It Starts Small

Something that grieves my heart as a Christ follower is the rise of the focus on the health, wealth, and prosperity gospel. The focus is too often on how God wants us to be rich and wealthy and too little on how God wants to make us holy above all things. This proverb is a reminder that there is no cost to great for our integrity. A little righteousness is something to be desired.

Solomon is telling us, it is better to have just a little if we have God’s righteousness. This statement is not glorification of being poor. It is saying that if the choice is between having little and God’s Way, it is better to choose God over injustice and ungodliness.

The little here is mentioned here as a small amount. The righteousness mentioned speaks of doing righteous acts and deeds. It refers to the possibility that doing the right thing may cost us. But if it does, it is better to embrace God’s ways and doing right than to have wealth and prosperity.

 To have a great wealth and injustice is a mistake of huge proportions. There are so many who will sell their souls to make a buck. There are even more who do it if a large amount of wealth is involved. There is no money on the earth that merits selling your integrity or your godliness. When we sell our own integrity we simply prove that we are not people of integrity and honor.

We need to hold fast to the Lord and to our integrity as a believer. There is nothing worth selling out our righteousness and integrity. Judas sold his for 30 pieces of silver. It would seem like a lot of money, but was it worth what he gained? We need to realize that there is no asking price for who you truly are. To do so is cheapening something that can not be regained once you give it up for something. Even if you have to be poor as a result, keep your integrity and a righteous direction in life. There is wealth that consists of integrity and honor that no amount of money on earth will ever restore or merit.

Ponder today: have you sold your integrity and righteousness to gain? What is your own integrity worth?

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