He who trusts in his riches will fall, But the righteous will flourish like the green leaf. Proverbs 11:28

What makes you feel safe and secure?  What do you rely upon to make you confident about these things.  Today in our look at Proverbs we will see how two types of people seek security and safety, but how only one of them will truly obtain it. 

Our proverb tells us of a man who "trusts in his riches."  The word for trust is the Hebrew word "batah" which means to not just trust, but to have a confident trust.  This man feels secure and safe - without fear - as a result of his riches.  He may have a bank account that is full - a set of stocks that are the best on the market in returns - plus a sure-fire business model that assures him of success in life for years and years to come.  This is what makes him feel confident - his wealth.  Here is the problem with this man.  Scripture tells us that the one who trusts in his riches will fall.  This word is a very frightening one.  It means to fall down to a prostrate position.  Here it has the idea of being overthrown.  The overthrow described here is death.  Regardless of what amount of money you have - and how secure that you think it is - your money will not survive your death.  In Psalm 49:5-9  we read the following,  "Why should I fear in days of adversity, When the iniquity of my foes surrounds me, even those who trust in their wealth And boast in the abundance of their riches? No man can by any means redeem his brother Or give to God a ransom for him— for the redemption of his soul is costly, And he should cease trying forever— that he should live on eternally, That he should not undergo decay."

The Psalmist here reminds us that no amount of money will be able to pay for a soul and the redemption it needs.  The man who trusts in his wealth - who thinks that the abundance of his riches will rescue him from death and from the punishment due for his sins - is in for a tremendous amount of disappointment.  The day will come when he will stand on the same footing as any other human being - and have to give an account for his sin.  If anything, the fact that he has wealth and riches will make his judgment even more stringent.  Jesus said that to whom much is given - much will be required.  The man who trusted in his riches rather than trusting in Jesus Christ - will end up in the lake of fire for all eternity.

The righteous are contrasted with this unwise rich man.  In fact we are told that the righteous man will flourish like a green leaf.  This is the man who realized that there is no amount of money that could ever pay for redemption.  His desire to please God and to honor Him will make this man do everything in his power to obey God.  He does not look for a righteousness based on money - or even on his own good works.  He knows that the man who will flourish in this life and stand in the next is the man who has been justified (made righteous) by faith.  Thus his life is not spend trying to earn God's favor and love - he knows that such things have already been purchased by the blood of Christ.  His desire is rather to listen to God - walk in fellowship with Him - and - out of that fellowship enjoy spiritual growth.  This is why he will flourish like the green leaf.  He is not trusting in growing himself.   He trusts in a God who blesses him first with righteousness to stand in His presence - and then trusts Him to lead him in the way that will glorify God in all that he does. 

What are you trusting to make you secure?  If you think your security depends on how much money you have here in this life - or how great your wealth and insurance coverage is - you will lose everything.  If instead you see that there is only really one security issue, you will do well.  If you grasp that the clear and present danger is the wrath of God for sin - you will choose the way that will make you stand righteous in that day - and that righteousness only comes through the gospel - and the gift of it by God in response to repentance and faith in those who believe on Jesus.

The rich man's wealth is his fortress, The ruin of the poor is their poverty.  The wages of the righteous is life, The income of the wicked, punishment.   Proverbs 10:15-16

To rightly understand the first proverb here in verse 15, we must push on to read it with the proverb in verse 16.  If we do not do this, we will think that the acquisition of money is the end of man's existance.  Although God encourages us to prepare for the future and to work hard so that through His blessing we may leave an inheritance to our children's children, this does not mean that gaining wealth is to be our highest aim. 

We first learn of the fact that money can provide a measure of protection.  The rich man's wealth is his fortress.  There is much that a rich man can do to protect himself from harm due to his wealth.  He is protected from much in life due to this.  A fortress is a place one stays during an attack - it was a place of safety.  For the rich man - his wealth can prevent him from a quick ruin by difficult circumstances.  One example for us to remember is the wisdom of setting aside money for problems that we know will come in the future.  The man who acquires some wealth can set aside money for problems that ARE going to come.  In our society, if you own a car or other mechanical item, you are assured that a breakdown of some sort is in your future.  If you spend everything you have - you will not have anything set aside for this difficulty.  The wise man acquires wealth for this very purpose.  He puts money away for the repair and replacement of such items.  Therefore when a difficult time comes, he has money for these things.  The poor man often is ruined by such situations.  He does not know what to do and often sees ruin come to his financial picture because of debt he obtains seeking to fix or replace things or he just has to do without, which could be a very problematic hardship.  Wealth can be a protection for us.

The problem with this proverb is that one might think wealth is the ultimate protection.  Therefore we must gain wealth however we can.  Such thinking is ungodly - and will lead to ruin, if not now - then in eternity.  Therefore we have a clarification in the next verse.  We are told that the wages or income of the righteous is life - which the income of the wicked is punishment.  If we are seeking righteousness - a life that pursues God and desires to do what God says is true and just - we will be blessed.  We may not have a tremendous amount of money - but we will have what is necessary at the end of the age.  We will have life!  The wicked though, however rich they may become, have a serious problem.  Their income will be punishment.  Thus a man may be tremendously wealthy by all outward appearances - but he may be dirt poor in spirit.  The rich farmer in the gospels had enough to tear down his old barns and build new ones to fill with even more earthly riches - but the very night his soul was required - he was found destitute. 

Remember that wealth and riches are defined in a number of different ways in Scripture.  They may be physical wealth - or they may be spiritual riches in Christ Jesus.  It is wise to remember that to be physically wealthy according to James is to be put in a humble place by God.  It is difficult for an earthly rich man to enter heaven - because he has a bad tendency to trust his riches.  To be poor is also defined different ways.  Whereas it may be a bad thing to be financially poor - it is a blessed state to know that we are poor in spirit.  Realizing these things will help us better define true wealth and true poverty.