Poverty and folly are closely related in the Proverbs. Proverbs 1:29ff says, “Because they hated knowledge and did not choose the fear of the LORD, they would not accept my counsel, they spurned all my reproof, so they shall eat of the fruit of their own way, and be satiated with their own devices, for the waywardness of the naive shall kill them and the complacency of fools shall destroy them. But he who listens to me shall live securely and shall be at ease from the dread of evil.” It is clear that Solomon here equates death, destruction and disaster with folly. Yes, no doubt, there are eternal implications to his comments; the ultimate fate of the fool is to suffer God’s eternal judgment. But more pertinent to our discussion is that God says a refusal to search for wisdom will lead to economic ruin. Fools will not receive counsel or instruction. They want to do, what they want to do, regardless of the consequences. And they bring their folly down on their own head.

Sadly, over the years, I have found that many Christians are more concerned about defending themselves and their actions, rather than learning from their mistakes. Perhaps the most difficult situation I ever face as a pastor is giving critiques to people; whether it be a Sunday school teacher on how to become a better instructor, music people on helping lead the worship or even program coordinators on how to more effective implement their plans. Many Christians just do not like even constructive criticism, no matter how ineffectual, foolish or even self-destructive their actions are. They look for any excuse to justify themselves, and they will blame anyone and everyone except themselves for the problems they face. And if you DO respectfully, politely, kindly and gently point out a problem, (and offer a solution) you often risk your relationship with such people.

For example, take the case of a man who does not want to use his limited resources to provide a Christian education for his children. The public schools were good enough for him, so they ought to be good enough for his kids. Besides, public schools are “free” and the tuition for a private Christian school (or the money Momma can make working while the kids are in the public schools) could be much better spent on that big screen TV, the new boat, or the hundred and one other toys that are essential to the “good life.” So, Dad sends his kids off to the public schools where his kids are indoctrinated in a godless worldview, and seduced into a pagan moral life-style. After a while, his kids start acting just like their pagan peers. They dress like them, listen to the same music, develop the same values, and surprise, surprise, when they get to be teenagers, they become rebellious, immoral, drug-taking sons of hell, just like their pagan peers. OK, it’s not ALWAYS this bad; but it happens often enough.

But who is to blame? Is it Dad for valuing his toys over his children? No way! It is obviously the church’s fault for not providing more programs for his kids! It only makes sense that a 45 minute Sunday school class each week, (and maybe an hour long youth group) should easily be able to overcome the effects of 30 hours of indoctrination in the public schools, 20 hours of propaganda from television and secular music, and 20 hours spent hanging out with their friends in the Mall! Over the past twenty years, seldom have I found fathers admitting that THEY made a mistake. In fact, such men often become the worst sort of antagonist to Christian schooling, even though their own kids were almost destroyed by public education.

Now contrast this with Proverbs 2:21-22 where it says, “For the upright will live in the land, and the blameless will remain in it, but the wicked will be cut off from the land and the treacherous will be uprooted from it.” In order to understand the full significance of this proverb, consider the historical and cultural situation. Ancient Israel was an agrarian nation. Cities and towns were small; most people made their living directly from the land. In fact, all wealth comes from “the land.” Food must be grown on the land. Gold, silver, iron, copper and precious stones must be mined from the land. Wood and stone for homes must be gathered from “the land.” Therefore, to be “cut off” from the land is to be removed from all created sources of life, health, comfort and sustenance. To be established in the “land” is therefore to receive all the wealth and prosperity that God provides through it. Thus to be “cut off” from the land, is to lose one’s source of wealth and life; which is why of course, to be “cut off” is also a symbol of death, eternal judgment, and hell.

Now clearly, there are both eschatological and soteriological typologies involved here. Israel’s claim to the land was tied to their faithfulness to the Covenant. Because they broke the Covenant, God forcibly removed them from the land on three separate occasions (1) the destruction of the Ten Northern Tribes in 721 BC by the Assyrians, (2) the Babylonian Captivity in 586 BC that lasted seventy years and (3) the final destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple in 70 AD. And yet, as important as these future events will be to Israel, the promise here is that God will establish the righteous, and remove the wicked from the “land.”

Now compare the above with Proverbs 3:16 where God promises that wisdom will bring “long life, riches and honor.” These physical blessings accrue to the man who loves and possesses wisdom. Yet, looking at the way many Christians live their lives, wisdom appears to be a very rare item. Why is that? It may well have to do with the way that people do Bible study today. I am constantly amazed that so many Christians can become ever more expert on ever more arcane aspects of academic theology; and yet those same people (some with advanced degrees from prestigious colleges, seminaries and graduate schools) have personal lives that are simply abysmal. Their marriages are a pathetic joke, their children (literally sometimes) the spawn of hell, their personal relationships petty and vicious. Some of these men are pastors, elders, seminary professors or Christian College instructors. Oh sure, on the OUTSIDE they look fine, say all the right things, smile at all the right times, but inside they are a mess. I have a whole file cabinet full of counseling cases on such men such stretching back fifteen years. For all their knowledge, for all their degrees, they just do not know how to make Christianity WORK in their lives.

