The Trustworthy Branch

He that trusteth in his riches shall fall; but the righteous shall flourish as a branch. (Proverbs 11:28)

I love the symbolism that Proverbs 11:28 uses. When we read it, we should remember that the Jewish people were an agricultural society. If you have never grown anything, you may not fully appreciate the analogy used in this verse. Imagine a tree standing tall, with wide branches and large leaves, but underneath the surface, the roots are shallow. One strong wind can blow a tree with shallow roots over. That’s how Proverbs describes the person who trusts in his riches. They may have the finest clothes, the best cars, and display a life of perfection, but they won’t last in a storm.

The antithesis of the rootless tree is the flourishing branch of the righteous. Think about a tree that is planted by a riverside. It may not stand out in a grand way, but the fruit it produces is full and juicy. Its branches are not just large and impressive, they are full of fruit and leaves because it is rooted in a place where the living water flows. Righteousness is following God’s ways of doing things. When our hearts, our minds, and our lives are rooted in God’s Word, it will affect how we work, how we speak, and how we live. The living waters of God’s Word flow through us to others. Your flourishing isn’t dependent on the stock market; it’s connected to how dependent you are on God’s Word.

Practical Application

How much time do you take to get nourished in the Word? It’s important to hear and study the Word more than once or twice a week. Are you listening to the Word or messages throughout the day? Are you positioning yourself to be fed what God is saying? Spend some time each week to plan and prepare for when and how you can hear God’s Word regularly and be the tree by the stream of living water.

Jeremiah 17:8; Psalm 1:3

Character Over Currency

Better is the poor that walketh in his uprightness, than he that is perverse in his ways, though he be rich. (Proverbs 28:6)

This Proverb gives us an illustration of two people walking down a path. One is wealthy, but perverse and wicked inside. The other is poor in outward appearance, but inwardly is upright and righteous. What if you were given the choice of which one to befriend? Would you choose the wealthy evil man or the poor upright character? Wise people would choose the person they could trust and honor, even though he had little money to offer. It’s better to not have money and be upright than to be wealthy and perverse. I’m not saying that it must be either/or. You can be wealthy and righteous. At the same time, many poor people are living in sin. Pause and ask yourself, “What is the most important thing?”

In all my years of pastoring, so many schemes have come across my path that were get-rich-quick ideas. They sounded good at first, but they were morally wrong and predatory. I have had people say, “I’ll present this to the congregation and you will get this much of the cut.” If you are in any position of authority, you have a special obligation to make sure you are not being used by people to hurt those God put in your care.

If you must choose between being poor and righteous, and being rich and sinful, choose to be poor. You cannot trust money and you should never move away from God’s Word to get it.

Practical Application

Evaluate your friendships. Do the people who surround you live with integrity and honor and push you toward God’s Word? Or do they want to constantly indulge the flesh, are full of pride, and are constantly talking about themselves? To be a person of character, surround yourself with those who exemplify the lifestyle you want to live.

Proverbs 16:8; Proverbs 19:22

Trouble and Treasures

Treasures of wickedness profit nothing: but righteousness delivereth from death. (Proverbs 10:2)

Treasures that don’t profit seems contradictory. The very word treasure implies something that is valuable, perhaps full of money, jewels, or precious gems. However, Proverbs 10:2 tells us that if the treasures come from wickedness, the profit will never benefit you. The treasures of wickedness rob from you. It will steal from your joy, your peace, and your overall satisfaction. Money gained through sin will not add one day to your life. It will actually rob you of an asset you cannot replace, which is time on this earth.

On the other side of the coin, Proverbs 10:2 talks about the righteous. It doesn’t say they have a chest full of gold or have amassed a huge amount of gain, but they do have something the wealthy wicked don’t have; that is salvation.

The salvation of the righteous is not just the sparing of an eternity from hell, but it also spares them from attacks on their life, attacks on their character, and attacks on their well-being. Being righteous is not just about praying a prayer; it is about living in a way that aligns your choices and your life with God’s way of doing things.

Don’t trade righteousness for money. Don’t trade God’s protection for financial gain. In the end, the only thing that will matter is how you lived for God.

Practical Application

How can you sow into what God is doing? The wicked horde their treasures for themselves, but the righteous have sown into the Kingdom and know that God’s protection is on their lives. Ask the Holy Spirit to put on your heart something or someone specific to sow into this week and follow His lead.

Psalm 49:6; Proverbs 12:28