The rich man’s wealth is his strong city, and as a high wall in his own conceit (Proverbs 18:11).
Last week’s proverb concerned the name of the LORD being a strong tower of safety and security for the righteous. It was learned that having Jesus as our place of safety and security was dependent upon a condition of righteous living after the ways of God and not the ways of man. So the promise of being able to go to God with confidence in times of trial does not hold for everyone who professes Jesus as Savior because He is not Lord of their life. The promise is only for the righteous, i.e. those submitted to the lordship of Jesus. Today’s proverb follows immediately and applies to many in nations like America where many profess to be Christians but are relatively comfortable financially and find themselves placing their trust, whether consciously or subconsciously, in their wealth. They view their wealth as a strong city, city being translated from Hebrew also meaning a building symbolic of one’s life. The Hebrew translated as “wall” literally means a wall of protection. And the Hebrew translated as “conceit” figuratively means imagination or how one pictures things or wishes them to be. So it is we are being instructed to be wary of placing our trust and security in financial resources which have the appearance of being a stable form of protection. Such is an extremely deceptive way of thinking which has become a snare for an untold number who have come to Christ by grace through faith at one point in their lives. This message is parallel to the proverb discussed in the November 15, 2015 post which warns about chasing after riches which will prove to have wings, either in this life or eternally. An abundance of income or savings can not only be seen as a high wall of protection in a person’s thoughts or imagination. Such can serve to destroy a person’s life in a spiritual sense. Jesus warns that a man’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions (Luke 12:15). Yet there is little difference in America between those churched and the unchurched when it comes to lifestyles and love for the world and things of the world about which God warns in 1 John 2:15. Jesus exhorts us very specifically to take great care in where we store our treasures, warning it is fantasy to have our focus on treasures of a material nature (which would include wealth) instead of using our time, talents and treasures to advance the kingdom of heaven on earth. In a parable which speaks to this very point, Jesus tells about a farmer whose fields yielded an unexpectedly abundant harvest. Instead of his sharing the excess with those less fortunate, the man decided to build an even larger barn. He was told by God, “You fool, this night your soul will be required of you” (Luke 12:20). What a severe warning is implied. It isn’t that his physical life would necessarily be taken that night, but rather than his heart had become so hardened by self-indulgence that there would be condemnation at judgment. All of us are tempted by the enemy of our souls Satan and his hosts of wickedness to focus on what is temporal instead of that which is eternal. Let us daily remain alert and determine with God’s help to keep our priorities in harmony with teachings of the One we profess as being our Savior and Lord.
