Falling Among Thieves

So naked greed will destroy you—sometimes now and sometimes later. Your unethical business practice may be exposed shortly and send you to jail. You may steal petty cash and get fired or cheat on your taxes and get audited. Your greed may run your family into the ground, and you not see the toll it takes on your wife and kids for years to come; but eventually you will see it. But even if none of those things is uncovered in this life, they will be at the judgment. Any discomfort you feel right now for your greed is only a tiny foretaste of the ultimate judgment to come in hell (see Rev 20:11-15, the Great White Throne Judgment).

Our biggest problem with this proverb is not whether or not it’s true immediately. Our biggest problem is that we’ve all failed to live out the warning given by Solomon. We have all walked in this foolish course of life and earned wrecking our lives now and receiving death later. The problem is that we can easily bypass this text and ease our consciences with, “I’ve never been tempted to join a gang to kill and rob someone, so I guess I’m in pretty good shape.” That’s probably true for most of us. We’ve never been tempted in that specific way, though perhaps some have. The problem is that you think that absolves you of any guilt, and you are wrong!

You may have never joined a gang to kill and rob someone, but what about the force of the text? Have you ever given into peer pressure to do something you shouldn’t? Have you ever done something wrong to be accepted by the crowd? Have you ever been so lonely and desired relationships so badly you found them in the wrong place and in the wrong way? Have you ever used people or manipulated them to get what you want? Have you ever swindled someone? Have you ever lied or cheated to make a sale? Have you ever taken money from your parents or the government? Have you ever taken a friend to lunch and said, “Ask me about my job, and I can pay for this with the company credit card”?

James, the brother of Jesus, tells us what leads to violence and murder. James says unmet cravings are the source for violence. James 4:1-2 says,

What is the source of wars and fights among you? Don’t they come from your passions that wage war within you? You desire and do not have. You murder and covet and cannot obtain. You fight and wage war.

The reason you lash out at people is because you don’t have something you want, including money and things. That’s exactly what Solomon is talking about. Who among us has never craved this way? We can’t ease our consciences with, “I haven’t acted on it.” James says you are a murderer in training if you are driven by unmet desires. You already have the motive—perhaps someday the opportunity will arise. This is in all of us, and we should be very afraid.

We see this in our children. Not one of us has to teach our children to punch their brother, push their sister, or scream at the top of their lungs to get a toy they want. That’s just part of our sinful nature. When we see something we want, we will do what we have to do to get it, including violence. The means of lashing out may change as we age, but the rage is still there. Some will be pressured into the violence of abortion simply to ensure economic stability or a life free of stress. Some will throw trash or scream hateful things at refs who don’t give their team the call. Some will fight at a funeral over the exact division of the inheritance. Who among us has not been green with envy of what someone else has and at least thought, “I wish I had that life”? Have you ever bad-mouthed someone behind his back because he got the promotion instead of you? Who among us has never used people to get something we want out of them?

The problem is not money or things in and of themselves. “Profit” is a neutral term here (v. 19). It can be good or bad; it depends on how you get it (and how you use it). Proverbs is positive about wealth if a good work ethic is the means to getting it and generosity is the way you use it. However, sinful means of accumulating wealth are wrong (Longman, Proverbs, 109). Everywhere in Proverbs it condemns and warns about easy money, get-rich-quick schemes (i.e., pyramid schemes), or using others to get what we want. Proverbs 15:27 says, “The one who profits dishonestly troubles his household, but the one who hates bribes will live.” This is true, yet we foolishly do it. Most of us justify our greed with “Well, it’s my money not the government’s,” or “My company doesn’t need this as much as I do,” or “I know I’m a workaholic, but I am just trying to provide the best for my family.”

Solomon warns his son not to follow this path, but our problem is that we all fall into it. The “American Dream” is a nightmare according to the sage. It will destroy you. In high school I often used to sleep over at a friend’s house, and we would sneak up to the pantry after midnight to get a snack. We loved to stay at his house because his dad was a very rich businessman, which meant they had a big house and awesome snacks. Many nights, while sneaking into the pantry, we would find his mom passed out on the rug in front of their TV. She would drink herself to sleep because her husband was so busy making money he rarely came home. He was never at his son’s ball games. His drive to succeed absolutely tore his family apart. The sad part is he didn’t see it coming because he thought all that money and success was enough to make them happy, and instead it made them miserable.

Solomon says that we will reap what we have sown. Our greed may cause us to lose a job, our reputation, or our family in this life; and it will certainly lead to judgment when we stand before God. Eventually it will be exposed. Eventually you will fall into the trap if you don’t walk in the way of wisdom. First Timothy 6:9 says, “Those who want to be rich fall into temptation, a trap, and many foolish and harmful desires, which plunge people into ruin and destruction.” We’ve got a big problem: we are headed for a trap, and we can’t see it in ourselves as easily as we see it in others. Of course this isn’t a good path. Of course it destroys families. We can look at the miserable lives of the rich and famous and see that. And yet we never see it in ourselves until it’s too late! But there is good news . . .

Proverbs 1:8-19

All of the Bible is about Jesus, including the Proverbs. Jesus is the “son” who grows in wisdom and stature and favor with God and man. Paul says that Jesus is the “wisdom of God” for us (1 Cor 1:24,30). Jesus is the one who can rescue us from our foolishness and make us wise.

Amazingly, this proverb—this parable—plays out in the life of Jesus. Judas is enticed to join a gang who in turn sets a trap for an innocent man (cf. Prov 1:11). Judas does this to get money. The gang sets the trap, and they take the innocent man’s life. Jesus is executed among thieves. Again, it looks like the proverb is not true. The innocent man dies the death that thieves deserve to die, and the guilty man lines his pockets. Judas threw in his lot with the gang to ambush an innocent man for profit, and it looked like he won; but by Sunday morning Judas is in the grave, and Jesus stands up and walks out of his!

Jesus can rescue us from our foolish greed. Even though he was innocent, he was hung on the cross between robbers. He took the punishment that thieves deserve so that thieves like us could be forgiven. He took the punishment for our greed, for our cravings, for our violent hearts, so that we could be set free. He gives his Spirit to his followers to empower them to walk in his wisdom. He empowers us to avoid easy money, to be content, and to use our money to help others instead of using others to help us get more money. He gives us a new community—the church—a community that does not entice us to sin but spurs us on to love and good deeds.

The eschatological reward of wisdom is far greater than ill-gotten riches that shimmer and fade and ultimately destroy you. They’re not worth it. Yes, some do cheat to get money and never face the consequences in this life. And yes, some are honest and lose everything. What now? Wait on the Lord; he will turn the tables. Sometimes he does it in three days; sometimes he waits longer, but he will do it. In his song “Death In His Grave,” John Mark McMillan sings of Jesus, “On Friday a thief, on Sunday a king.” That’s the story of Christ. And that’s our story if we are in Christ!