Probing Proverbs 13:10-11 Pride leads to conflict; those
who take advice are wise. Wealth from get-rich-quick schemes quickly
disappears; wealth from hard work grows over time.
This section of Proverbs brings two critical issues together
that affect all of us. Interestingly, the issues are looked at from 2 different
spectrums. As usual, with Proverbs, the Truths being communicated would do us
well to heed them.
The two issues are; How we view ourselves, and, How we view
wealth. Each individual must decide what kind of person they are, and they must
decide how they will handle money.
There is nothing more important to every human being than to
understand how they see themselves, for that image impacts everything else they
do in life, that is why when we see ourselves as individuals made new through
Christ, it produces a new self worth. An individual with no self worth lives a
life of fear and despair. In this passage we see the person that lives by pride
versus the one that lives in humility. Let’s have a simple definition of pride used in the Hebrew: This kind of Pride is a sense of self-importance, (notice
not self worth) which brings defiance and even rebelliousness.
Notice what the product produced is – Conflict! When an
individual places himself or herself as number 1, the main focus, their way is
always right, what they leave in their wake is conflict! There can be no peace,
UNLESS you agree with them. What fascinates me is the number of times I have
counseled individuals like this and their greatest confusion in life is why
they cannot seem to develop deep friendships or even hold on to them.
On the other side is the person that is humble. It requires
humility to admit you do not know it all and seek advice. That humility brings
with it another great character fruit – Wisdom! Proverbs invests so much of its
teaching in exhorting us to seek wisdom. Humility is one of the doors Wisdom
enters through. When we allow God’s Spirit to teach us, either through the
Word or other people, the outcome is we gain Wisdom – a commodity more
valuable than gold!
The issue most of us struggle with after self image is money.
It is what we use to live, so we cannot deny we need it or want it. The
question is how do we approach it?
I have a firm belief that many of us…I am
including myself…feel that if we had all the money we needed, we would feel more
secure. Here is the subtle lie and the very enemy to our Faith. Even on our
money we state “In God we trust!” I have found most struggle with balancing what are our needs versus our desires. Also, most fall for the subtle lie of where their needs will be supplied from. This Proverb exposes the folly of a wrong approach to riches. Why
would we desire to be rich quick? The answer is obvious; we could relax about
our “needs”
being met. What we don’t see is the real translation: I won’t have to depend on
anybody else for my needs – which is a “faith killer!” The wisdom of this
Proverb is profound – when we get our money easy, statistics show that it vanishes
just as quickly. The stewardship and faith in God it takes to work hard and
save brings a discipline that teaches us not only what money is for, not only
how to handle it, but also a firm conviction of Who really supplies the money! 
Pride and a lust for money take you in the wrong direction in
life. Remaining humble enough to take advice and working hard so God will honor
your effort and will bless you with real wealth, not only the physical kind,
but the eternal kind!
The So What: How much time do you spend being concerned about
what people think of you? Do you have “self” esteem, or “real esteem?” Do you have to be right? Do you ever seek
advice from people you respect? How much money have you spent on Lotteries? Do
you believe money by itself will give you what you want in life? Do you keep
all your wealth for you or do you share it as you feel led.
