The rich man is wise in his own conceit; but the poor that hath understanding searcheth him out.
The saying belongs to the collection of Solomon's proverbs found in chapters 25-29, brought together in the time of Hezekiah about three hundred years after Solomon. Wealth makes its possessor falsely confident, so that the rich man mistakes his own conceit for wisdom. The poor man who has understanding sees through that false wisdom and searches him out, laying bare the conceit, hypocrisy, and delusion beneath it.
In religious life this exposes those growing rich by religious work, who mistake self-confidence for spiritual wisdom, excuse their own disobedience, and despise those who uphold God's commandments and walk uprightly. Such wealth and self-confidence blind them to their own guilt and danger, while true piety both begins and continues in deep humility. The same delusion appears in drink, where the whisky drinker imagines that stimulants make him stronger, wiser, or richer, when they only impair his judgment and leave his inflated sense of strength and ability unreal.
The saying belongs to the collection of Solomon's proverbs found in chapters 25-29, brought together in the time of Hezekiah about three hundred years after Solomon. Wealth makes its possessor falsely confident, so that the rich man mistakes his own conceit for wisdom. The poor man who has understanding sees through that false wisdom and searches him out, laying bare the conceit, hypocrisy, and delusion beneath it.
In religious life this exposes those growing rich by religious work, who mistake self-confidence for spiritual wisdom, excuse their own disobedience, and despise those who uphold God's commandments and walk uprightly. Such wealth and self-confidence blind them to their own guilt and danger, while true piety both begins and continues in deep humility. The same delusion appears in drink, where the whisky drinker imagines that stimulants make him stronger, wiser, or richer, when they only impair his judgment and leave his inflated sense of strength and ability unreal.