Proverbs 13:11 "Wealth gotten by vanity shall be diminished: but he that gathereth by labour shall increase."
We can all appreciate this clear-cut statement as it doesn’t take much mental effort to get what Solomon penned in this proverb. According to the financially-savvy king, two very different paths to wealth have two very different outcomes. Those who take the path to wealth by working hard will increase their wealth whereas those who take the path to wealth through vain means will see their wealth decreased. As clear cut as this proverb is, we do need to consider what it means to get wealth by VANITY.
What does Solomon mean by “wealth gotten by vanity?” This is answered best by looking its counterpart within the proverb – “gathereth by labour.” By pitting the two means against each other and because we easily understand what it means to “gather by labour,” Solomon helps us define getting wealthy by VAIN means – it is that which requires little to no effort. Wealth gotten by vanity is wealth gotten by little to no effort, which of course fits the definition of vanity. Vanity is a lack of substance or long-lasting fulfilment. When it comes to getting wealth by vanity, depraved means are especially applicable. For example, lying to the government about cash income is an easy way to get money by evading taxation. This additional income by dishonesty is not “gathered by labour.” Gambling and winning lotteries, slot machines and sport bets are potential paths to wealth but they are not paths that include hard work. Scamming people on the phone or on the internet are ways to get wealth but they are vain ways because there is no substance or hard work to it. Stealing someone’s credit card or check book are vain ways to accrue wealth, not only because there is nothing of any moral value to that way of wealth but also because there is no hard work in it.
It's just not immoral ways of getting money that will result in diminished wealth; it’s any VAIN way of getting money. People of all moral stripes in all economies all over the world continue to look for easy ways to get money. Selling a particular product that promises unrealistic returns or participating in some internet scheme that is too good to be true are examples of people seeking wealth by vanity. Investing in something that claims insane profits or applying for a remote job that seems to offer a lot for doing very little are all temptations for those who are pursuing wealth by vanity.
Any wealth accrued outside of hard work and by putting the time in “shall be diminished.” This is more than a Scriptural promise – this is WISDOM. This proverb isn’t promising Divine punishment as much as it is offering Divine wisdom. When we get wealth by vanity instead of by hard work, it gets diminished. When we get rich by doing anything but by working hard, the bank account decreases faster than it increases. This is just how life works because this is just how people are. The wise understand this fact and Solomon wanted his readers to understand that so we learn to earn rather than seek to receive.
Consider six reasons for the wisdom behind this proverb:
1. Wealth gotten by vanity shall be diminished because eventually, lies run out of runway.
Once a person discovers that they can lie to get money, they’ll keep lying to get more money. Because it’s easy to lie on an unemployment application or bank document, they’ll keep doing it to get more money. With the flow of easy money coming in, wealthy liars adjust their lifestyle to match their dishonest income. These conmen spend quickly assuming there’s plenty more money to steal failing to realize that lies eventually run out of runway. Liars have to keep telling lies to avoid getting their lies detected and eventually, those lies get harder and harder to keep straight. In time, those lies contradict each other and someone solves the crime which results in any number of financially-devasting consequences. Only hard-earned wealth sticks around.
2. Wealth gotten by vanity shall be diminished because money gotten easily gets spent easily.
Ever find a $20 bill on the sidewalk in a place and at a time where it could never be returned to its owner? Or perhaps you received an unexpected and anonymous $50 bill in your mailbox or car? How about the unexpected rebate check or stimulus payment? What is your first instinct or thought? It’s not to save that money for a rainy day. It’s not to put that in a tin can under the bed or to invest it in a 30-year annuity. Unexpected and unearned money is there to spend! Typically, we make immediate plans to get a pizza or an ice cream cone or a new television. All money indeed grows wings and flies away toward heaven but easy money launches out of our hands like a rocket on its way to the moon. Only hard-earned wealth sticks around.
3. Wealth gotten by vanity shall be diminished because the conscience can't be clean holding onto dirty money.
Where there is dishonesty, theft or other immoral reasons behind wealth, the human conscience tends to have a hard time holding onto that money. That bag of money is a reminder of our evil deeds. That stolen property is an accuser of the soul. That unethical account makes us feel bad so we tend to get rid of it at some point. Such was the case with Judas Iscariot and his 30 pieces of silver. He didn’t gather that wealth by labor. He got wealthy by vain and evil means. As a result, he eventually returned the money. The priests who gave him the money didn’t want that evil money back because it would be a reminder of their empty souls as they condemned an innocent man to His death. They got rid of the blood money by buying a field to bury the poor. All money is not treated equally. We treat money we work hard for much differently than we treat money we work evil for. Only hard-earned wealth sticks around.
