Proverbs 10:15–17
The rich man’s wealth is his strong city: the destruction of the poor is their poverty.
The labour of the righteous tends to life: the fruit of the wicked to sin.
He is in the way of life that keeps instruction: but he that refuses reproof errs.
The Proverbs define that which is good and evil, as well as that which is right and wrong. These are both aspects of ethics. Put another way, the Proverbs make both descriptive and prescriptive statements. For example, the fifteenth verse in this section does not prescribe what ought to be, so much as it is presenting what is the case. Not everybody is called to manage great amounts of wealth, and God, in His sovereign providence, will not so order it that every family will obtain substantial wealth.
Riches do provide some tangible benefits. That strong city described here may be thought of as a defense against high taxation, petty tyrants, bureaucrats, lawsuits, and the like. Often, the rich take advantage of tax loop holes conveniently put in place by their friends in power. On the other hand, the poor are more subject to the impositions of petty tyranny and investigations from “social services” departments. They are more likely to get caught in genocides conducted by communist dictators who assume control of their nations. Should a famine or an economic downturn occur, they may not have sufficient savings to weather the storm.
“The labour of the righteous tends to life: the fruit of the wicked to sin.”
The time and effort that a righteous man puts into his days, weeks, and years on the earth will produce green plants alive and growing, fruitful, and of eternal value. His family honors and worships God, and they serve one another with true love and joy. Although this man’s net worth in dollar value may not reflect a high amount of fruitfulness, higher value must be placed upon rich and fruit-bearing relationships. Faith also yields more faith in others, by discipleship and nurture in the things of God. The sum total of Holy Spirit fruit such as love, joy, peace, long suffering, gentleness, goodness, and faith adds to the bottom line of a man’s life. The value of that life is incalculable - no price tag may be put on it.
On the other hand, the time investments made by the wicked produce more thorns and thistles. His economic labors serve to feed his gambling habit. His advancements in wealth only ruin his relationships, because of arguments over money, and a pestiferous spirit of miserliness, greed, and covetousness. The electronic devices he manufactures are used for worthless entertainment, time-wasting games, and licentious music and movies, all of which add more sin and destruction to his own life and the lives of others.* Selfishness prevails, and the numbers of his progeny dwindles. By the time of his death he claims only one grandchild, and no great grandchildren at all. His relationships have dried up, and he has little to show for a life of self-oriented materialism. This is all too often the story of modern life.
“He is in the way of life that keeps instruction: but he that refuses reproof errs.”
That there be no doubt as to how to enter into the blessed path of life, the text commends this holding tight to the instruction and reproof of Wisdom. Resistance to reproof is the first sign one is walking the way of death. Those who hear Christ’s words and do them are like the wise man who built his house upon the rock (Matt. 7:21ff ).
Yet, how very quickly some men and women will dismiss Christ’s teachings in Matthew 5! They refuse to face the true character of their sins, and actually take great offense at the warnings, the judgment of God, and the call to repentance. Minimizing sin and arguing with the punishment due for sin does nothing to obliterate these realities. True repentance comes when we humbly receive God’s truth, own our sin and confess it, and seek God’s mercy in forgiveness and cleansing. Henceforth then, we will abide in the words of Christ. The words He speaks are “spirit and life” (John 6:63). We hear Him say to us, “Neither do I condemn you. Go and sin no more.” And, we embrace these words, hold to them, and walk in them.
*The Hebrew word for sin here (chattath) does not distinguish between the sin committed and the destruction produced by it.
1. What are the blessings of wealth? Are there any potential curses to wealth?
2. If the Proverbs present wealth as a blessing, to what extent should our family seek after wealth? What are the real blessings and substantial fruits of a life well-lived for Christ? How does this contrast with the world’s values?
3. How would we know if we were in the way of life vs. the way of death?