“At thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore” (Ps. 16: 11)
Growing Dominion, Part 58
The book of Proverbs is filled with a number of divinely inspired generalizations. This means that it contains true statements that describe how God generally governs the world. For example, laziness is generally rewarded with lean times, and industry is rewarded with material blessing. This is generally true. But sometimes there are exceptions. A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest, and sometimes you win the lottery. But not very often, and that is the key point to remember.
The same distinctions must be remembered throughout Proverbs, particularly when we are thinking about business. The statements are made because God wants us to count on them, to put them in the bank. At the same time, our faith should not be rocked when there are apparent exceptions. For example, “The LORD will not suffer the soul of the righteous to famish: but he casteth away the substance of the wicked” (Prov. 10:3). This tells us that a righteous man does not need to worry about his soul starving, and that God takes care to throw away the possessions of the wicked. But on what timetable? More than one Old Testament saint had to struggle with the apparent prosperity of the wicked. The way to sort through this is by letting the book of Proverbs define its own terms. Righteous is defined by the characteristics described as righteous in that book. And a man whose business is characterized by the wisdom of Proverbs will actually do quite well. And a wicked man, a fool, who throws away the practical wisdom found in that book will find that his ignorance is usually the means that God selects to throw his substance away.