4. Wealth gotten by vanity shall be diminished because the love of money demands greater risks to gain greater rewards.
Wealth gotten by vanity is motivated by a love for wealth, which Scripture teaches is the root of all evil. Where there is a love of money, there is much evil, including discontentment. The love of money demands more money. The love of money demands more money at any cost. The love of money throws caution in the wind and demands great risks. With these great risks come eventual pain. Making riskier bets or investing in riskier stocks almost always results in eventual loss. Making riskier moral decisions with businesses, government and organizations almost always results in eventual loss. It is amazing how many embezzlers can’t be content with the first $10,000 they stole and as a result, they push the envelope and get caught on their next $10,000 heist. It's amazing how an unhappy wife can’t be content with the thousands she’ll get when divorcing her rich husband and as a result, gets caught when trying to murder him for his multi-million-dollar life insurance policy. Only hard-earned wealth sticks around.
5. Wealth gotten by vanity shall be diminished because only hard-earned income is reproducible.
There are so many “get-rich-quick” schemes that work in our world. There are only so many life insurance policies to benefit from. There are only so many inheritances to be included in. There are only so many lucky bounces in life or programs to take advantages of. On the contrary, there are thousands of jobs that provide a reliable amount of income for the foreseeable future. There are jobs and careers that have been around since the beginning of time for us to earn an honest living. When people get wealthy by vanity, they think that vain means will always be available and when it isn’t, their luxurious lifestyle quickly drains their bank account. Only hard-earned wealth sticks around because only hard-earned income is dependable and reproducible.
6. Wealth gotten by vanity shall be diminished because time is the only true restraint on spending.
This is ultimately the reason why gathering by labor is the only path to sustainable wealth. When we work hard for our money, we work hard to keep our money. When we work hard for our money, we realize how much time it cost us to make that money. Because we’re all governed by time and because we all know that we only have so much time in this life, the time it took us to get our money restrains us from spending all of our money. The person who cheated his way to wealth took a short cut to wealth – it didn’t take him that long to get that wealth. As a result, he has no restraining whisper in his ear. Without this time-sensitive perspective, the vain soul spends without hesitation and without restraint. Addiction to spending, pleasure and substances quickly makes its way into the life of the vain soul. Wealth and addiction never stay together with addiction almost always winning custody of the soul. Only hard-earned wealth sticks around.
There’s more to this proverb than a simple contrast or an apparent guarantee. There is wisdom in and behind this proverb for us all when it comes to money. Let us all learn to EARN money by working hard.
What does Solomon mean by “wealth gotten by vanity?” This is answered best by looking its counterpart within the proverb – “gathereth by labour.” By pitting the two means against each other and because we easily understand what it means to “gather by labour,” Solomon helps us define getting wealthy by VAIN means – it is that which requires little to no effort. Wealth gotten by vanity is wealth gotten by little to no effort, which of course fits the definition of vanity. Vanity is a lack of substance or long-lasting fulfilment. When it comes to getting wealth by vanity, depraved means are especially applicable. For example, lying to the government about cash income is an easy way to get money by evading taxation. This additional income by dishonesty is not “gathered by labour.” Gambling and winning lotteries, slot machines and sport bets are potential paths to wealth but they are not paths that include hard work. Scamming people on the phone or on the internet are ways to get wealth but they are vain ways because there is no substance or hard work to it. Stealing someone’s credit card or check book are vain ways to accrue wealth, not only because there is nothing of any moral value to that way of wealth but also because there is no hard work in it.
It's just not immoral ways of getting money that will result in diminished wealth; it’s any VAIN way of getting money. People of all moral stripes in all economies all over the world continue to look for easy ways to get money. Selling a particular product that promises unrealistic returns or participating in some internet scheme that is too good to be true are examples of people seeking wealth by vanity. Investing in something that claims insane profits or applying for a remote job that seems to offer a lot for doing very little are all temptations for those who are pursuing wealth by vanity.
Any wealth accrued outside of hard work and by putting the time in “shall be diminished.” This is more than a Scriptural promise – this is WISDOM. This proverb isn’t promising Divine punishment as much as it is offering Divine wisdom. When we get wealth by vanity instead of by hard work, it gets diminished. When we get rich by doing anything but by working hard, the bank account decreases faster than it increases. This is just how life works because this is just how people are. The wise understand this fact and Solomon wanted his readers to understand that so we learn to earn rather than seek to receive.
Consider six reasons for the wisdom behind this proverb:
1. Wealth gotten by vanity shall be diminished because eventually, lies run out of runway.
Once a person discovers that they can lie to get money, they’ll keep lying to get more money. Because it’s easy to lie on an unemployment application or bank document, they’ll keep doing it to get more money. With the flow of easy money coming in, wealthy liars adjust their lifestyle to match their dishonest income. These conmen spend quickly assuming there’s plenty more money to steal failing to realize that lies eventually run out of runway. Liars have to keep telling lies to avoid getting their lies detected and eventually, those lies get harder and harder to keep straight. In time, those lies contradict each other and someone solves the crime which results in any number of financially-devasting consequences. Only hard-earned wealth sticks around.
