Proverbs 28:19-20 NLT

19 A hard worker has plenty of food,
but a person who chases fantasies ends up in poverty.

²⁰ The trustworthy person will get a rich reward,
but a person who wants quick riches will get into trouble.

Get Rich or Die Tryin’ was both the name of the debut album of the rapper 50 Cent, and the title of his fictionalized but broadly autobiographical movie.

It presents the worldview of a hustler, a man single-mindedly determined to make his fortune.

Whether he is dealing drugs, selling records, or investing in corporate ventures, the hero declares he will either reach his goal, or he will perish in pursuit. The only thing he won’t do is quit.

And there is something noble in the perseverance and determination contained in this idea. It is a battle-tested refusal to quit.

The question each of us must answer for ourselves is, is the payoff worth the price?

At what point does success become excess?

How high is up?

The scripture approaches the question with the metric of methodology.

If you are dreaming, or scheming, you are doing too much, and in another sense, not enough: passive fantasy accomplishes nothing. Shady shortcuts accomplish the wrong things.

If your goal requires you to steal, whether to hit a number, or do it in a certain amount of time, your goal is inappropriate.

The good news is the question here is not if you should pursue prosperity, but how.

Unlike other Biblical passages and secular worldviews, the proverb says nothing against acquiring wealth, but methods matter.

Verse 19 says Diligence brings profit. Fantasies bring problems.

We can see this both as a statement of reality and of security.

The person choosing the get-rich-quick scheme at best will spin their wheels and accomplish nothing. At worst they will end up in trouble with the law and the lawless. They will swim with bigger sharks and find themselves in over their head. They will chase waterfalls and catastrophically catch them.

Verse 20 tells us that the trustworthy person will get rich. The schemer will die trying.

One reason rags-to-riches stories captivate us is that they are exceptions to the rule.

A hustler who makes it out of the game is an anomaly.

A gangster who outlives gang life is a marvel.

Most people who play games lose.

Get rich quick schemes rarely end well. And if, by some combination of noteworthy shrewdness and exceptional luck, the first scheme works, the ones that follow usually run into trouble.

Because they violate every foundational law of prosperity.

1. As we sow, we shall reap: This is the law of production. You can’t sow lies and reap truth. You can’t sow illusions and reap real fortune. You can’t use vanishing ink to sign on to enduring wealth.
2. Hard work pays off: This is the law of persistence. Schemes look for shortcuts. But there is no magic bullet that allows us to bypass the work. You can’t master an instrument without practice. You can’t build your body without exercise. Some methods may be more effective than others in getting you toward your goal. If, however, your business plan includes a time warp, it’s probably not real.
3. Seek first the Kingdom, and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you: This is the law of priority. Nothing grows when our priorities are out of whack. If you put your job before your family, your relationships will suffer. If you put play before work, your productivity will suffer.

Success requires that we set goals, take action, notice whether our actions are working, and tailor our approach.

It also requires us to identify our core values and seek to live by them.

If we do that, we can pursue progress with integrity, which will not only allow us to win, but will probably bring the people we care about along with us.

If we don’t we will probably often be broke, and broken, in crisis, and in trouble.

The choice is ours.

Choose wisely.

(Photo Credit: Karolina Grabowska)

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