Proverbs 22:4 (KJV)
By humility and the fear of the Lord are riches, and honour, and life.
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Bible Commentary
Proverbs 22:4 is a Bible verse where Solomon, the wisest man who ever lived, gives us the secret to genuine riches.
We have discussed the meekness of Jesus Christ and how He set the proper example of humility toward the Father. In the Garden of Gethsemane He gave up the desire of His heart for the desire of His Father’s heart.
It cost Him His very life, and yet from the cross, abundant life was birthed for the entire world. What a lesson and what a gift!
We also discussed the importance of submitting to God in the James 4:7 commentary, and how our attitude of humility toward the Father helps us resist the devil and overcome.
By these two verses alone, we can see just how critically important the attitude of our heart is. It is the first thing God sees about us—not our hair or makeup, or even what we’re wearing that day, but He looks upon the heart. (1 Samuel 16:7)
The air of superiority or arrogance repels, but the gentleness of a kind and loving heart attracts. We don’t have to be weak to be humble. Many people have mistaken the word “meek” for “weak”. Nothing could be further from the truth.
Jesus is the Way
Jesus said in Matthew 23:12, “And whosoever shall exalt himself shall be abased; and he that shall humble himself shall be exalted.” Jesus personified strength through the power of self-control, or restraint.
Okay, so we want to be humble, but we were born sinners. Even though we’ve accepted Christ as our Savior, we all have traits of pride and arrogance woven in among the good parts of our hearts. How can we make sure we are in a “humbled state” before our Lord?
We so desire the promise in Proverbs 22:4 – By humility and the fear of the Lord are riches, and honour, and life.
But how do we get there?
Jesus said in John 14:6, “…I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” We must tune our mind, heart and will to Jesus Christ. As we seek Him, He uncovers truths we need to see so we can bring them to the cross one by one and lay them at His feet.
As we are faithful to follow Him, He is faithful to heal every wound in our hearts that need His tender touch. Those old wounds can turn into bitterness and hardness, which can produce an arrogant posture toward God and people, particularly those who have hurt us.
God is ever so patient with us and gently walks us through those places where we can discover what’s inside us and why. As we come face-to-face with whatever He shows us, we can then surrender it and truly repent. Then He replaces it with Himself, His righteousness and peace. Hallelujah!
It’s not easy to discover some of the truths hidden away in our hearts, but oh, how rewarding and beautiful are His riches.
Personal Testimony
I’d like to share a personal testimony that I hope will help you. Besides being a wife and mother, I always wanted to have my own business or work from home. When my children were born, that desire magnified because I wanted to stay home with them.
As I prayerfully pursued this, God opened a door that allowed me do this very thing. I had my first two regular clients and eventually left my full-time job. God had answered my prayer!
Because He did, I thought it would be successful, that I would make enough money to replace my salary. Though there were some good months, I did not make enough to continue, and after a few years the business just drifted away.
But instead of being grateful for the short time I was able to work from home while my children were little, I became disillusioned and resentful that I had to go back to a job. Deep down, I blamed God. After all, He made the way for me to work from home, but He didn’t prosper it like I thought He would. I blamed Him for my unhappiness.
Have you ever received an answer to a prayer, but it didn’t turn out like you thought–like you expected? Did it cause resentment or anger?
Because God answered my prayer, I expected success—financial success. But it missed that mark. My reality did not meet my expectation, and it was a painful place. As a result, my attitude toward God became hardened. He didn’t do what I wanted or what I expected, so I resented it.
Discovering Pride in the Heart
The Lord also helped me discover another truth in my heart. The first reason I wanted my own business was because I wanted to feel important, to feel superior to others. And that, my friends, is not humility, but pride.
1 John 5:14 says, “Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.”
He didn’t answer my prayer about working from home until I had a righteous reason for wanting my own business–to stay home with my children. Again, pride repels and humility attracts.
Proverbs 22:4
By humility and the fear of the Lord are riches, and honour, and life.
God gives us opportunities to humble ourselves, opportunities to squeeze the pride out of our hearts. After a lot of time and a lot of soul-searching and coming to acknowledge the truth, I can now sincerely thank God for the time He gave me to stay home when my children were little.
I can now thank Him for not meeting my long-term financial expectation. From that experience, I was given the opportunity to humble myself, to drive the pride right out of my heart, to recognize Him as Lord of my life while laying down my haughty attitude, to see His actions as merciful and not demeaning, and to discover the love in His heart toward me.
God Wants Us to Look Like Jesus
He helped me understand that He had something far greater in mind than my financial success. I now know that He is more interested in my spiritual success than my financial success. He wants me to look like Jesus.
If we’re successful spiritually, it’s only a matter of time before we’re successful in all the other areas of our lives. Back to Proverbs 22:4.
By humility and the fear of the Lord are riches, and honour, and life.
How can you discover the riches of the Lord? By humility and a reverent attitude toward Him. Thankfulness is one way to immediately regain a proper posture and attitude before the Lord.
Examine your heart to see if there is hidden pride or resentment toward God for the way things have turned out. Maybe your reality hasn’t met your expectations either.
Let’s humble ourselves before our Lord with thanksgiving, knowing that He is an all-knowing and merciful God who desires our spiritual success more than anything else. His love for us is far greater than our expectations. Study the Bible verse of Proverbs 22:4, and submit yourself to God.
