Falling Among Thieves

Proverbs 1:8-19

Main Idea: Unchecked greed for money and stuff is foolish because it will destroy you.

1. Getting Money the Wrong Way Will Destroy You (1:8-19).
2. The Problem: It Doesn’t Always Work Out Immediately, but It Will Work Out Ultimately (1:19).
3. Our Biggest Problem Is That We Have All Failed at This (1:8-19).
4. Jesus Can Save You from Your Foolishness (1:8-19).

In his book Counterfeit Gods, Tim Keller tells the story of a French money manager who invested the wealth of many of Europe’s royal and leading families. This money manager lost $1.4 billion of his clients’ money in Bernard Madoff’s Ponzi scheme. As a result, he slit his wrists in his Madison Avenue office (Keller, Counterfeit Gods, ix–x). His greed to gain easy money through a get-rich-quick scheme destroyed his life. The truth that “naked greed” destroys is testified to again and again in our day. The “culture of greed” has been destructive to our national economy (the collapse of 2008), to our companies (like Enron), and to individual lives as well. Many families have been ruined by pursuing the Joneses. We’ve wanted money and stuff at any cost, and we’ve paid dearly for it.

The problem for so many of us is that we think this is only a problem for people on Madison Avenue. This is a problem that really rich people have to worry about. We can’t see our own greed. We think our pursuit of nice things is normal and healthy. And yet, many families have been destroyed by the desire to accumulate nice things. Pastors never have someone schedule a counseling visit to confess, “My greedy lust for money and things is destroying me and my family.” These families eventually feel the weight of the decisions they’ve made, but most of the time it is too late. We are too foolish to see our own greed, and we’re too foolish to see the trap we are setting for ourselves right now. Solomon writes Proverbs 1:8-19 to warn his son that greed will destroy him, and the Spirit calls us to hear the warning as well.

Getting Money the Wrong Way Will Destroy You

Proverbs 1:8-19

King Solomon—the father—instructs the crown prince—his son—to avoid greedy gain. He pleads with his son, “Listen to me!” Not only should the son listen to his father’s instruction, he should also listen to the “teaching” (Hebrew word torah, often translated “law”) of his mother. So both parents are responsible to teach their children the law (the knowledge of good and evil). Parents are tasked with instructing their children in the way the world works (i.e., wisdom). Parents, do not abdicate this responsibility or farm it out to teachers, coaches, day care workers, or Bible study teachers. This is your job! Teach your children the Word of God. Teach them how life works best because you know from God’s Word what is best for them.

Not only does Solomon plead with his son to listen to his parents (v. 8); he also tells him why to do so. He says, “for they will be a garland of favor on your head and pendants around your neck” (v. 9). Since jewelry is a sign of health, prosperity, and honor, Solomon is saying that heeding his instructions will give the son a good life (Garrett, Proverbs, 69).

After making this exhortation, the father turns to the specific life lesson he wants his son to learn. He gives him a parable—a story. The story is about resisting the temptation to join a gang (a peer group), kill someone, and take their money. This calls to mind the story of the Good Samaritan where robbers beat the man and take his stuff (Luke 10:25-37). The father pleads with his son not to be enticed by this gang. Don’t be pressured by your sinful peers. The reason he is so concerned is that he knows where that leads. He makes a common-sense observation about the outcome of such a decision: the outcome is death. So he appeals to his son not to walk in this way (Prov 1:15).

Proverbs repeatedly presents the idea of two paths. There is a wise, righteous path that leads to life; and there is a foolish, wicked path that leads to death. So there is a double meaning in Proverbs 1:15. Solomon says, “Don’t go their way” (i.e., don’t follow them); and he is implicitly saying, “Don’t follow this course of life” (i.e., the foolish path that leads to destruction).