2. Wealth gotten by vanity shall be diminished because money gotten easily gets spent easily.
Ever find a $20 bill on the sidewalk in a place and at a time where it could never be returned to its owner? Or perhaps you received an unexpected and anonymous $50 bill in your mailbox or car? How about the unexpected rebate check or stimulus payment? What is your first instinct or thought? It’s not to save that money for a rainy day. It’s not to put that in a tin can under the bed or to invest it in a 30-year annuity. Unexpected and unearned money is there to spend! Typically, we make immediate plans to get a pizza or an ice cream cone or a new television. All money indeed grows wings and flies away toward heaven but easy money launches out of our hands like a rocket on its way to the moon. Only hard-earned wealth sticks around.
3. Wealth gotten by vanity shall be diminished because the conscience can't be clean holding onto dirty money.
Where there is dishonesty, theft or other immoral reasons behind wealth, the human conscience tends to have a hard time holding onto that money. That bag of money is a reminder of our evil deeds. That stolen property is an accuser of the soul. That unethical account makes us feel bad so we tend to get rid of it at some point. Such was the case with Judas Iscariot and his 30 pieces of silver. He didn’t gather that wealth by labor. He got wealthy by vain and evil means. As a result, he eventually returned the money. The priests who gave him the money didn’t want that evil money back because it would be a reminder of their empty souls as they condemned an innocent man to His death. They got rid of the blood money by buying a field to bury the poor. All money is not treated equally. We treat money we work hard for much differently than we treat money we work evil for. Only hard-earned wealth sticks around.
4. Wealth gotten by vanity shall be diminished because the love of money demands greater risks to gain greater rewards.
Wealth gotten by vanity is motivated by a love for wealth, which Scripture teaches is the root of all evil. Where there is a love of money, there is much evil, including discontentment. The love of money demands more money. The love of money demands more money at any cost. The love of money throws caution in the wind and demands great risks. With these great risks come eventual pain. Making riskier bets or investing in riskier stocks almost always results in eventual loss. Making riskier moral decisions with businesses, government and organizations almost always results in eventual loss. It is amazing how many embezzlers can’t be content with the first $10,000 they stole and as a result, they push the envelope and get caught on their next $10,000 heist. It's amazing how an unhappy wife can’t be content with the thousands she’ll get when divorcing her rich husband and as a result, gets caught when trying to murder him for his multi-million-dollar life insurance policy. Only hard-earned wealth sticks around.
5. Wealth gotten by vanity shall be diminished because only hard-earned income is reproducible.
There are so many “get-rich-quick” schemes that work in our world. There are only so many life insurance policies to benefit from. There are only so many inheritances to be included in. There are only so many lucky bounces in life or programs to take advantages of. On the contrary, there are thousands of jobs that provide a reliable amount of income for the foreseeable future. There are jobs and careers that have been around since the beginning of time for us to earn an honest living. When people get wealthy by vanity, they think that vain means will always be available and when it isn’t, their luxurious lifestyle quickly drains their bank account. Only hard-earned wealth sticks around because only hard-earned income is dependable and reproducible.
6. Wealth gotten by vanity shall be diminished because time is the only true restraint on spending.
This is ultimately the reason why gathering by labor is the only path to sustainable wealth. When we work hard for our money, we work hard to keep our money. When we work hard for our money, we realize how much time it cost us to make that money. Because we’re all governed by time and because we all know that we only have so much time in this life, the time it took us to get our money restrains us from spending all of our money. The person who cheated his way to wealth took a short cut to wealth – it didn’t take him that long to get that wealth. As a result, he has no restraining whisper in his ear. Without this time-sensitive perspective, the vain soul spends without hesitation and without restraint. Addiction to spending, pleasure and substances quickly makes its way into the life of the vain soul. Wealth and addiction never stay together with addiction almost always winning custody of the soul. Only hard-earned wealth sticks around.
There’s more to this proverb than a simple contrast or an apparent guarantee. There is wisdom in and behind this proverb for us all when it comes to money. Let us all learn to EARN money by working hard.
Posted in Proverbs Commentary
Posted in Solomon, wealth, Wealthy, Rich, Luxury, Vanity, Vain, Dishonesty, IRS, taxes, Unemployment, Lottery, Betting, gambling, Inheritance, Life-Insurance, Lies, Lying, money, finances, employment, career, Hard Work, Judas Iscariot, Stimulus, Rebate
Posted in Solomon, wealth, Wealthy, Rich, Luxury, Vanity, Vain, Dishonesty, IRS, taxes, Unemployment, Lottery, Betting, gambling, Inheritance, Life-Insurance, Lies, Lying, money, finances, employment, career, Hard Work, Judas Iscariot, Stimulus, Rebate
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