Proverbs 12:26 - Meaning and Application

See here, first, that good people do well for themselves. They have an excellent character in themselves, and they secure for themselves an excellent portion. In both respects, they are better off than others: “The righteous is more excellent than his neighbor,” as the margin reads. He is richer, even if not in this world’s goods, because he has the graces and comforts of the Spirit, which are the true riches.

There is a real nobility in religion. It lifts people up, gives them generous principles, and makes them solid and dependable. This is an excellence that God values highly, because he is the true judge of what is excellent. A neighbor may make a bigger show in the world and receive more praise, but the righteous person has the real worth.

Second, wicked people do harm to themselves. They walk in a path that deceives them. It seems to them not only pleasant, but right. It is so pleasing to flesh and blood that they persuade themselves it cannot be wrong. Yet they will not reach the goal they want, or enjoy the good they expect. It is all a fraud. So the righteous person is wiser and happier than his neighbor, even though that neighbor despises him and tramples on him.