A recent newspaper article recently reported that a man and a woman cheated at least 8 people of thousands of dollars by pretending to be civil servants . They offered to help them claim government benefits such as income tax rebates and baby bonuses. They would instruct the victims to go ATMs and were told to transfer between $2,000 and $4,000 into certain bank accounts.

In both the victim and the deceivers, one common power was at work: a love for money. I am not saying that we should not find means to earn more money. The wealth that we have belongs to God and we are instructed to be good stewards of God’s money. One way of investing your money wisely is to put them into banks to earn interest. What the Bible warns us against is a love of money because “the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil” (1 Tim 6:10). This love of money called greed drove both the deceived and the deceivers into evil: one cheated and hurt people while those who were deceived were driven to do stupid things such as transferring your money into a stranger’s bank account.

I wish to underscore this fact: When you are greedy for some things which can be money, material benefits, fame or some form of better living, this greed is capable of blinding your eyes so that you do certain things that will come back to hurt you. The hurt can be immediate or oftentimes in the distant future.

For this reason, it is important that before you make any critical decision, check with the Lord if it is His will. Do not, as the Bible warns us, “lean on your own understanding” (Prov 3:5b). To make a decision just for the purpose of wanting to gain more materially is what the Bible calls “the love of money.” God’s Word warns us that this is like opening your house door wide to welcome Mr Evil into your home and your life. That is not all. The Bible says “all kinds of evil.” You are inviting not only Mr Evil, you are inviting his entire family and clan, young and old Evils, his children, parents, grand parents, nephews and nieces, etc., into your life and home. You can be sure that they will wreck your home. It is no wonder then that people who are driven by greed often ruin their own life and family. Please do not be the next victim.

That is why you must check with God if your decision is right and when God tells you the answer and He will if you are sincere about asking for His opinion, obey. Let the love of God’s will and not the love of money and other benefits drive you.   If you “trust in the Lord with all you heart” (3:5a), that is, believe that your Lord will keep His promise to you to give you the best, and then in making related decisions, “in all your ways you acknowledge Him,” that is , you always act according to biblical principles, then, the Lord promises that “He will make your path straight” (Prov 3:6), that is , God will arrange a blessed path for you.

Hence, before making a critical decision, especially those that can have the potential to greatly upset your life and family, ask the Lord for direction by first determining in your heart that you will obey Him when He tells you His will.