Posts Tagged: Proverbs
“Proverbs: More Subtle than I had Thought”
“Better is little with the fear of the LORD
than great treasure and trouble with it.”
(Proverbs 15:16 The Holy Bible, English Standard Version)
I am sometimes guilty of devaluing the biblical book of Proverbs. I have tended at times to think of proverbs as nice little sayings, although they are rather mechanical and obvious. I say this to my shame.
Over the past several years, I have come to realize that the Proverbs are much more subtle and subversive than I had previously realized. When I slow down enough to see what is really there, what is really there demonstrates a depth that has the capacity to deepen me.
Take Proverbs 15:16, for example. Many proverbs seem to link wisdom and righteousness with wealth. Often, the entire book of Proverbs is read precisely this way.
However, this proverb assaults us with a subversive thought: It is possible for the fear of the LORD (which is considered to be very, very good in the book of Proverbs) with having, not abundance, but little. And abundance (“great treasure”) can be accompanied with trouble or worry.
So, if I am doing well financially, I cannot automatically assume that I am fearing the LORD properly, and that the LORD is therefore blessing me. Nor can I assume that if I have only a little, the LORD is not blessing me. There is no one-to-one correlation between the fear of the LORD and material well-being.
Notice that this proverb does not say that material wealth is inherently bad. Poverty is not automatically a blessing. But neither is wealth. The crucial matter is the fear of the LORD.
Perhaps I, perhaps we all, need to go back for another look at the not-so-simplistic book of Proverbs.
DOWN TO EARTH BELIEVER
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