Key Verse Spotlight
Proverbs 28:20 - Meaning and Application
Understand how this verse speaks to what you're facing and how to apply it today
Translation: World English Bible — Catholic Edition
" A faithful man is rich with blessings; but one who is eager to be rich will not go unpunished. "
Proverbs 28:20
Verse in Context
Understanding the surrounding verses prevents misinterpretation:
18 Whoever walks blamelessly is kept safe; but one with perverse ways will fall suddenly.
19 One who works his land will have an abundance of food; but one who chases fantasies will have his fill of poverty.
20 A faithful man is rich with blessings; but one who is eager to be rich will not go unpunished.
21 To show partiality is not good, yet a man will do wrong for a piece of bread.
22 A stingy man hurries after riches, and doesn’t know that poverty waits for him.
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Here we are directed to the true path to happiness, and that path is holiness and honesty. The person who is faithful to God and to other people will be blessed by the Lord, and God will overflow his life with blessings from every side. People will praise him, pray for him, and be ready to show him kindness. He will also be a blessing where he lives, because faithfulness leads to usefulness, and that is a good reward.
We are also warned against a false and deceitful way to happiness, which is to get rich quickly, no matter what it takes. Do not think this is the road to blessing, because the person who rushes to make money will not stay innocent. If he is not innocent, God will not bless what he gains, but will instead place a curse on it. He will also have no peace with himself, and his neighbors will not count him innocent either, but will speak badly of him and dislike him.
The verse does not say that such a person cannot be innocent, but it says there is every reason to expect that he will not be. The one who hurries with his feet sins, stumbles, and falls. What respect for law, what fear of judgment, or what shame has ever been shown by a greedy man rushing to be rich?
From This Chapter
Proverbs 28:1
"The wicked flee when no one pursues; but the righteous are as bold as a lion."
Proverbs 28:2
"In rebellion, a land has many rulers, but order is maintained by a man of understanding and knowledge."
Proverbs 28:3
"A needy man who oppresses the poor is like a driving rain which leaves no crops."
Proverbs 28:4
"Those who forsake the law praise the wicked; but those who keep the law contend with them."
Proverbs 28:5
"Evil men don’t understand justice; but those who seek the LORD understand it fully."
Proverbs 28:6
"Better is the poor who walks in his integrity than he who is perverse in his ways, and he is rich."
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