THE BACKDOOR TO BETTER
Proverbs 22:4 NKJV
By humility and the fear of the Lord
Are riches and honor and life.
I have always thought this verse should be one that people put on their refrigerator. Or paint it on a board for a country look. I mean, people do that with verses like Jeremiah 29:11 “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.” That’s a great verse and certainly qualifies as refrigerator worthy. Our verse for today is just as positive, but why not the love?
A couple of things come to mind. Our verse for today has a promise. But that promise comes with a condition. The verse I referenced in Jeremiah is God’s heart and plans for us with no conditions. Our verse for today offers riches, honor, and life, but there is a catch. Humility and fear of the Lord are the prerequisites.
Humility is a willingness to acknowledge God, and His ways are greater. At first glance, that seems obvious and easy, but humility is not nearly as common as we would like to think. The opposite of humility is pride. And pride is available in bunches. All of us have to deal with pride, because it is the nature of our flesh. And pride shows up in many different forms. With some people, it is blatantly apparent; these are the arrogant ones who are easy to spot. With others, it is quiet defiance. They may be smiling and pleasant on the outside, but behind the mask is a whole lot of pride. Just tell the smiling one no and see how quickly their countenance changes. The big problem with pride is that God resists it. The humble get grace, the prideful get resisted. Think about salvation. It requires a level of humility to admit that we don’t have what it takes to save ourselves. We need the grace of God. So often the people who believe they are good enough are dealing with pride, not just ignorance.
The fear of the Lord is the other quality that produces riches, honor, and life. The fear of the Lord is a reverence for God and His ways. Not only are we acknowledging God as greater, we are living with a great respect and desire to honor Him. Humility and the fear of the Lord go hand in hand. David said in Psalm 34:9, “Oh fear the Lord, you His saints! There is no lack to those who fear Him.” That sounds congruent with our verse for today. The NASB version says the reward for humility and fear of the Lord is riches, honor, and life. There are benefits to humility and fearing God. But they are backdoor benefits. They don’t appear to correlate, but they do. God is a rewarder of those who seek Him. And Peter wrote, “Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time.”
Some have a problem with the word riches. Some believe that riches is only spiritual riches. Regardless of what you believe riches entails if it’s coming from God, I am all in. And if I am walking in humility and the fear of the Lord, whatever the riches are, they won’t cause me to stumble.
Look to grow and develop in humility and the fear of the Lord. God’s ways are not the easiest ways, but they are the best ways. And rejoice in the blessings that He provides.