Wisdom and riches

Wealth is not the goal of being a wise person, but it is often a consequence. And it is this kind of wealth that one should aspire to.

Today’s verse is quite a promise when you think about it: riches with no sorrow. Wealth without anxiety. No disquieting spirit, worrying about who might take it away; or how you might loose it; or the tax burden because of it; or the misunderstandings about you because you have it.

When God blesses, it is a blessing from Heaven where moth and rust do not corrupt; where thieves cannot break-in and steal.

Blessings of God release us to give it back to Him allowing Him to use us as His straw through which His living water may flow. But you might say, wait a minute; verse 4 in this same chapter tells us “…the hand of the diligent makes rich…” it’s hard work that will make us rich! It could seem that diligence rather than laziness has a consequence and Proverbs certainly has repeated references to diligence yielding riches. But maybe there is another view.

If we make ourselves slaves to this world – slaving away at work for riches – we have missed the point; we are slaves of Jesus. Not a servant hired to work so many hours. Slaves. Owned by Him. Always working for Him. It is about Him. We rely on Him for food, clothing, and shelter. Slaves.

But here is the paradox: we can be rich and be slaves. And with no sorrow.

Blessings from the Lord do not come with continuing lust or passion for more riches. Free from the incentive for yet more and more. Blessings from the Lord are freeing, not enslaving. But we can only arrive there when we become slaves of the Lord – or as Paul said, “bondservants of Jesus Christ.” So, just whom does the Lord bless? Those who are diligent to know Him and His kingdom. Diligent to be like Him. Diligent to bless others as He did. Diligent to obey Him. Without a scent of self-centeredness; without a hint of disputing His law; obeying wholeheartedly. I think of it this way: Heaven is the ultimate blessing of the Lord. In Heaven, there is no sorrow. Sorrow here is an attitude: there it is a state of being. The promise here is that in this life if we would only just realize that “in Him we move and have our being…” that in that state of living it is the Lord, and only the Lord, who will bring a person wealth without sorrow. Wealth that frees us.

Christian business leadership should be focused on who we are, not what we are. Leadership that keeps the focus on Him – “seek you FIRST the kingdom of God.” That’s true leadership. Let the Lord determine who will receive the blessings of riches that have no sorrow. Let us determine to be faithful followers, leaving the results to Him.

Copyright © 2005 by P. Griffith Lindell