Today’s scripture: Proverbs 10:1-16 (NRSV) (The Message) (KJV) What might God be saying to me?
My thoughts (John Seksay):
As Tevye points out in Fiddler on the Roof, it is no shame to be poor, but it hardly seems any great honor either. Poverty has many ways to inflict pain. Understanding wealth has always been a prickly issue in the scriptures. In the Old Testament, to be blessed with wealth was considered a sign of God’s favor, along with health, obedient children, long life, and peaceful times. In today’s reading, the 15th verse states:
The wealth of the rich is their fortress;
The poverty of the poor is their ruin.
This seems to support the constant buzz in the news about the consequences of poverty and the constant interest in ways to grow rich, the quicker the better. I could go through the Bible and pick out some similar phrases and build a nice argument for the idea that following scripture will naturally lead to great financial prosperity if we are “doing it right.” Indeed, there have been quite a number of televangelists I have seen over time who took just this bent. But it seemed just a matter of time before their early success led them to indulgence and folly, with all the scandal that entails. How can I misunderstand such a simple phrase? If wealth isn’t the blessing, what is true prosperity?
To understand this particular verse, we must weigh it with others around it:
Psalms 10:2
Treasures gained by wickedness do not profit
But righteousness delivers from death.Psalms 10:16
The wage of the righteous leads to life,
The gain of the wicked to sin.”Psalms 11:4-5
Riches do not profit in the day of wrath,
But righteousness delivers from death.
The righteousness of the blameless keeps their way straight,
But the wicked fall by their own hand.
The actual point seems to be that material wealth is a gift from God, yet not an end in itself. It’s a means to accomplish other spiritual tasks that are far more important. Jesus also reinforced this idea with many parables:
- The Parable of the Buried Talent: The point is not what you are given, but how you are using it. Are you being a good steward of the trust provided and increasing its value (ability to bless)?
- The Parable of the Two Masters: Material wealth can become a spiritual distraction and compete with God for our attention. Can we hold wealth in our hand and not in our heart at the same time?
- The Parables of Widow’s Mite and the Rich Young Man: Some can readily give fully of what little they have, while others have grown accustomed to having material prosperity and struggle to share beyond where they feel comfortable.
As a matter of fact, it has been shown buy modern studies that lower income people tend to be consistently more giving as a proportion of their measurable income. There is no study to identify the root cause of giving, whether it be empathy, past experiences, or pure spirituality. But I would bet it is the Spirit of Love overriding the Spirit of Fear every time.
There is a recurring theme in many Old Testament books: how the widow, the orphan, the stranger were neglected or despised by those with the means to help. What God desired was good stewardship of the gifts provided to the prosperous so that the blessing be maximized, yet the Chosen People struggled again and again with understanding how God measures wealth. Material wealth isn’t necessary for spiritual prosperity, but it can be a great blessing in the hands of the willing servant.
Thought for the day: Are my most important treasures material or spiritual? How are my material blessings translating into spiritual benefits?
We encourage you to include a time of prayer with this reading. If you need a place to get started, consider the suggestions on the How to Pray page.