Net Worth

(Proverbs 11:16 KJV)  A gracious woman retaineth honour: and strong men retain riches.

This chapter in Proverbs sets up a long series of contrasts between those who follow God’s way and those who reject it.  The second half of this verse stood out to me in the NASB because it didn’t seem to be balanced.  You have, in the 1977 NASB a “gracious” (2580) “woman” (802) set with a “violent man” (6184).  The KJV has “strong men” and even the Updated NASB has changed it to “ruthless men.”  Is this a description of only being strong or is there a negative here?

The Hebrew definition has a long string of choices:  “awe-inspiring, terror-striking, awesome, terrifying, ruthless, mighty.”  You can see that it covers a wide range but since the pattern in this chapter is good/bad I am assuming it is not a good bit of character.

And they get rich.  Since there are other places where the righteous receive wealth this reminds me that riches are not necessarily a sign of God’s blessing.

So?  Don’t focus on your net worth in trying to decide if you are blessed.  It is a package deal with a lot of emphasis on the immaterial.  The emphasis is always more on what we are than what we have.