"Riches and honor are with me, Enduring wealth and righteousness.  My fruit is better than gold, even pure gold, And my yield better than choicest silver."  Proverbs 8:18-19

Wisdom is speaking to us about riches, wealth, honor, and righteousness.  We live in a world that thinks it truly understands what it means to be rich and wealthy - yet - from what we read here in Proverbs chapter 8 we will learn that what they are pursuing is not true wealth.  Therefore in case we too are confused on this issue it would be wise for us to examine what is written here - and be wise in this area of true riches and wealth.

I find it fascinating that each time wealth or riches is mentioned, these things are qualified in what is mentioned with them.  First we see that wisdom will bring us riches and honor.  Honor speaks not just of having "fake" honor because you are wealthy.  This kind of sychophantic honor is pitiful to watch.  We see those who fall over themselves to show honor publicly to those who have a lot of money - yet who may secretly curse them when they are not around them.  What Proverbs says is that this rich man also receives honor - but it is true honor due to his wisdom, not due to his having a lot of money.  The second phrase says that he will also have "enduring wealth and righteousness."  The idea of enduring is something hat lasts.  It is durable and not subject to decay or to fading away.  But this kind of wealth is found with those who combine it with "righteousness."  They have wealth, but they also do what is right in life - regardless of what their wealth could purchase.  All these things remind us of what our Lord Jesus Christ said - that we should not work for the riches and wealth that are subject to moth and rust - to decay and to thieves.  We should work for and desire the wealth that will last for all eternity.  That is what this passage is saying to us as well by qualifying both riches and wealth with honor and righteousness. 

Finally, we see in verse 19 that the fruit of wisdom is better than even gold - and the purest gold.  The yield of wisdom far outsurpasses even te choicest of silver as well.  After speaking of wealth and riches - it is as if wisdom is saying to us that the best wealth and the richest thing is wisdom itself. 

From time to time I teach classes on economics to high school students.  One of the principles of economics is that due to the fall of man into sin, there will always be a scarcity of what is desired among men.  We fell from a garden that was perfect and abundant in every way - to a world where we would have to work for our food and sustenance by the sweat of our brow.  Even as we worked hard we would not have a perfect yield because the ground would yield thorns and weeds as we worked it.  Thus the principle for us economically after the fall is that there is a limited amount of riches and wealth on this planet.  Not everyone will be rich and wealthy with this world's goods.  But, by God's grace and through the teaching He offers to us through His Spirit, there is untold riches and wealth when it comes to the wisdom He seeks to teach us.  If we would value that wisdom it could be ours without any limits whatsoever.  There are true riches and enduring wealth available to any man who chooses true honor and righteousness.  What will be your choice this day?

Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due, When it is in your power to do it.  Do not say to your neighbor, "Go, and come back, And tomorrow I will give it," When you have it with you. Proverbs 3:27-28

You shall love your neighbor as yourself.  These are the words that God has left us to help us define how we are to interact with our neighbors.  To help us further there are also proverbs that instruct us how we are to handle specific situations involving our neighbors.  These two verses in Proverbs chapter three are some of those verses that give us that instruction.

This proverb has to do with how we treat our neighbor when we owe him money - in short - this is about how we pay our debts.  The phrase "from those to whom it is due" means to those who are its rightful owners.  The word "those" is the Hebrew word "baal" which means a master or an owner.  Some want to make this passage about taking care of the poor - and while there are many verses that instruct us to do just that - this is not one of them.  It is about withholding good from the owner who is present.  If this were not about repayment of debts - we might have an interesting time defining the "one to whom it is due." 

When we legitimately owe someone money - we need to repay it.  Since we have incurred the debt - they deserve to receive from us what we owe them.  Most debts in our world are negotiated debts - so there is a payment that is due each month or week.  It is our responsibility to give them the money on time.  If our financial obligation is due - it is sinful for us to ask our creditor to wait till tomorrow to be paid.  This is especially true if we have the money with us.  This is what is means when we read that we have it is our power to do good toward them.  The good is to be faithful to pay our debt in an acceptable amount of time. 

We are told in verse 28 that it is a sinful thing to tell our neighbor that we will pay them tomorrow when we have the money with us today.  Thus to wait out a creditor because we have something to gain - or because we may not want to part with our money today - is sin.  If we have the money with us - we need to pay it to the person we owe immediately.  The way we pay our bills is a testimony to our faith in the Lord.  If we are constantly late with our bills and are not wise with our money - it is a very poor testimony to the Lord.  To pay our debts wisely and regularly lets the world around us know that we manage our money well.  The truth is that it is not "our money" anyway.  It is money that God has entrusted us with for the sake of using it for His glory.  When we handle our financies this way - we do Him honor and remind those around us that Christians are trustworthy, faithful people.  When we do not - great shame is brought to God's name.  May God always grant us to be the people who are the former - and who honey and magnify God with how we handle His money and pay our debts.

Prepare your work outside And make it ready for yourself in the field; afterwards, then, build your house. Proverbs 24:27

This proverb addresses the need to make provision for oneself and one's family - before we begin to seek for personal comfort.  This is spoken of from the view of an agricultural society - but the principles will work everywhere.  This principle is often lost on our society which is tempted daily by commercials which tell us what we just absolutely have to get . . . immediately.  Therefore this particular proverb may be a good one to not only read and consider - but also to apply to the problems that seem to be multiplying in our nation.

