For the month of May, we’ll take a brief look at 31 wise sayings from Proverbs 11, that’s one proverb a day…
A wicked person earns an empty wage, but the one who sows righteousness a true reward.
Proverbs 11:18, Christian Standard Bible
Jesus asked, “What does it profit a man to gain the world but lose his soul?” (Luke 9:25)
It is the question of the source of our treasure. A.W. Tozer wrote:
There is within the human heart a tough, fibrous root of fallen life whose nature is to possess, always to possess. It covets things with a deep and fierce passion.
The Pursuit of God (Christian Publications Inc., 1993), 22.
When our pursuit is not Jesus as Lord, then we seek what we can own. We seek to gain the world, or at least as much of it as we can manage. Yet, in death, we are left with nothing. All that we gained remains in the world, and we stand before Jesus with the emptiness of our rebel hearts.
Yet, where righteousness is sown, beginning with the righteousness that comes only through faith in Jesus, as his obedience covers our rebellion, then we find our empty hands full when we stand before Jesus. When Jesus is our greatest treasure, the reward we have is infinite joy.
Image source: Photo by Jouwen Wang on Unsplash
First Baptist Church 