Proverbs 22:4
Humility and the fear of the LORD bring wealth and honor and life.
Osher, Kabowd, and Chay
Now I bet that title caught you a bit off guard. Like what in the world is osher, is that some kind of ritual cult chant?!?
Well, no, it’s not.
I was curious where to begin writing to you about this verse so I started by looking up what the Hebrew words were for wealth, honor, and life in this text because honestly, talking about God & wealth is never an easy subject.
It’s a long history of abuse and distortion by those who want to turn God into a “get rich quick scheme” that makes it extremely important to handle verses like this with care. Especially in light of the fact that yes the word osher does mean wealth as we would think of it. (If you want to check that out, see this entry from BibleHub)
When looking at our main verse for this blog, I think that it’s wise to keep it in tension with what was said just a few verses above it in Proverbs 22:1.
“A good name is more desirable than great riches; to be esteemed is better than silver or gold.”
And to remember that this is a book of Proverbs, wise sayings and pieces of advice, and not a book of promises, assurance of something.
Something more valuable than wealth
So, starting with the second verse we mentioned (Proverbs 22:1) we see the timeless truth that having a good reputation is one of the most valuable things any one of us can have. Much more valuable than vast amounts of money and possessions. After all, many of us can look at the news and see how someone very wealthy is also very detestable by the way they obtained or use their wealth.
To cite an interesting example mentioned by Brooke Harrington in his article on The Guardian:
“For the ultra-rich, having no fixed residence provides major legal and financial advantages; this is exemplified by the case of the wealthy businessman who acquired eight different nationalities in order to avoid taxes on his fortune.”
On the other hand, when we have a good reputation or a “good name” we can be as poor as possible and still have great friends and a great impact on the world around us!
Every reputation matters to God, which was clearly explained by Ray Ortlund in his TGC article:
“The ninth commandment, against bearing false witness, means that a person has a right to his good name. God makes a person’s reputation a sacred thing. God listens to every whisper. God watches every “like” on Facebook. God notes every retweet and comment. God reads every email. God hears every phone call. Our discourse about one another matters to God above. It matters to him so much that he included this in the Ten Commandments.”
If a good reputation matters more, why would God bring us wealth?
Well, there is no guarantee that He will. Remember this is a book of general principles that are generally true most of the time.
Such as, it’s generally true that if I treat others with kindness and respect, I will generally receive that kind of behavior in return.
Or it’s generally true that if I work well, I will be paid well.
These things don’t always happen, but can be expected most of the time.
That being said, when He does bring wealth to the godly it is because of this: “Humility and the fear of YHWH”.
When we are humble, submitting to God from our heart and with our actions, this shows God that He can trust us with greater things. But what exactly is Biblical humility? It is well-defined by Paul Carter in his TGC article:
Jesus is the ultimate standard for biblical humility. What he said, and how he lived ought to serve as our definitive guide. In Jesus’ parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector, he made it clear that true humility means utter dependence upon the mercy of God.
And when we fear Him with good healthy fear, we keep our minds fixed on how we can bring Him honor with our everyday life and with whatever He has entrusted us with.
When these two things come together, honoring God with our heart and our actions and obeying Him with our mind and our life, we are in a position to receive from God whatever blessings He may give us be it life, money, or honor and are able to use it wisely.
Joseph the Dreamer is a prime example of this journey because he went from having nothing but a dream to where his family bowed down to him, to being sold into slavery, working his way up in his master’s house while honoring God, being arrested under false accusations of rape, rising the ranks in prison while still honoring and seeking after God, being forgotten about by others, and then, eventually raised to the second-highest position in the kingdom of Egypt! God showed him Honor, Life, and Wealth because of his patient humility and fear of The LORD.
If God brings wealth then why am I poor?
As noted above, Proverbs is a book of generally true statements, that’s what makes them a proverb.
However, I would argue that even if God does not bring you wealth in the sense that is mentioned here, if you are serving Him and honoring Him with your attitude and actions, He will bring you wealth in other ways such as a wealth of peace and hope. After all, to those who believe in Him, wellsprings of living water will flow from within him. (John 7:38-39)
Wealth can look like many things other than money. Wisdom, Peace, Hope, Love, A Generous Spirit, these are all things that God can and often does bring to those who love Him, in abundance.
Don’t forget about kabowd, and chay (Honor and Life)
Not only does this verse say that putting God first in your actions, attitudes, and behaviors opens the door for Him to bring you financial means, we also see that in fearing Him, He brings you to a place of honor and keeps you alive!
In fact, this fear of the LORD leading to life finds its fullest fulfillment in the person of Jesus Messiah (John 10:10)
And although generally speaking when we are living a life of humility before our God like David (Psalm 131) we will be honored by men far and wide (in our circle and outside of it). Even if they do not honor us for walking before The Lord, God will! Just check out what He says in 1 Samuel 2:30 & John 12:26
So what does all this mean to me?
As followers of Jesus, we should be aware that God will not give us material benefits like finances if He knows we are going to squander them (Proverbs 21:20) or use them for selfish means (Luke 12:16–21).
And we must remember that for us to be good stewards of wealth, we must keep ourselves humble (1 Timothy 6:17), acknowledging that these blessings are from God and should be used for His glory.
