Rich Man, Poor Man…

Who is better, a poor man who is honest, or a rich man who is a crook?

April 28, 2019

"Better is the poor that walketh in his integrity than he that is perverse in his lips, and is a fool."

Proverbs 19:1

“Better is the poor that walketh in his integrity,”
In our verse for today, Solomon is making another contrast.  He is contrasting the poor man who has integrity, with the rich fool who is crooked.  He uses this phrase “better is,” or “better than,”1 some 17 times in Proverbs.2  Be watching for these contrasts as you read the book.  Solomon uses this contrast between a rich fool and a poor man twice.  The other time is in chapter 28.

“Better is the poor that walketh in his uprightness, than he that is perverse in his ways, though he be rich,” (Proverbs 28:6).

In the Word of God, money is never the distinguishing characteristic that makes a man a “good man.”  A poor man may not have money, but he can be rich in his integrity and uprightness!  Qualities that far outrank the rich man in God’s estimation.

In our verse, this word “integrity” is translated from the Hebrew word that means, “integrity, completeness, fullness, innocence, simplicity.”3  Perhaps we could call it a “transparent honesty,” that permeates every part of life.

Job, was a rich man who happened to have integrity because he “feared God” and “hated evil” (Job 2:3).  Throughout his book, he mentions his integrity.

David spoke of his personal integrity at least six times in the Psalms (Psalm 7:8; 25:21; 26:1, 11; 41:12; and 78:72).  His personal integrity was fundamental to him, for it showed the desire of his heart to live his life for God.

Integrity should be an outstanding characteristic in each of God’s children.

“Than he that is perverse in his lips,”
The man of integrity is so much better than a man with “crooked lips.”  Why?  You can never trust what he says.  He might be speaking the truth today when yesterday he lied to your face.  You never know with this kind of person.

“The desire of a man is his kindness: and a poor man is better than a liar,” (Proverbs 19:22).

“And is a fool.”
At the end of the day, a rich fool is still a fool.

“The upright poor man is always to be preferred to the rich or self-sufficient fool,”4 (Clarke).

We need to spend more time and effort in building our character, than our wealth.

 

 

 

1.  These phrases are from the Hebrew tob.
2.  See E.W. Bullinger on “better” in Proverbs 8:11.  The Companion Bible, the electronic version in eSword.
3.  Brown, Driver, Briggs.  Brown-Driver-Briggs’ Hebrew Definitions, the electronic version in eSword.
4.  Adam Clarke, Adam Clarke’s Commentary on the Bible, the electronic version in eSword.