Proverbs 15:16-17, The Better Part
September 22, Proverbs 15:16-17
Matt. 6:19-23, 32; Phil. 4:11-13 “Would you rather be rich in Grace or rich in purse?”
The Better Part
What dangers there are in possessing riches! A dinner of herbs (v.17a) is surely not better than a stalled ox. Can that be true? Can poverty be better than riches? That would not be so without some qualification. The poor contend with serious obstacles, the direct result of poverty. Rich folks do enjoy many advantages primarily because they are rich. What the proverbs say, over and over, is that poverty with the fear of the Lord is better than riches without God. Compare, an average rich person, without God, with an average poor person who knows the fear of the Lord. You will find that the condition of the godly is better than the other, no matter how rich he or she might be (Eccl. 4:6).
1. The Better Happiness: Overall, the godly person has the more enjoyable condition, because they enjoy a higher happiness. God puts their happiness within the heart, while the other’s happiness is without. The rich person’s happiness depends on physical sensations, but the godly person’s happiness has spiritual dimensions. Bridges put it, “The universe will not fill a worldly, while a little will suffice for a heavenly, heart.” The happiness of the rich keeps decreasing! After a time, their wealth brings less and less satisfaction or contentment. Like the drug addict, they need more thrills to keep them “happy.” The serenity of the godly is growing and heightening with the passing of the years. The best portion of the rich is in this life and in this life only. The best is yet to be for the godly. “A pearl among pebbles is still a pearl.” There is the blessed hope of Heaven and Home. A Joseph in Egypt still enjoyed the favour of God! Here’s the sum of it. “Better be a poor man and a rich Christian than a rich man and a poor Christian.”
2. The Bigger Honour: The honour of the rich depends mostly on what they have. The honour of the other comes from what they are. The honour, like the happiness, of the rich becomes less and less with the passing of time. How flimsy the honour of this world is! How soon forgotten are the rich and famous! Yet Jesus and judgment must be reckoned with. Some writers in newspapers and magazines cannot seem to avoid making disparaging remarks about a God or a Bible they claim not to believe in! Bishop Reynolds remarked, “Jacob’s ladder, which conveys to heaven, may have its foot in the smoky cottage.” Yes, the memories of many humble followers of the Lord are still fragrant, and form a great cloud of witnesses confirming that bigger honour. Jesus exposed those who receive honour one of another, and seek not the honour that cometh from God only (Jn. 5:44).
“Better be than seem.”
Yet, Lord, the double grace impart:
Give me the open, upright heart,
Then shall I seem to live to thee,
And be all that I seem to be.
Thought: “A handful of holy life is worth a ton of tall talk.”
Prayer: Lord, that I, like Mary, shall choose that better part.