Proverbs 11:28

The one who trusts in his riches will fall,
but the righteous will flourish like a green leaf.

“Buy a house” – they said. “You can’t go wrong with real estate!” “Investing in a house is a wise decision.” While I suppose that buying a house might be a much better investment than buying a lottery ticket, it wouldn’t be hard to find someone you know who got a little too comfortable with their investments. I’m sure you know someone who’s “upside-down” on their house.

Just look at how the economy turned as the housing market tanked. People definitely had a lot of trust in their property, and when that started to crumble our whole economic system came down with it.

By comparison, America is still a very rich country. But not as rich as we were a few years ago. People put their trust in their riches, and we all fell because of it. But there were some businesses who were able to grow during that time. There were some who were diligent in the right things, and as a result they are no positioned for explosive growth.

This is much like us. When we put our trust in money and riches, we will fall. Money is uncertain. As I write this post, there is a huge financial crisis going on in Cypress. People are stocking up on food for fear the stores won’t be able to purchase food when they run out. Banks are about to close and the only hope is for someone from the outside to come in and help. Money is uncertain. Riches will fall. Real estate markest will tank. Stock markets will crash. If you put your trust in the almighty dollar, the day will come when the dollar is more like Donald Duck than Scrooge McDuck.

But…the righteous will flourish. The righteous know how to live their lives. They are focused on doing the right things, saying the right things, thinking the right things. They are focused on being generous and selfless. They are focused on the Kingdom of God and not the Kingdom of me. These are the righteous ones and they flourish like a green leaf.

In uncertain times, it is the righteous who stand above the rest. They may seem to be behind the game, a low-yield account of sorts, but it’s compounding. The more these righteous people invest in living rightly, the greater the dividends.