Based on Proverbs 30:8 and 1 Timothy 6 is it wrong to desire to be rich (or poor for that matter)?
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We can find verses that both condemn and applaud wealth in the Bible. Balancing Proverbs and Timothy, cited in the question, is Proverbs 10:22, which says:
The blessing of the LORD brings wealth, without painful toil for it.
Solomon, to whom the above Proverb is attributed, is much praised for his wealth:
King Solomon excelled all the kings of the earth in riches and in wisdom. - 2 Chron. 9:22
Also, the book of Job ends with the Lord blessing him with double the riches that he had in the past - Job 42:10
Against the idea that wealth is a sign of God's blessing we have several NT scriptures such as the story of Jesus requiring a seeker of eternal life to sell all he owns and give it to the poor, followed by his saying"
It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God - Matthew 19:24
Perhaps most relevant to us today is the idea that "You cannot serve both God and mammon" (Matthew 6:24). Seeking wealth becomes a sin when a person compromises ethical standards to achieve it. However, obtaining wealth legitimately and using it for a good purpose is consistent with the blessing God gave humans from the beginning.
God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the air and over every living thing that moves upon the earth.”
Bottom line: it is not wrong to desire to be rich if one's motivation is unselfish, but one must be vigilant not to "lose his soul" (Mark 8:36) in the process.
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Solomon had something to say about the matter.
18 Behold, what I have seen to be good and fitting is to eat and drink and find enjoyment in all the toil with which one toils under the sun the few days of his life that God has given him, for this is his lot. 19 Everyone also to whom God has given wealth and possessions and power to enjoy them, and to accept his lot and rejoice in his toil—this is the gift of God. 20 For he will not much remember the days of his life because God keeps him occupied with joy in his heart.
1 There is an evil that I have seen under the sun, and it lies heavy on mankind: 2 a man to whom God gives wealth, possessions, and honor, so that he lacks nothing of all that he desires, yet God does not give him power to enjoy them, but a stranger enjoys them. This is vanity; it is a grievous evil. (Ecclesiastes 5:18 - 6:2 ESV)
Acquiring wealth seems to many to be the more difficult thing to do. In reality, it is enjoying that wealth that is the hardest thing. Enjoying wealth is a gift from God. To enjoy it, one must be free of a guilty conscience, have acquired it honestly, and been generous in sharing with others all along.
Thus the proverb cited in the question only presents three options while there are four.
- Poor and tempted to steal
- Sufficient and content
- Rich and arrogant, ungrateful
- Rich and blessed by God
The second option is often within our power and may be training for the fourth. This is the condition that is the best that most people can hope for who also are honorable people. The fourth depends upon God's grace to receive and strong character to maintain. It is an uncommon state of affairs. Even for those who attain it, it is normally built upon years of struggle, trials, temptations and finally overcoming of obstacles.
Jesus said in the Sermon on the Mount to "Seek ye first the kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be added unto to you." Wealth as a primary goal is not good. Wealth as a side effect of following God is.
But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. 10 For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs. (1 Timothy 6:9-10 ESV)
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