nerous he was, the more God gave him to be generous with. The more open his hand, the more God filled it. And fill it he did. Spurgeon died poor because he realized his wealth was not his own.
“God has a way of giving by the cartloads to those who give away by shovelfuls” (MTP 56:451).
Yet, with the large amounts of cash flowing through his fingers, Spurgeon saw and felt the temptations of wealth. Here are a few quotes pulled from the preacher’s own wallet about the dangers of money.
1. “The more money he has, the more troubles he will have.”
“It is very difficult for a man to have much money running through his hands without some of it sticking. It is very sticky stuff; and when it once sticks to the hands, they are not clean in the sight of the Lord. Unless a man is able to use money without abusing it, accepting it as a talent lent to him, and not as treasure given to him, it will very soon happen that, the more money he has, the more troubles he will have” (MTP 54:41).
2. “Where I have known one man fail through poverty, I have known fifty men fail through riches.”
“But the Lord uses other methods with his servants. I believe that he frequently tries us by the blessings which he sends us. This is a fact which is too much overlooked. When a man is permitted to grow rich, what a trial of faith is hidden away in that condition! It is one of the severest of providential tests! Where I have known one man fail through poverty, I have known fifty men fail through riches” (MTP 34:653, italics original).
3. “It is hard to keep great riches without sin.”
“The hasty desire to rise is the cause of many a fall. . . . It is hard to keep great riches without sin, and we have heard that it is harder still to get them. Walk warily, successful friend! Growing wealth will prove no blessing to thee unless thou gettest growing grace” (ST April 1867:158).
4. “Happiness lies in the heart rather than the purse.”
“It is better to be happy than to be rich; and happiness lies in the heart rather than the purse. Not what a man has, but what a man is, will decide his bliss or woe in this life and the next” (MTP 31:563).
5. “Moths will eat any of our garments, but they seem to fly first to the costly furs.”
“Observation shows us that there is a fascination in wealth which renders it extremely difficult for the possessors of it to maintain their equilibrium; and this is more especially the case where money is suddenly acquired; then, unless grace prevent, pride fumes, and he who is respectable in poverty, becomes despicable in prosperity. Pride may lurk under a threadbare cloak, but it prefers the comely broadcloth of the merchant’s cloak: moths will eat any of our garments, but they seem to fly first to the costly furs” (ST April 1867, 157).
6. “There is no grace in waste.”
“If we do not save while we have it we certainly shall not save after it is gone. There is no grace in waste. Economy is a duty; extravagance is a sin” (John Ploughman’s Pictures, 150).
7. “Money circulated is a medium of public benefit, while money hoarded it a means of private discomfort.”
“But are you in the quest of happiness? It lies not in investments, whether in Consols or mortgages, stocks or debentures, gold or silver. These properties are profitable. They can be used to promote happiness. As accessories to our welfare, they may often prove to be blessings, but is accredited with intrinsic worth they will eat as doth a canker. Money circulated is a medium of public benefit, while money hoarded is a means of private discomfort. . . . A miser is bound to be miserable” (MTP 62:520).
8. “Feel for others – in your pocket.”
“Feel for others – in your pocket. Practical, pecuniary sympathy is more useful than mere talk” (The Salt-Cellars 2:197).
9. “It is bad to see our money become a runaway servant and leave us, but it would be worse to have it stop with us and become our master.”
“It is bad to see our money become a runaway servant and leave us, but it would be worse to have it stop with us and become our master. We should try, as our minister says, ‘to find the golden mea