Prosperity: Life and Career Management

Prosperity: Life and Career Management
Unless the Lord builds the house,
the builders labor in vain.
Unless the Lord watches over the city,
the guards stand watch in vain.
In vain you rise early
and stay up late,
toiling for food to eat—
for he grants sleep to those he loves.

- Psalms 127:1-2

​Blessed is everyone who fears the Lord, who walks in his ways! You shall eat the fruit of the labor of your hands; you shall be blessed, and it shall be well with you. Psalms 128:2

*NOTES: From the ESV Study Bible*
Proverbs 127:1–2 Those who build a house must labor on it, and certainly the watchman of a city must stay awake. At the same time, they must carry out their efforts in faith, trusting God to make the work beneficial. Likewise the farmer must be diligent (compare 128:2), but he must practice his diligence in faith, receiving the sleep that God wants to give to his beloved. The psalm promotes hard work, but such diligence should not be the result of greed or restless anxiety (see notes on Prov. 10:22; 23:4–5). The Sabbath commandment (Ex. 20:8–11) is a gift enabling God’s people to live by faith. It requires them to rest from their labors as they trust the Lord for their future well-being.

Proverbs 10:22 This verse, at the center of verses (vv) 12–32, teaches an important truth about both the source and the nature of wealth. Since it is the "blessing of the Lord that makes rich", one must seek wealth through righteous means. A person’s hope should come not from material things but from the Lord who provides (see vv. 23–30). _"he adds no sorrow with it"_. When the Lord gives material blessing, he gives it freely and with joy.

Proverbs 23:4–5 The workaholic is encouraged to be discerning enough to desist in his pursuit of wealth. suddenly it sprouts wings. Wealth is fleeting; there should come a point where a person decides he has enough, and that he will devote some of his time and effort to activities that bring no financial reward. See also note on 8:18–21.

Proverbs 8:18–21 Within a just society, the wise person will often enjoy riches and honor. But wisdom gives something even greater: an "enduring wealth and righteousness", a fruit that is better than gold and silver, and an abundant inheritance. These represent favor from the Lord (see v. 35).

Proverbs 8:32–36 And now, O sons draws together all of Wisdom’s paternal appeals to highlight the benefits of wisdom for faithful covenant living. "all who hate me love death". Those who practice what wisdom hates (see v. 13) show that they are on the way that leads not to life and favor but to injury and death.

Proverbs 8:13 Describing what wisdom hates calls a person to examine his or her heart, to guard it from such things, and to practice what the Lord loves (compare 6:12–19).

“I, wisdom, dwell with prudence,
and I find knowledge and discretion.
The fear of the Lord is hatred of evil.
Pride and arrogance and the way of evil
and perverted speech I hate.
I have counsel and sound wisdom;
I have insight; I have strength.
By me kings reign,
and rulers decree what is just;
by me princes rule,
and nobles, all who govern justly."
- Proverbs 8:11-16