Go morgu the one who GOD enriches! Shoobh Prabhhat edifice under construction! May you be abundantly blessed, prosperous, and healthy! May your progress be obvious, and may your light shine. May ethics (moral, professional, Christian) precede and be with the works of your hands. " There is one who makes himself rich, yet has nothing; And one who makes himself poor yet has great riches." (Proverbs 13:7, NKJV). He who makes himself poor shows gratitude (tithes and offerings to GOD), wisdom (management of time and possessions), kindness (liberality and almsgiving), discretion, humility, and benevolence (management of relationships). He who makes himself poor does the contrary. Who do you choose to be? GOD brought you out of Egypt, he brought you across the sea and the desert. He does not intend to abandon you in Canaan.
But those who [are not financially ethical and] crave to get rich [with a compulsive, greedy longing for wealth] fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction [leading to personal misery]. For the love of money [ philarguria, Strong n° 5365, Greek] [that is, the greedy desire for it and the willingness to gain it unethically] is a root of all sorts of evil, and some by longing for it have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves [through and through] with many sorrows.
(1 Timothy 6:9-10, AMP)
Command those who are rich in this present age not to be haughty, nor to trust in uncertain riches but in the living God, who gives us richly all things to enjoy.
(1 Timothée 6:17, NKJV)
GOD is not against money, but against the obsessive, greedy, and I would even say the manipulative desire to get rich. GOD is neither against the possession of goods nor against the will to get rich. He is against unethical, dishonest, obsessive, or selfish enrichment.
This implies, dear brothers and sisters, entrepreneurs, salesmen, traders, negotiators, lawyers, coaches, investment fund managers, marketing and communication experts, business leaders and future business leaders, investors, and future investors, that there are things not to say and not to do. Beyond moral and professional ethics, there are Christian ethics. GOD does not use the methods of the devil. And one does not inherit GOD's promises by using the devil's means. For example false advertisements, scams, promises of huge profits without support, denigration of one community for the benefit of another, usurpation of labels, investment proposals without information on the risks, etc.
The word translated by the expression "love of money" in the very famous verse, 1 Timothy 6:10, is the Greek word philarguria (Strongs #5365). This word appears only once in the Bible, and it means love of money and greed. The love of money referred to in this verse is the idolatry of money, comfort, advantages, and social position. This love of money, philarguria, is a root and not the only root of all evils. Pride, for example, is another root. It is good to invest, to want to get rich, but let's not make an idol of it.
I personally think that the first thing to do when you want to invest is not to invest, but to get informed (methods, opportunities, potential, advantages, disadvantages, risks). Then, it is to purify one's motivations and define one's objectives. Only then can you start investing. Of course, at each step, you must recommend yourself to GOD (Proverbs 3:6), ask for his advice, be willing to listen to him. Do not invest for the wrong reasons. Wrong reasons are inspired by the flesh (pride, covetousness, jealousy, selfishness, competitive spirit, obsession with gain, impatience, stress, fear, etc.). Examples:
Buying stock in a company or investing in a project just because the person in front of you is from your family, community, church or school is not a good reason.
Investing under the weight of emotional blackmail is not a good thing.
Investing in an activity just because a well-dressed person in a fancy car showing you their mansion or big pool tells you to do so. There is no proof that they are telling the truth, and there is no guarantee that GOD will make you prosper in this business. The car and the house can be rented, the pool can be a hotel pool. Yes, nothing is impossible for GOD, amen. But to expect huge gains without effort in a few days is not faith, but greed and naivety.
To buy massively the shares of a company by competition with another shareholder, just because you want to show that you are richer, to impose your ideas on the entrepreneur, the managers, and the other shareholders.
Selling alcohol near a school or university is completely irresponsible.
Investing in the resale of fraudulent, contraband and counterfeit products is selfish and profit-obsessed. How many people die every year because of counterfeit drugs, counterfeit food, and cosmetics? Does GOD need to cheat?
Every investment is a seed. A seed can be time, relationships, money, goods, or words. Any seed, after a certain time, produces fruits according to its nature. A cocoa tree does not produce avocados. If your seed is bad, the fruit will not be good. That is why those who have the love of money, philarguria, depart from the faith and fall into the traps of the flesh and the devil. Money becomes their idol, and they expose themselves to many sorrows. The sorrows are for example disappointments, loss of money, deceptions, mistakes, manipulations, curses, occult engagements, diseases, etc. Do not let any aspiration become an idol: choose GOD.
** Go morgu = Good morning in Surinamese (sranan tongo)
** Shoobh Prabhhat = Good morning in Caribbean Hindustani (Suriname)