How to Make Money 1 Thes. 4:11-12 CLICK TITLE FOR AUDIO

I have dealt with money most of my life.  I was in banking before entering the ministry and so I have some concept of money.  But I have always regarded how to make money as a bit of a mystery.  After studying the Bible, though, we can see that there is very little mystery to how to make money.  Here are the various ways to make money:

• Labour – Matt 20:1 – this is a laborer.
• Traffic or Merchandising – Rev 18:11-13; Prov 31:18, 24 – this is a merchant.
• Manufacturing – Is 44:12-13; Acts 18:3 – this is a craftsman or a manufacturer.
• Service (Profession) – Col 4:14; Titus 3:13 – this is a contractor or a professional.
• Agriculture – 1 Cor 9:7 – this is a husbandman, shepherd, vinedresser, or farmer.
• Rental or Lease – Ex 22:15; Acts 28:30 – this is a lessor or landlord.
• Investment (Usury) – Lk 19:23 – this is an investor.
• Lottery – Prov 13:11 – this is a gambler. This is vanity. Don’t do this.

These are the ways to make money.  In certain industries you will have several of these categories involved and overlapping.  Of course, in many of these categories you can have illegitimate, illegal or unethical practices.  You might think of many more people like soldiers, entertainers or athletes as separate categories, for instance, but soldiers [laborers or professionals] and performers [professionals] fit into the categories above.

The easiest of these to get into is labor.  The next easiest is service.  Merchandising is on par with service but may require more start up capital than you have.  After these three, you must have either a lot of education and/or training or a lot of capital or both to get started.  In all these cases, you cannot be lazy; you must work diligently [Prov 6:6-11].

The basic motive for making money is hunger [Prov 16:26; Ecc 6:7].  That’s why Paul forbad the church in Thessalonica to feed those who weren’t working [2 Thes 3:8-14].  When you feed people who aren’t working you remove their basic incentive to work.  Paul was so adamant about this that he worked with his own hands to set the example (and he was busy) [Acts 20:34, 2 Cor 11:23-28].

The wrong motive for working is covetousness [Prov 23:4-5; Lk 12:15-21], though many men have been motivated by greed and the love of money [1 Tim 6:10].

The way to keep God’s blessing on your work is to give [Prov 3:9; 2 Cor 9:6-8; Lk 6:38].

Conclusion: If you are struggling with how to make money or you have been trying to find out how or to teach someone else how to make money, then just follow this simple outline and prayerfully consider which one of these to do.  It’s not rocket science; it’s just plain and simple.  And it takes work!!