"If the righteous will be rewarded in the earth, how much more the wicked and the sinner!!"
This proverb maintains the basic principle of cause and effect in this world. Galatians 6:7 says it this way: Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, this he will also reap.
Solomon is stating that those who live within the boundaries of the Ten Commandments and seek to fill their lives with love by filling other people’s lives with love will be rewarded for that behavior in this world. He also maintains that those who choose to go outside of the boundaries of the Ten Commandments to achieve the victories and rewards of the righteous will be “rewarded” for their actions also.
What typically seems to happen is that the wicked become involved in a game of diminishing returns. The more they achieve, the less they can enjoy the spoils that they seek. There is an emotional, spiritual, mental, and often physical deprivation. On the other hand, the righteous who seek to fill their lives and others with love are filled to overflowing with rewards. Their little is made much by God while the much of the wicked is made little by God.
Jesus said it this way: “What does it profit a man if he gains the whole world but loses his soul?” The answer is that the immaterial deprivation is greater than any material gain!!!
Yes, it may look like the criminals and oppressors have all the material rewards, but they will be and are being rewarded for the means that they used to obtain those material gains.
Solomon, Jesus, and Paul all remind us that it is worth it to be righteous. It pays to love God with a whole heart and others as ourselves. A life filled with love has a reward deeper and richer than the latest technology or gold-plated toilet seat.
Until tomorrow,
Gil Stieglitz