Solomon explains the outcome because he is a good teacher. A good teacher doesn’t just tell his students what to do; he tells them why they should do it. Don’t follow this gang because “they hurry to shed blood” (v. 16); and it’s not just the blood of the innocent that they shed, they also shed their own blood! Their devices turn back on them (v. 18). Solomon uses the illustration of a trap set in plain view so that a bird can see it. Even a dumb bird recognizes a trap if it’s not camouflaged; so the youth should have the sense to avoid an obvious trap, especially if a stupid animal has that much sense. The father is calling the robbers dumber than birds. They don’t have enough sense to see the trap and avoid it. No, they step into it. So, son, don’t be foolish. Recognize that this will end badly. Solomon concludes, “Such are the paths of all who make profit dishonestly; it takes the lives of those who receive it” (v. 19). Being greedy to get stuff at any cost will wreck your life. Don’t do it!

The wisdom principle is clear: Getting money or stuff the wrong way (i.e., at others’ expense) will destroy you. Using people, abusing people, or cheating people to get money will end badly. Unchecked greed, lustful desire, or ravenous craving for money and stuff at any cost will destroy you. It does not deliver what it promises.

The Problem: It Doesn’t Always Work Out Immediately, but It Will Work Out Ultimately!

Proverbs 1:19

This story and lesson raises a problem for many of us, and the problem is a question: Is this true?^[4]Maybe someone robbed you and never got caught. We all know the stories of people who cheated and got away with it. We all suspect there are business people who have enriched themselves through unethical practices. We know stories of those who used and abused others to get money, and they never got what was coming to them. Perhaps you’ve gotten away with something. Maybe you’ve cheated on your income taxes or taken money from your parents’ dresser. And, on the flip side, we know the stories of those who said no to bribes, refused to cheat, did things the right way, kept their integrity, and suffered loss for it. They didn’t get rich. They missed out on the big bucks they could have had.

I knew a missionary couple in Central Asia who ran a business selling school items as their platform to share the gospel. When I met the missionary, he told me, “We are the only business in this marketplace that goes through the right channels to get our business permits. Everyone else here bribes to operate their business, but we follow the law. We want to be honest citizens.” I went back to that city a year later, and those missionaries had been kicked out of the country for not having a business permit. The government refused to renew theirs. This couple did things the right way, and they lost big time in return.

Some cheat and never face the consequences in this life, and others are honest and lose everything. So how are we to understand this passage now? Is this proverb true? Is its warning a promise? Some scholars solve this tension—their observation of cases to the contrary—by saying that the proverbs are just rules that are generally true but not always true. So they say these are not promises, just how things work out most times. That’s not the whole story. The proverbs are promises. The proverbs will always come true. You can bank on them. We need to understand this about the proverbs. Proverbs are promises that generally come true now but always come true later. They are generally true in this life, but they are absolutely true in the life to come. Eventually these will come true even if they don’t come true immediately.^[5]Again, wisdom is an order by which God made the world and behind which he stands to make sure that it happens. We see this in God’s Word. Achan’s greed was found out pretty quickly, and it cost him and his family their lives ( Josh 7). Ahab and Jezebel’s greedy murder of Naboth to take possession of his vineyard didn’t cost them their lives for years after their sin, but it did cost them their lives eventually (1 Kgs 22; 2 Kgs 9).

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 Is That We Have All Failed at This (1:8-19)

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 . . .

Jesus Can Save You from Your Foolishness

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.

Conclusion

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!

Reflect and Discuss

1. Why is it easy for us to think that greed is only a problem for the rich?
2. How can you live out Solomon’s example and exhortation for parents to instruct their children in God’s law and in the way the world works?
3. While you may never be tempted to join a gang and commit murder, what are some ways you are tempted to get money or stuff the wrong way?
4. What are some ways you have been influenced and possibly enslaved by the “American Dream”?
5. We don’t always see the Proverbs prove true. How in your life have you seen greedy people succeed or faithful people fail or be punished?
6. How have you seen the temporal consequences of greed in your own life or in the life of someone close to you?
7. How does Solomon’s parable play out in the life of Jesus?
8. How does Jesus’s life reaffirm the eternal consequences in the teaching of Proverbs?
9. How did Jesus rescue us from our greed? How does he change our lives moving forward?
10. What’s the “eschatological reward” for wisdom? How should that impact our daily lives and decisions?