A Pile of Gold Coins and Bars in a VaultBible World
23:4Proverbs 23:4
Labour not to be rich: cease from thine own wisdom.
The verse forbids making getting rich the aim of life and wearing oneself out in consuming toil to become rich. It forbids trusting one's own cleverness and judgment in that pursuit. The reason is that wealth is insecure and can vanish abruptly, so it is unfit to be chosen as the goal.
In company at a rich man's table the same warning requires self-control over appetite, lest the appeal of luxurious food cloud clear judgment and break down discipline of the body. Indulgence in rich food is to give way to restraint and temperance. The choice of Lot in settling toward Sodom for pleasure and gain shows what is at stake, for seeking material advantage drew his household into corrupting surroundings that brought ruin upon his family and upon later generations.
The verse forbids making getting rich the aim of life and wearing oneself out in consuming toil to become rich. It forbids trusting one's own cleverness and judgment in that pursuit. The reason is that wealth is insecure and can vanish abruptly, so it is unfit to be chosen as the goal.
In company at a rich man's table the same warning requires self-control over appetite, lest the appeal of luxurious food cloud clear judgment and break down discipline of the body. Indulgence in rich food is to give way to restraint and temperance. The choice of Lot in settling toward Sodom for pleasure and gain shows what is at stake, for seeking material advantage drew his household into corrupting surroundings that brought ruin upon his family and upon later generations.