Proverbs 23

“Do not overwork to be rich; because of your own understanding, cease! Will you set your eyes on that which is not? For riches certainly make themselves wings; they fly away like an eagle toward heaven.” Proverb 23:4-5 (NKJV)

In Newport Beach, California, there is a shopping mall called Fashion Island.  It was one of my favorite places to frequent when I lived in Southern California.  Everything about the mall was perfect, from the high-end boutique shopping and restaurant options to their landscaping, koi pond and the posh movie theater with the wide leather recliners. But my favorite thing about Fashion Island was how they would valet a long line of high-end sports cars right in front of Canaletto Ristorante Veneto.  When I say “high-end,” I’m not talking about Mercedes, Porsche, or BMW…the high-end autos of Middle America.  I am talking about supercars: McLaren, Ferrari, Lamborghini, Bugatti, and Maserati; cars you only read about in magazines.  And there they would be, just sitting in the sun, driven by the elite, men who have no problem spending $500,000 + on a car.

I recall slowly walking past the valet line with a friend from Newport Beach, marveling at these feats of automotive engineering, when I mumbled the age-old question, “What do these people do that they can afford these? And why can’t I do THAT for a living?”  My friend, who is by no means poor, answered, “Don’t be fooled. These guys are all just one bad business deal or market downturn from losing it all.”  Some folks simply do not feel alive unless they are living on the edge.  And the only folks who know where the edge is, are those who have gone over it!  While the supercar valet line is never-ending, the group of guys driving up and tossing their keys to the valet is ever-changing.  That is EXACTLY the point of today’s passage from Proverbs 23.  If you put your trust and security in riches, beware. Riches have a tendency to fly away and leave you completely financially and spiritually bankrupt in the process. No, we cannot rely on riches or the obsessive pursuit thereof to fill the emptiness inside.  Only Messiah Jesus can do that!  

Focusing on building our earthly “kingdoms” takes our focus off God and the tasks He has set apart for us within His Kingdom. When people seek God, they typically entreat Him for what He can do for them.  Seldom do we consider what He requires of us in His plan for our lives!  Any plan other than God’s plan is destined to fail.

“He has shown you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God?” Micah 6:8 (NKJV)

“Unless the Lord builds the house, they labor in vain who build it… ” Psalm 127:1a (NKJV)

“Two things I request of You (Deprive me not before I die): Remove falsehood and lies far from me; give me neither poverty nor riches - feed me with the food allotted to me; lest I be full and deny You, and say, ‘Who is the Lord?’ Or lest I be poor and steal, and profane the name of my God.”  Proverbs 30:7-9 (NKJV)