“He that is of a proud heart stirreth up strife:
but he that putteth his trust in the LORD shall be made fat.” (Pr 28:25
AV)
This
proverb struck me as odd and worth further investigation. What puzzled me was the tie between a lack of
faith and pride which causes strife.
What is the connection between the two?
Does this mean that everyone who struggles with pride is short of faith
in some area of life? If we are not
surrendered by faith, does that mean we will automatically struggle with
pride? If this is the understanding,
then we are all in trouble. We all lack
faith is some area or areas of our lives.
If lack of faith translates into pride, then we are all constantly
struggling with pride.
The
commentators were of great help here. They
reminded the student that the context here is riches versus poverty. Twice in this chapter Solomon warns about seeking
riches by haste. Several times Solomon
extols the virtue of poverty with a pure heart as better than riches with an
unclean heart. In our text, this idea
continues. They that put their trust in
the LORD are made fat. This means they
are prosperous both materially and emotionally.
The proud, on the other hand, rely solely on themselves for their
needs. They employ worldly methods of
self-gain. This often causes strife. Competition, entrepreneurial endeavors, and
profit can cause strife. Not that these
things are necessarily wrong. But as was
recently expressed on a well-known sit-com, capitalism works best when coupled
with Christian values and compassion.
The
general point of this proverb is simple.
If we trust the LORD in all areas of our lives, He will make the soul
fat. We will be content, resting in the provision
and strength which only God can bring.
On the other hand, if we do not trust the LORD, relying on our own
strength and wisdom, our life will be filled with fighting. In my pilgrim journey, I have met many
businessmen. Several are millionaires or
multimillionaires. There is a vast
difference between the self-made man and the God-made-man. Both have the same material wealth, but one
is clearly more at peace in life than the other. They view their wealth differently. They view their purpose in life
differently. One is at peace with the world
while the other sees the world as both a source of profit and a threat to that
profit. Better is faith with the little
God gives than all the wealth in the world filled with the strife that comes
with it.
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