“The wealth of the rich is their fortified city, but poverty is the ruin of the poor.”
I just heard a report that said recent research shows wealth can buy happiness. A few years ago they announced that the number for that happiness was $75,000 a year. The new number apparently is $500,000. I’m suspecting I’ll have to find my happiness elsewhere. Both of the people described in this verse have very real consequences for their life condition. There is no question that to a certain extent wealth or poverty impact not only the psychological condition of a person but also their very real life situation. The wealthy don’t often want for the basic needs or even the creature comforts life offers. It is also true that those who are poor to the point of living in poverty struggle at times for basic needs and can worry about caring for not only themselves but their loved ones as well. In this verse Solomon is doing more than just stating the obvious. Often the rich person who depends solely on their wealth as their “fortified city” will come up against a trial that has no problem penetrating their walls. Cancer does not care what your net worth is. There is research that shows wealthy people get their heart broken by loved ones more often than those living paycheck to paycheck. I’ve witnessed poor people with great contentment in their lives through an intimate relationship with their savior. Today find your needs met in Christ alone. #BeTheEdge
“Whoever loves money never has enough; whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with their income. This too is meaningless.” Ecclesiastes 5:10 NIV
