Proverbs 10:22–25
The blessing of the LORD, it makes rich, and He adds no sorrow with it.
It is as sport to a fool to do mischief: but a man of understanding has wisdom.
The fear of the wicked, it shall come upon him: but the desire of the righteous shall be granted.
As the whirlwind passes, so is the wicked no more: but the righteous is an everlasting foundation.
If money could buy happiness, there would be no better candidate to prove the case than Jack Whittaker.
If money could buy happiness, there would be no better candidate to prove the case than Jack Whittaker. He won the largest jackpot in the history of the lottery in 2002, with winnings of $315 million. After this, he was arrested for drunk driving; thieves robbed him on several different occasions. He was sued multiple times. His granddaughter was found dead from a drug overdose. His wife filed for divorce. His house burned down, and he died eighteen years after his big win. On multiple occasions Jack said he wished he had torn up the lottery ticket.
The blessing of the Lord makes rich. God orders who wins the jackpots, but sometimes He will add sorrow to it. He does not reward greed, idolatrous materialism, or get-rich-quick schemes with true enjoyment, long term success, and substantial blessings. But when God blesses a man, He doesn’t leave him with mere monetary wealth and empty riches. He provides him with the heart and the capacity to bless others, to cultivate fruitful relationships, and to seek out the presence of God where there are “pleasures forevermore” (Ps. 16:11). He blesses the man with real joy. He gives him a full and fulfilled life.
“It is as sport to a fool to do mischief: but a man of understanding has wisdom.”
How a young man uses his spare time reveals a good deal about his character. The fool especially delights in breaking the laws of God and pulling pranks that hurt the property or person of others. He enjoys the thrill of stealing apples from his neighbor’s tree, planning a bank heist, or key scraping an expensive car “just for fun.” A wise man would see no thrill, satisfaction, joy, or purpose in such foolish wickedness. But, the fool acts as though he were entirely oblivious to the consequences of his actions. He delights in his own maliciousness, and blinds himself to the severe and meticulously just judgments of God directed towards him.
“The fear of the wicked, it shall come upon him: but the desire of the righteous shall be granted.”
Every person on earth lives with both hopes and fears. People hope for the best and fear the worst. In the ultimate sense, the worst thing that could happen to anybody is that they die and go to hell. Our greatest hope is that we will be resurrected upon death, and then enter into glory with Christ. Here we read that the highest hopes and desires of the righteous will be met and surpassed, but that is not the case for the wicked. His worst fears, and even worse than that will be realized on the other side of eternity.
Generally, unbelievers do their best to ignore their fears. They avoid thinking about death and whatever lies beyond it. They live by some sort of hope, but the best they can hope for is that the six-pack of beer in the refrigerator will put them into a stupor later on in the evening. There are some who hope that when they pull the trigger to end their lives, they will revert to non-sentient cosmic dust, thereby confirming that God does not exist. What a horrifying realization will dawn upon them, when they stand before the judgement seat of almighty God. The wicked will know for certain that God exists in that day, and their worst fears will be forever validated in the fires of Hell.
“As the whirlwind passes, so is the wicked no more: but the righteous is an everlasting foundation.”
Life on earth brings crises, the terrifying tornadoes of wars, famines, disease, and death. When the tornadoes come, anything not solidly nailed down will be ripped up and destroyed in the swirling, destructive winds. This is the fate of the wicked. But the righteous are nailed down and rooted in Christ, and they will withstand the violent tornado of death. Hebrews 12 reminds us that God will shake the world once more, which means “the removal of those things that are being shaken, as of things that are made, that the things which cannot be shaken may remain.” The exhortation for the righteous continues in verse 28: “Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us have grace, by which we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear” (Heb. 12:27-28).
1. What are the sorts of things that delight your soul? Do you get delight out of hurting others or helping others?
2. Do we seek happiness in riches or in God? Has money given us more happiness or less happiness over the years? What are the things that bring us real happiness and fulfillment in life?
3. What are our greatest hopes and desires? What do we fear? On what basis can we say that our greatest hopes will come to pass?