Proverbs 23:4 - Meaning and Application

As some people are controlled by appetite (Proverbs 23:2), so others are controlled by greed, and Solomon corrects them here. People cheat themselves just as much by setting their hearts on money, even though it seems more solid, as by setting them on rich food. Notice how he warns the greedy person not to wear himself out. Do not aim to become rich, to build up an estate, and to make plenty even greater. We should work to live well and provide for our children and families according to our station in life, but we must not chase great things. Do not be one of those who are determined to be rich, who make wealth their main goal and highest good (1 Timothy 6:9). Greedy people think this is wisdom, because they assume that if they become rich enough, they will be perfectly happy. Give up that kind of wisdom, because it is a mistake. A person’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions (Luke 12:15).

Those who aim at great wealth load themselves with work they cannot really carry. Their life becomes hard labor and constant rushing. Do not be such a fool. Do not labor just to be rich. Be master of what you have and what you do, not a slave to it, like those who rise early, stay up late, and eat the bread of anxious toil, all to get rich. Working in a moderate way, so that we may have something to give, is wise and right (Ephesians 4:28). Working too much so that we can hoard money is sin and foolishness.

They also fill their minds with more plans than they can handle, so their life becomes a steady mix of worry and fear. Do not trouble yourself like that. Stop relying on your own wisdom. Go quietly forward in your daily work, without always devising new schemes and setting your mind to invent new ways. Trust God’s wisdom and stop trusting your own (Proverbs 3:5, 6).

He also warns the greedy person not to fool himself by loving and chasing what is only vanity and trouble. Wealth is not truly solid or satisfying. Will you be so foolish as to set your eyes, to let your mind run eagerly after, what is not there? The things of this world are things that are not. They do exist in creation, and they are real gifts from God’s providence, but in the life of grace they are “not” enough. They are not a soul’s happiness or lasting share. They are not what they promise to be, or what we expect them to be. They are only a show, a shadow, a fake support for the soul that trusts them. They are “not,” because soon they will not be ours. They perish as we use them, and their outward form passes away.

So it is foolish to set our eyes on them, to admire them as the best things, to claim them as our good, and to make them the goal of all our efforts. The picture is like an eagle rushing after prey. Will you, a reasonable person, be foolish enough to dote on shadows? The eyes here stand for the mind and understanding. Will you throw those powers away on such unworthy things? It is fitting enough to use your hands and feet in the world, but not your mind’s eye. That was made to look toward better things. Will you, my son, if you profess religion, insult God, toward whom your eyes should always be directed, and misuse your own soul?

Wealth is also uncertain. It can disappear at any time. Riches grow wings and fly away. The more we fix our eyes on them, the more likely they are to escape from us. Riches will leave us. No one can hold them forever. Either they will be taken from us, or we will be taken from them. Scripture says wealth can run away like a stream (Job 20:28), and here it is said to flee like a bird.

They may even leave suddenly, after we have worked hard for them and begun to take pride and pleasure in them. The greedy person sits over his wealth like a bird on eggs, waiting for it to hatch, until it has wings and is gone. Or it is like someone pleased with wild birds that land in his field and claims them as his own because they are on his land. But if he tries to get close, they take off at once and fly to another field.

The wings they fly on are their own making. Wealth carries within itself the seeds of decay, its own moth and rust. By nature it wastes away, like a handful of dust that slips through the fingers. Snow may stay for a while and look pleasant if left where it falls, but if you gather it and hold it in your bosom, it melts and disappears at once.

And once riches go, they go without being stopped or brought back. They are like an eagle flying toward heaven. It flies strongly, so no one can stop it, and it flies out of sight and out of reach, so no one can bring it back. So wealth leaves people, and if they have set their hearts on it, it leaves them with grief and frustration.