles away'

Proverbs 21:6 'A fortune made by a lying tongue is a fleeting vapour and a deadly snare'

Moreover not only does unrighteously earned money have only short term benefits but the sad truth is that ultimately, in the long run, a Christian will actually be worse off than he was before if he tries to earn money in a sinful way. The laws of sowing and reaping are irresistible and there is not a single Christian who isn't governed by them not only do they work in our favour but they also work against us. 

Therefore, as you sow unrighteousness and deception in your financial dealings you are literally sowing unto the devil (in the same way that if you sow righteousness in your finances you sow unto God) and the devil will multiply back to you the sinfulness you have sown to him. If Christians understood this truth then they would flee instantly from any hint of financial impropriety  as ultimately, in the long run, they will actually be much worse off just look at the scriptures below which confirm this: 

Proverbs 10:2 'Ill gotten treasures are of no value'

Proverbs 10:16 'The income of the wicked brings them punishment'

Proverbs 15:6 'The income of the wicked brings them trouble'

Proverbs 22:8 'He who sows trouble reaps it'

Job 4:8 'Those who sow trouble reap it'

Galatians 6:8 'The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction'

Listed below are some examples of financial unrighteousness that are prevalent today - the list is not exhaustive but gives a good idea of the sort of things that we as Christians should be very careful that we do not indulge in - feel free to add to the list anything else you feel should be there!. Unless you want the devil to have access to your finances make sure that none of the below or any other form of unrighteousness exists in your finances. 

Falsely completed time sheets

Falsely completed overtime forms

Using a company credit card for personal purchases

Taking office stationary home

Part time jobs done for cash that you don't pay tax for

Opening hidden bank accounts that your spouse doesn't know about

Using the company postage service

Falsely filling in tax forms

Not informing someone when they give you too much change

Not having a television license

Phoning into work claiming you are sick when you are not

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