Even sadder is the fact that too many Christians, following the lead of so many pastors, elders and professors, think that true spirituality consists of being able to discuss the merits of infralapsarianism vs. supralapsarianism (or other important, but highly technical aspects of theology). These same Christians though are clueless about how the Bible is to be applied in their work, families, time, etc. They have knowledge, but not wisdom, and they suffer accordingly.

They lack wisdom, because they do not study the Scriptures to see what God would have them DO, but only what to believe. And as a result, they miss the honor, long life and riches that God promises. Thus one of the reasons why so many Christians fail to achieve the financial blessings that God promises is that they see the Bible as a book to be discussed, debated or even believed, but not often APPLIED.

One of my favorite verses is John 14:21, “He who has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me…” Do you love Jesus? Really, how do you know? Jesus said, “If you love me, keep my commands.” Sadly, many Christians today have replaced God’s emphasis on obedience, with a sugary, superficial, feeling-oriented religion. Like Diet Coke, it’s all flavor and carbonation, but no nutrition. Oh, no doubt, many Christians are “sincere”; but sincerity is no substitute for truth. If you really loved Him, you would be obeying Him. And that means you have to change the ways you do things. Unlike the fool who flees from wisdom, you have to become deeply committed to conforming every area of life to God’s ways.

How do you do that? Well, for a start, how about getting up every morning early enough to get some quality time alone with God before you start your day? And as you open your Bible, how about asking yourself three basic questions; (1) What does God say here (2) What does God mean here and (3) most importantly; what does God want me to do here?

No, they do not hand out Ph.D.s in theology for this kind of simple Bible study, but it can change your life. Over the years, I have thought I have become so cynical about the average Christian that nothing shocks me anymore. But every so often, something comes up that still blows my mind. And one of the most shocking things is the number of PASTORS who have NEVER actually studied the Bible personally in their entire lives! Yes, that is right, PASTORS. You see, everything they know they learned from books (nothing wrong with that in and of itself; after all, I am writing THIS book!), but they never actually have spent any personal time meditating on the Word of God for themselves.

At best, they have only a second hand understanding of God’s principles and then, only those that the academic sitting in his ivory tower, thinking his lofty thoughts deigned to write about. And since most of these books are academic and theoretical, they seldom have much to do with “real life” down here where most of us are struggling day by day.

The Reformers believed strongly that “secret worship” was essential to the spiritual health not only of the individual, but of the entire nation as well. Fathers were required to not only read and study the Scriptures for themselves, but then to teach those same Scriptures to their wives and children (see the “Directory for Family Worship” published today by Greenville Theological Seminary Press for more details). Come on now, be honest; when was the last time you conducted “family worship” in your house? How often do you gather the entire family together, and instruct them in God’s ways based upon what God Himself has been teaching you in your “secret worship?” What, the kids too squirmy, your day too packed with activities, your wife not supportive enough that you NEVER teach your children?

Well, friend, whatever your financial problems are, the cause is NOT that you never had a “Dutch uncle.” You are not being blessed, because you are not being obedient. You are lacking wisdom, because you are not spending quality time in the one place God promises to give it to you. You need to get your personal life, and your family life in order FIRST, so that God can unleash His blessings.

Be a Man! Gird up your loins and take dominion over your family and God will give you dominion over your finances. Study the Scriptures, meditate upon them and start beseeching Almighty God to give you wisdom to know what you are doing wrong, and what you need to do right. Repent of wasting the time God gives you every day and start disciplining yourself and your family. And then, as you study, and teach your family, God will teach you, and he will bless you. When Dad’s take responsibility to do secret and family worship, the entire family is knit together in love and unity. His wife becomes tender and supportive, his children respectful and controlled. And once God sees that you are serious about obeying Him here, he can begin to entrust you with material blessings as well. Do not put this off any longer, but start TODAY!

Conclusion; God promises to bless financially those who seek wisdom, and order their ways according to His. Remember, “The wealth of the wicked is laid up for the righteous” in this world, as well as the next. But it requires us to apply the principles of God’s word that will come through secret and family worship.

Proverbs for Further Consideration

6:10 “A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest-and your poverty will come in like a vagabond and your need like an armed man.”

22:3 “The prudent sees the evil and hides himself, but the naive go on and are punished for it.”

23:21 “For the heavy drinker and the glutton will come to poverty and drowsiness will clothe a man with rags.”