We are told here to begin life by working hard - by seeking a proper support for ourselves and those for whom we are responsible.  Please read and focus on "proper support" here - rather than the worldly standards that are set before us.  Proper support means that we can provide food and clothing for ourselves and our family - as we look to the Lord to bless our efforts and our obedience.  In the day in which this was written, this meant getting outside and preparing your fields or your flocks.  It meant plowing the ground, obtaining seed, and then planting the seed and working the fields.  This involved a lot of hard work - but we should realize that work was not part of the curse - weeds were.  But regardless of whether there are weeds or not - God wants us to work - and work hard at what we do. 

The instruction here is to FIRST prepare in the field - then you can build your house.  For some this means building a business.  For others it may mean working hard at a job and doing what is necessary to develop either their education or other marketable skills.  But for all of us it means delaying gratification until we know that we can provide for ourselves and a family (if we have one - or - want one).  Here is wisdom - delaying gratification - delaying all the perks you want in life - and even delaying marriage until you can provide for a wife. 

Our society says, "You deserve it NOW!"  But the facts are that we don't "deserve" anything for which we do not work.  Never in Scripture is a "living" promised to us if we do not work hard.  There is no instruction to governments to provide housing, provide transportation, provide health care, or provide food for those who are not working for it.  There is no "poverty index" in Scripture that it is sinful for us to let others fall below.  In fact - the facts of the Bible say that we should NOT feed those who can work - but will not do so.  There should be little or nothing provided for the able-bodied who do not want to work hard.  What has happened in the United States is that we've so "over-promised" a certain level of prosperity to everyone (politically - and unfortunately even religiously at times with the health, wealth, prosperity movement) that they have come to expect it.  The think they are entitled to it - whether they work for it or not.  The result has been a very poor work ethic - and a total lack of understanding of how business and how life works. 

The proverb here says, 'AFTERWARD' you can build your house.  The idea here is that a house is a luxury.  One of the things that speaks volumes to me is watching a movie or show that reminds me how hard it was for the early settlers in the United States.  They worked very hard to prepare the land - cutting down trees and pulling stumps.  They worked very hard tilling the land and removing stones from it.  They plowed, planted, and worked the land with tremendous effort and diligence.  Then they would work even harder to build a house - after the land was planted.  Until this was done, they lived in tents and in the wagon in which they came to the area.  The reminder to me is that hard work is a fact of life. 

We do ourselves and our children a great disservice to teach them a life of luxury.  We are hurting them by not giving them work to do - and at times "hard" work to accomplish.  We are undercutting the foundation of our society by not inclucating a work ethic into them.  We are not preparing them for reality - and we are making them easy pickings for the political hacks who get their power by promising freebies.  What this had led to is a society that is rotting from within because of a lack of work ethic - and an abundance of expectations that are demanded from the rest of society.  God's way is to work hard at your outside work.  God's way is to learn a work ethic that labors at what is good and what will provide for yourself and your family.  Then when you have established such important, foundational things - then build your house - enjoy a little luxury . . . or maybe it would be better stated that you are then able to enjoy the fruits of your labor.

"Bad, bad," says the buyer, But when he goes his way, then he boasts. Proverbs 20:14

There are proverbs which present the heart of man to us - so that we can know how to deal with men in a fallen world.  This is one of those proverbs.  The truth of this proverb needs to be grasped especially by those who are in the business world - and those who go forth to buy and sell in the marketplace.  If we know this truth, we will be better armed to know the hearts of men - and to know how to bargain with them, as well as why they can be so stubborn and insistent on getting a price as low as possible.

We have here what seems to be a contradiction in the one who is the buyer.  At one point he is saying, "Bad, bad," about the merchandise that he is seeking to buy.  Yet in the next moment, after making the purchase, he boasts about what he has received.  This is deceit on the part of the buyer - yet he is engaging in the deceit to make sure that he can get the lowest price possible.  Not that this is ethical at all - but it is far too often how men think they need to negotiate.

A story is told by St. Augustine of a certain banker in his time who told an entire theater of men that he would show every man what was in his heart the next time they met.  When the time came, the theater was full and all awaited with a breathless silence for his words.  He stood up, and in a single sentence said, "You all wich to buy cheap, and sell dear."  The crowd waited for an instant - then broke into applause for his statement, but everyone one of themt agreed that the same was in every one of their hearts.  This reveals to us the very same thing that this proverb says today.  We all wish to buy as cheap as possible, and then sell the same at the highest price we can get. 

Some might say that this is why the captialist system needs to be destroyed and replaced with another system that is based on equality.  Yet there is a fundamental problem with any other system - especially socialism or communism.  Who is going to guarantee this so-called equality?  Is there one among us who is NOT tainted by sin?  Is there anyone who can say that selfishness does not enter the equation?  And can anyone deny that when systems are put into place where the government is supposed to provide true equity, that the very government that promises this fairness, eventually turns to be the greatest oppressor of the people in the end? 

Though this proverb may cause some to chafe at the thought of its inherent selfishness, we need to see that in a fallen world, no one is able to truly do business without an inherent self-interest.  But when a system is put into place that allows the greatest freedom of choice by the people, then this inherent self-interest actually acts as a guard against any one person taking control of everything and acting in their own self-interest to the detriment of all. 

The wise man knows the heart of God - and in this case, he also knows the heart of men.  John 3 says that Jesus knew what was in the heart of a man.  That is why He did not gauge His success or failure on the momentary accolades of the crowds that surrounded Him.  They cheered Him when He multiplied bread and fish, but then left Him in John 6 when He spoke hard truth to them.  A wise man knows the hearts of men - and that is why in the arena of men governing men, he sets up safeguards.  Our forefathers were wise in setting up a system of government where all three branches had checks and balances to ensure that none would become dominant over all.  In the same way, it is wise for man to function under an economic system where his own selfishness is a check and balance on him in the marketplace.