“A greedy man stirs up strife, but the one who trusts in the LORD will be enriched.” Proverbs 28:25
Devotional Thought For The Day
Ah, the joys of looking at Hebrew words. The first word in this proverb is translated “greedy” [ESV], “selfish” [CEV], “arrogant” [ISV], and “proud” [KJV]. The arguments as to how the word “rachab” should be translated in this instance I will have to leave to the commentators. I suspect it will not be difficult for us to grasp the kind of person being described – one who desires self-greatness, motivated both by greed and by pride. There are many such people in the world, and I’m certain that some of this inheres in every fallen sinful human being. We begin sorting this out as children – who is more aggressive in grabbing the toy, whose grip is stronger, who cries louder, who cares most when others cry. Parental intervention even with the youngest children begins teaching right and wrong, and shaping how we will deal with inherent selfishness, our own and that of others. More lessons are learned as we grow older and compete in games, scuffles, and in the classroom. We strive for roles in the play, for chairs in the band, to be a cheerleader, to play varsity, to have a starting position, to be elected to student council, to have higher GPA’s, to get scholarships, to get into the best colleges, to get the best jobs, to build businesses, to climb the ladder of authority, power, and prestige. You see how greed and pride “stirs up strife,” for we are often competing for the same “goods.”
Well, the game is there so why not play it? Most people do, in some way or another. We need to have some measure of self-respect. For most of us the deck is stacked against our becoming President, or even a Senator or Governor, or excessively wealthy. But that doesn’t mean we can’t find a game that we can be more competitive in. It is probably fairly benign, but we can hang our ribbons, trophies, and scalps on Facebook these days. It is really easy, and we can even dress up and embellish our “privilege” and “conquests.” How would anyone check up on us anyway? I’m probably being too cynical and harsh, but I have a very strong suspicion that there is much more of this than we want to admit. And in our “real life” interactions, we continue to have strife and struggle in getting things to be as we want them to be – at least as much as is possible. When we don’t get our way? Well, we can always stir up a bit of strife, and we can often do so in ways that are calculated, so that the stuff that hits the fan doesn’t blow back on us. And we can always quit – if we don’t really care about the people we work with, or the job we are doing, or what will be lost. So, the proverb is not just a warning to the rich and powerful, but to each and every one of us.
Still, not all strife can be avoided, and when we are confronted by those who are taking away toys that belong to others, we have to react. We can choose action or inaction. For some, the decision is “knee-jerk” – they always respond with either fight or with flight, without really weighing the circumstances and consequences. Most wise people would counsel that we should pick our fights very carefully – never instigating them, but the ones that just come to us. For some this becomes a very exhausting and painful process, worse than actually fighting or fleeing. For others, either decision is fearful, depressing, exhausting, and debilitating. If we flee we feel like cowards, and understand that we have let a lot of people down. If we fight, we come to loath the conflict. If we lose, we lose, but even if we win the victories seem hollow and we question the value of what is gained. So we come to question if there is really anything that is worth fighting for, and hopefully we learn to think very carefully about the impact of our own greed and pride, and take great care not to “stir up strife” for selfish and arrogant reasons. Still, it seems that no matter how careful and balanced we try to become, whenever we chose to stand our ground, to oppose and resist, someone will be eager to accuse us of being the cause of the strife. It makes you just want to leave town.
Thus the advice in the second part of this proverb, and that is to “trust in the LORD,” in Yahweh, the only True and Living God. The promise attached is that the one trusting will be “enriched.” Here again we are confronted with the wide range of meaning in Hebrew words. “Dashen” is translated “be made fat, prosper, be satisfied, have enough, have a full life, be enriched.” In that we associate being “made fat” with something negative, it is no longer a very helpful translation. But you get the point of the proverb. It does not mean that we will have our greedy and arrogant desires fulfilled. The enrichment has to do with who you are, your inner being, and your experiences in life. Trusting in the LORD negates the need for our greed and pride to provoke competition and strife; we trust the LORD to give us our daily bread and everything else that we need to live and thrive. Trusting in the LORD negates anxiety and consternation in the face of the threats the greedy and arrogant provoke against us, and eases the anguish of choosing the wise course of action. Trusting in the LORD erases fear and guilt when we choose not to fight; we leave the matter in His capable hands to resolve. Trusting in the LORD is also the key when choosing to fight; we will not fear defeat, we will be composed to make wiser strategic decisions, and we will not overreact and exert greater force and inflict worse pain than is necessary. And we will not gloat in victory, but will humbly thank God that some good was accomplished.
We will not be exempt from the strains of strife and conflict until we leave this fallen world of sin, or the Lord Jesus returns in glory. We can take great care in our involvement in strife, not to cause it, and also how to react to it. But always, trust in the LORD provides wisdom, comfort, peace, joy, and hope, which prevail over the erosive trials of strife.
Prayer For The Day
Dear Lord Jesus, strife and its sinful causes demonstrate the distinctive nature of love. You have tolerated such strife ever since the devil’s rebellion and the fall of mankind. You certainly experienced it poignantly in Your earthly life and redemptive mission. We are not immune from it, and it is our own sin which often causes or exacerbates strife. Forgive us, keep us from causing strife, and enable us to grow in trust in You, so that we handle the strife that comes to us as You did. Amen.