Proverbs: Economic Well-Being

Proverbs: Economic Well-Being

 

Today's readings held some topics I think we have all faced in our daily lives.  I know I have.  The American dream is all around us...sure it has changed from the time of my grandparents and parents, but it's still influential.  I have struggled all day with what I should write about.  I know I have been confronted with my own sins and struggles in today's readings and know realities of wealth and poverty, laziness, generosity, and benevolence.  Just days ago Divan and I drove though townships in South Africa: towns of metal strips and dirt floors, and today I'm surrounded by retail and comfortable living. 

 

All these proverbs are pretty obvious and I have had many of them underlined or memorized for years.   The overall message from these proverbs is to take care of the poor, work hard, and money isn't everything.  I reread these passages and looked for God.  Any person can look at these passages of wisdom, but as Christians, how to we glorify God by living them?

 

Prov 3: 9 " Honor the Lord with your wealth, with the first fruits of all your crops…"  How do we do this?  Our paychecks and all our wealth are necessary to us.  Do I give God the first fruits of my hard work? 

 

Prov 15:16 "Better a little with the fear of the Lord than great wealth with turmoil."  The fear of the Lord – we have seen this from the beginning of the Bible.  Fearing God is worth more than wealth, riches, stuff.  I'm reminded of when Jesus called one to follow Him by selling all he had.  We need to fear God and run after Him.

 

Prov 22:2 "Rich and poor have this in common: The Lord is the Maker of them all."  God is Creator.  We are all His children and we are all precious in His sight. 

 

Prov 19: 17: "He who is kind to the poor lends to the Lord, and he will reward him for what he has done."  Throughout the New Testament, we are called to take care of the poor, the orphans, the widows.  They will know we are Christians by our love. 

 

Prov 14:31 "He who oppresses the poor shows contempt for their Maker, but whoever is kind to the needy honors God."  Brings a few of the proverbs above together into one. 

 

Prov 29:13 "The poor man and the oppressor have this in common: The Lord gives sight to the eyes of both."  God is our Maker.  In the end it won't matter what we're worth or what we had.  What matters is how we used what God provided.  How we lived for Him and how we glorified Him. 

 

In the morning when we open our eyes, God has given us the gift of life.  It has been my prayer in the last couple weeks that I would use His gift wisely and give thanks to God in the little things that He has provided.  Fear God and honor Him in what you do.