God's Rich Rewards

Proverbs 22:4

Humility and fear of the LORD bring wealth and honor and life.

 This is not what the world teaches.  The world teaches the way to wealth and success is by arrogantly boasting about yourself.  Do whatever it takes to get to the top.  Win at all costs.

Of the three rewards that Solomon has listed, the world only really cares about wealth.  Honor and life are afterthoughts.  The closest the world comes to caring about honor is in the context of being honored with accolades and awards.  In too many circles, honor in the way that Solomon uses it here is not even a consideration.  It is looked at as an antiquated idea whose time has come and gone.  In most instances the world will actually attack and tear down honorable people.  

It is sad that so many people will sell their souls to Satan for their 15 minutes of fame and attention from the mainstream media.  Look at that kid who emerged from the school shooting in Florida.  For two weeks every media outlet in the world couldn't get enough of that kid.  Where is he now?  The media has moved on.  They just don't care.  As tools of Satan they make all kinds of promises.  Then once you have foolishly danced to their tune and accomplished, or at least further promoted their agenda, they drop you.  You are no longer useful to them.  They got what they wanted and that's all that they care about.  Satan and his servants are incapable of love. 

1 John 2:15-17

Do not love the world or anything in the world.  If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.  For everything in the world- the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does- comes not from the Father but from the world.  The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever.

St. John is making the same point that Solomon made at our beginning:  Humble submission and the fear of God brings everything in life that people crave- wealth, honor, and life.  This is true, but there is a caveat here:  You cannot pay lip service to God, trying to fool Him into giving you these rewards.  These rewards are the by-product of a life lived in true "humility and fear of the LORD".  We live in humility and fear of the Lord because we love our heavenly Father, not because we are trying to earn these rewards that He has promised.  

This doesn't even make sense to the unbeliever because they don't understand the real meaning of each of those words.  Wealth here doesn't automatically mean financial wealth.  God doesn't promise to make you a millionaire if you humbly submit your life to Him and His will.  He does promise to bless you though.  Those blessings take on many forms:  a Godly wife and children, loyal and faithful friends, possibly financial blessings, food to eat, clothes to wear, and a warm home to live in.  Just because most people overlook these blessings as signs of wealth doesn't mean that they aren't.

What about honor?  When you submit your life to the Lord you will be honored in every area of your life.  Ultimately, people notice.  It doesn't take long for people to recognize that their is something different about you.  They don't know exactly what it is, or why you are different, but they will notice and they will respect you because of it.  When you have truly submitted your life to the Lord everything that you do, consciously or unconsciously, glorifies Him.  You will do things in a way and to a level that those around you can't even begin to approach.  You will stand out.

The last gift is life.  This does not necessarily mean a long life, although it certainly can.  This speaks just as much to quality of life.  How can we ever have a bad day if we are truly living for the Lord?  If you have submitted your life to God then everything that you do is to glorify Him, not self.  If you have submitted your life to the Lord, then everything that happens during the day is according to His plan.  It is all an opportunity to honor and glorify Him.  So if we are truly living our life to honor and glorify our heavenly Father, then how can we ever have a bad day?  We can live according to His will everyday.

Now we cannot do that by our own thinking and choosing.  It is only by His grace.  Only through the gift of faith that the Holy Spirit has worked in our hearts are we able to do any of this.  Jesus died to redeem us from our sins.  Through Holy Baptism we have received the gift of faith through, and from the Holy Spirit.  That faith is what empowers us to believe in Jesus Christ as our Savior.  We humbly submit to God's will out of love for the Him, and as a way of saying, "Thank you!" for forgiving us our sins and giving us the gift of eternal life with Him in heaven.

Ephesians 2:8-10

For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith- and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God- not by works, so that no one can boast.  For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

God bless

Jason Fredrick