He that trusteth in his riches shall fall: but the righteous shall flourish as a branch.
Placing confidence in wealth brings a fall, while living rightly brings thriving like a flourishing branch. Trust in riches is revealed when wealth is piled up and kept back instead of being rendered to God and to others as due. Such hoarding and withholding marks the false reliance that ends in collapse. By contrast, righteousness that flourishes is revealed in openhanded generosity and in careful, faithful management of goods held in trust from God.
Placing confidence in wealth brings a fall, while living rightly brings thriving like a flourishing branch. Trust in riches is revealed when wealth is piled up and kept back instead of being rendered to God and to others as due. Such hoarding and withholding marks the false reliance that ends in collapse. By contrast, righteousness that flourishes is revealed in openhanded generosity and in careful, faithful management of goods held in trust from God.