22 A good name is to be more desired than great wealth,
Favor is better than silver and gold.
2 The rich and the poor [a]have a common bond,
The Lord is the maker of them all.
3 The prudent sees the evil and hides himself,
But the [b]naive go on, and are punished for it.
4 The reward of humility and the [c]fear of the Lord
Are riches, honor and life.
5 Thorns and snares are in the way of the perverse;
He who guards himself will be far from them.
6 Train up a child [d]in the way he should go,
Even when he is old he will not depart from it.
7 The rich rules over the poor,
And the borrower becomes the lender’s slave.
Verse 7 would be a sad note to end on for the poor or those in debt. You’re a slave, and good luck with that! Yet as we go back to the beginning, Solomon gives us some important thoughts to consider. A good reputation and favor are both better than wealth. So… we should just seek that, and be content with slavery and indebtedness?
Or maybe we should keep reading, because v. 2 tells us “rich and poor have a common bond.” And though the term “Lord” is often used of God as just a common title, it also tells us who is the true master. And He is the “maker of them all”, rich and poor alike, no one is above God.
That might seem equally hopeless, except that God is also there to rescue us all, rich and poor alike. Paul told the Romans, “Whoever will call upon the name of the Lord will be saved.” And more than that, he gives us a new name, and a fresh start. Not that all the consequences of our poor decisions disappear, but now we have help.
We are no longer hopeless captives, but walking hand in hand with “the maker of them all”, our Maker. He is also our Father, training us up in the way we should go. Which is to avoid evil (v. 3), and embrace humility and the fear of the Lord (v. 4), to guard our hearts from the thorns and snares of the perverse (v. 5). We do none of this alone, otherwise we’d be back in v. 7, slaves and captives.
With God’s help, we overcome our past, and walk a new path, set out for us before the world began. Invite God into your day, and take His hand, embrace who you are in Him, and avoid the crooked path. It’s not for you anymore, “For you have been called for this purpose, since Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example for you to follow in His steps… you were continually straying like sheep, but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Guardian of your souls.” (1 Peter 2:21,25)