Proverbs 10:2-3. 2Treasures gained by wickedness do not profit, but righteousness delivers from death. 3The Lord does not let the righteous go hungry, but he thwarts the craving of the wicked.
Why does a person seek treasures? The two big reasons seem to be for security, or for status, or possibly both. Some people desire to feel safe and secure, therefore it seems that money obtained through wickedness is the lesser of two evils. Others chase money for the status it brings them. More money means more power, more beauty, more friends, more acceptance.
The proverb declares the principle (not promise) that treasures gained by wickedness do not profit. In general, logically speaking, when a person gets dishonest gain it strains their reality to the point where it eventually breaks apart. Money gained by wickedness is not too often sustainable. Eventually, the people it harms will want justice. Either the righteous will destroy the wicked, or the wicked will destroy the wicked, or the greediness of the wicked will destroy themselves.
More importantly, treasure gained by wickedness is something that God himself will not let stand. Not for long. God honors righteousness (honesty, fairness, equity, justice), and God thwarts the craving of the wicked. The providential workings of God thwart the wicked.
It is easy for us to see the wealthy and be envious. It is easier still for us to see the wealthy wicked and wonder what God is doing. Psalm 73 speaks to this very thing:
Psalm 73:2-3. 2But as for me, my feet had almost stumbled, my steps had nearly slipped. 3For I was envious of the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.
But then the psalmist says this:
Psalm 73: 16-18. 16But when I thought how to understand this, it seemed to me a wearisome task, 17until I went into the sanctuary of God; then I discerned their end. 18Truly you set them in slippery places; you make them fall to ruin.
You see jealousy of the wicked wealthy in this life is evidence of the lack of an eternal mindset, a failure to discern their end, and our own. The poor now will be rich in the life to come. The hungry now will be full. But the rich now, the full now, they will weep in the life to come. Why? Because they failed to obtain the righteousness of Christ. A righteousness that is ours in Jesus, not in wealth nor in poverty, but in union with Christ.
You: Do you find yourself being envious of the wealthy, even the wicked wealthy? Do you find yourself questioning God’s justice in regards to the wicked wealthy?
You in Christ: How does focusing on our union with Christ allow him to become our greatest treasure?
Christ in you: How can the pursuit of Christ allow you to trust the providential work of God regarding wealth and justice?
Pray: Jesus, help me to treasure you more than anything else in life, and to not be envious of the wicked wealthy. Amen.
To Live is Christ 