"The blessings of the LORD makes a person rich, and he adds no sorrow with it."
"Proverbs 10:22"
What does it mean to be rich? What do you think of when someone says "That person is rich!" Is it simply a measurement of their financial abilities? Or is it something else? Something deeper? We tend to compare ourselves to everyone else we know and say things like "Well, at least I'm better off than that person" or "If I had a better job then maybe we could go do those things like the Jones." Solomon tells us that the blessings of the Lord will make us rich but what are the blessings of the Lord? Think about the many ways that we have been blessed.
If you sit down and list out the many blessings that the Lord has bestowed upon you then you'll begin to see the riches that matter. Your family, your health, your job, your mental capacity, if you're married - your spouse is a blessing - and so are your kids. Your financial abilities are also a blessing but by far not the most important one. What parent wouldn't give up every thing they have to keep their family safe and free from harm? Once we realize how much God has blessed us, we start to see that we really have more than we possibly need. This becomes greatly apparent when a person travels to different countries, especially struggling "3rd World" countries. The stark differences constantly pound on your emotions because you realize that the money I spent on dinner at that fine restaurant the other night would feed this village for a YEAR!!
If we would simply live within our means, cook our own meals, buy smaller houses, conserve as much as possible, we would still be living in luxury but we would have enough money to end world hunger in one decade - 10 years - maybe even sooner! Wealth is a blessing but only if we use it in the way God intended. When wealth is not used as God intended then there are "additional sorrows" that come with it. Some riches lead to more problems. Additional problems come up that many other folks aren't experiencing. We can probably think of someone that's experienced considerably more problems than what we typically face. Maybe it's because of some of these extra blessings that have additional sorrows. That's what the second half of this statement means from Solomon. The blessings of the Lord come with no strings attached.
Throughout the chapter, there are numerous comparisons between the godly and the wicked. What is meant by the godly? Does it mean that I have to be perfect? It's not possible for humans to be perfect, not even close. Humans are riddled wiith sin. It's in our hearts, mind and thoughts. I know I can't go a minute without sinful thoughts entering my mind. OK - so I can't be like God so therefore... what... I'm wicked? If I look around and compare myself to others, I'm not that bad. Sure there are many that are better at following God's rules than I am but there's also many that aren't. So the question becomes "am I good enough to be considered godly?"
The answer is "No" and here's why. I want you to take a 3"x 5" note card and turn it lengthwise so the long side is vertical. Now, at the top of the note card I want you to write the name of the most godly person you can think of that has ever lived (not Jesus). Then at the bottom of the note card right the name of the most wicked person that you can think of that has ever lived. Somewhere in between them I want you to write your name. Next, picture yourself placing the note card vertically at the base of the newly completed Freedom Tower in New York City. Now picture yourself at the top of the antennae - 1776 feet above the note card. How much difference do you see between those names when you look down? This would be similar to God's view of us. We're not that much different from Mother Theresa or Adolph Hitler - at least not from God's vantage point.
But here's the good news. When we believe in Jesus Christ, when we start making an attempt to follow His ways, when we start walking in faith, Jesus steps in between us and God so all God sees is Jesus who is perfect in every way. Jesus removes our sin and presents us to God as perfect beings even though we're far from it. And yes we may make plenty of mistakes along our walk of faith but when we're walking with Jesus it doesn't matter. We get back up and get back on the path and keep right on walking. So godly simply means that you believe in God and you're walking with Jesus Christ.
One last point about comparing ourselves with others. I get extremely frustrated with the world's focus on celebrities and all the so called glitz and glamour that surrounds them. These celebrities are typically elevated to a pedestal simply because they have vast amounts of money. What's the most frustrating to me is when a celebrity makes a commercial to raise money for a charity and the celebrity could simply write a check and fund the cause for the next 30 years or more. Or if a celebrity does give what society considers to be a "vast" amount they are labeled as a philanthropist or an extraordinary giver. Let me give you an example.
In 2010, Oprah Winfrey made $315 million dollars - Yes in one year! That was her salary. She also gave $41 million dollars to charity. That's an incredible amount of money! That's also how she earned the label as the most philanthropic celebrity. But society gets all enamored by the amount given because they are comparing it to what the average Joe on the street would be able to give but here's the simply math. Let's start by dropping the "million" part. If I made $315 and gave $41 dollars that would mean that I gave 13% of my money to charity. (41/315) That means Oprah gave 13 cents for every 100 cents she made. Whoopdee doo dah. My daughter made $50 dollars last year and gave $10 dollars to charity. That's a 20% giving ratio! A great deal more than Oprah gave and there wasn't anyone knocking on our door to get the story. Now I don't mean to undermine what she's done but we need to keep it in perspective.
We need to educate ourselves to look for the bigger picture. We need to get wisdom so that we can identify what is really going on. Thankfully, Solomon wrote down these wonderful pearls of wisdom so that we can educate ourselves by reading Proverbs. The more we read the Bible the more God's word is revealed to us and the more we begin to walk with Jesus. The world has a way that seems right to it but in the end it leads to death (more on this in a few days). The worlds ways are not correct. They are upside down and the Bible exposes it for what it truly is.
Please keep reading along with me through Proverbs. There's so much more to learn.
