The Righteous Will Thrive

Carolyn and I had friends in the Portsmouth District who collected everything. They had so many dolls that they had to build shelving all the way around their house. They had so many salt and pepper shakers that one cabinet would not hold them all and they had to go to two. Their house was amazing because they collected so many different things.

Why do we collect “things”? Is it because we think we need something new or in many cases because we just want something “old”? Many times we think we would be happy if we just had one more of a certain thing. I wonder in our world today – what makes us happy? Is it “stuff”?

The things we collect never deliver the goods. Why? God created us to be filled by Him, not by things. The world insists we need many “things,” but the reality of life is what we need Jesus. Our longing hearts need to be filled with the love of Christ. It is only then that we will be satisfied.

Proverbs says there are two ways to live. One way is to spend your life pursing riches. The other is grounded in loving God and giving generously. In the Message, Eugene Peterson says Proverbs 11:28 like this: “A life devoted to things is a dead life, a stump; a God-shaped life is a flourishing tree.”

The word thrive in Proverbs 11:28 is a translation of the Hebrew verb parach. It means to break forth as a bud or blossom. It can also mean grow or spring up. “Those who trust in their riches will fall, but the righteous will thrive like a green leaf.”

Again, there are two ways to live. One is flourishing and fruitful – one is hollow and barren. The world thinks that the good life is filled with material abundance. God wants us to be rooted in Him and then we will flourish fruitfully. God reshapes our desires and transforms us from the inside out.

Prayer: Father, help me to keep putting my trust in You rather than the “stuff” of this world.

Proverbs  11:28 – “Those who trust riches will fall, but the righteous will thrive like a green leaf.”

By the Rev. Tommy Herndon
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