The Shepherd
Return to The Proverbs Challenge
"Proverbs 10:22"
What does it mean to be rich? What do you think of when someone says "That person is rich!" Is it simply a measurement of their financial abilities? Or is it something else? Something deeper? We tend to compare ourselves to everyone else we know and say things like "Well, at least I'm better off than that person" or "If I had a better job then maybe we could go do those things like the Jones." Solomon tells us that the blessings of the Lord will make us rich but what are the blessings of the Lord? Think about the many ways that we have been blessed.
If you sit down and list out the many blessings that the Lord has bestowed upon you then you'll begin to see the riches that matter. Your family, your health, your job, your mental capacity, if you're married - your spouse is a blessing - and so are your kids. Your financial abilities are also a blessing but by far not the most important one. What parent wouldn't give up every thing they have to keep their family safe and free from harm? Once we realize how much God has blessed us, we start to see that we really have more than we possibly need. This becomes greatly apparent when a person travels to different countries, especially struggling "3rd World" countries. The stark differences constantly pound on your emotions because you realize that the money I spent on dinner at that fine restaurant the other night would feed this village for a YEAR!!
If we would simply live within our means, cook our own meals, buy smaller houses, conserve as much as possible, we would still be living in luxury but we would have enough money to end world hunger in one decade - 10 years - maybe even sooner! Wealth is a blessing but only if we use it in the way God intended. When wealth is not used as God intended then there are "additional sorrows" that come with it. Some riches lead to more problems. Additional problems come up that many other folks aren't experiencing. We can probably think of someone that's experienced considerably more problems than what we typically face. Maybe it's because of some of these extra blessings that have additional sorrows. That's what the second half of this statement means from Solomon. The blessings of the Lord come with no strings attached.
Throughout the chapter, there are numerous comparisons between the godly and the wicked. What is meant by the godly? Does it mean that I have to be perfect? It's not possible for humans to be perfect, not even close. Humans are riddled wiith sin. It's in our hearts, mind and thoughts. I know I can't go a minute without sinful thoughts entering my mind. OK - so I can't be like God so therefore... what... I'm wicked? If I look around and compare myself to others, I'm not that bad. Sure there are many that are better at following God's rules than I am but there's also many that aren't. So the question becomes "am I good enough to be considered godly?"
The answer is "No" and here's why. I want you to take a 3"x 5" note card and turn it lengthwise so the long side is vertical. Now, at the top of the note card I want you to write the name of the most godly person you can think of that has ever lived (not Jesus). Then at the bottom of the note card right the name of the most wicked person that you can think of that has ever lived. Somewhere in between them I want you to write your name. Next, picture yourself placing the note card vertically at the base of the newly completed Freedom Tower in New York City. Now picture yourself at the top of the antennae - 1776 feet above the note card. How much difference do you see between those names when you look down? This would be similar to God's view of us. We're not that much different from Mother Theresa or Adolph Hitler - at least not from God's vantage point.
But here's the good news. When we believe in Jesus Christ, when we start making an attempt to follow His ways, when we start walking in faith, Jesus steps in between us and God so all God sees is Jesus who is perfect in every way. Jesus removes our sin and presents us to God as perfect beings even though we're far from it. And yes we may make plenty of mistakes along our walk of faith but when we're walking with Jesus it doesn't matter. We get back up and get back on the path and keep right on walking. So godly simply means that you believe in God and you're walking with Jesus Christ.
One last point about comparing ourselves with others. I get extremely frustrated with the world's focus on celebrities and all the so called glitz and glamour that surrounds them. These celebrities are typically elevated to a pedestal simply because they have vast amounts of money. What's the most frustrating to me is when a celebrity makes a commercial to raise money for a charity and the celebrity could simply write a check and fund the cause for the next 30 years or more. Or if a celebrity does give what society considers to be a "vast" amount they are labeled as a philanthropist or an extraordinary giver. Let me give you an example.
In 2010, Oprah Winfrey made $315 million dollars - Yes in one year! That was her salary. She also gave $41 million dollars to charity. That's an incredible amount of money! That's also how she earned the label as the most philanthropic celebrity. But society gets all enamored by the amount given because they are comparing it to what the average Joe on the street would be able to give but here's the simply math. Let's start by dropping the "million" part. If I made $315 and gave $41 dollars that would mean that I gave 13% of my money to charity. (41/315) That means Oprah gave 13 cents for every 100 cents she made. Whoopdee doo dah. My daughter made $50 dollars last year and gave $10 dollars to charity. That's a 20% giving ratio! A great deal more than Oprah gave and there wasn't anyone knocking on our door to get the story. Now I don't mean to undermine what she's done but we need to keep it in perspective.
We need to educate ourselves to look for the bigger picture. We need to get wisdom so that we can identify what is really going on. Thankfully, Solomon wrote down these wonderful pearls of wisdom so that we can educate ourselves by reading Proverbs. The more we read the Bible the more God's word is revealed to us and the more we begin to walk with Jesus. The world has a way that seems right to it but in the end it leads to death (more on this in a few days). The worlds ways are not correct. They are upside down and the Bible exposes it for what it truly is.
Please keep reading along with me through Proverbs. There's so much more to learn.
The Shepherd
Return to The Proverbs Challenge
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