Easy Money Makes Promises

Why is it the case that pursuing a quick buck, as the cost of serving others, will always keep us from being wise and ought to be rejected?

If they say, ‘Come with us, let us lie in wait for blood;
Let us ambush the innocent without reason;
Like Sheol let us swallow them alive,
And whole, like those who go down to the pit;
We shall find all precious goods,
We shall fill our houses with plunder;
Throw in your lot among us;
We will all have one purse’ (Prov 1:11-14).

These verses are morbidly comical. When was the last time you ever had a total stranger approach you on the street and ask, “Hey, whadd’ya say we go find a defenseless old lady, beat her to death, and take her credit cards? We can share them; I promise.” It just doesn’t happen like that, and Solomon knows it. It’s not like the ancients were so much dumber than we are that they’d fall for such a thing.

Rather, Solomon is taking what is usually implicit, and he’s making it explicit by telling a story. He’s bringing to light what is really going on every time we give in to our desire for more stuff. We’re not innocent victims (Prov 1:10 implies that we consent to it), and we’re not making life any easier for ourselves. Instead, we love ourselves and ignore reality. We believe the world’s promises.

The first promise is that easy money will give me community. “Come with us… Throw in your lot among us; we will all have one purse.” Easy money promises me that I can be just like everyone else. I won’t be left behind, and I can’t be the butt of people’s jokes. I won’t be one of those weirdoes who is out of touch with his own generation. I will be normal, acceptable, informed, and relevant. I might even be envied and pursued by others who are normal, acceptable, informed, and relevant. I will have the community I’ve always longed for.

The second promise is that easy money will give me security. “We shall find all precious goods; we shall fill our houses with plunder.” Once I get all the precious stuff that normal people are supposed to have, my life will be easier. Communication will be easier. Managing my life will be easier. I’ll finally be able to relax on that ideal vacation. My clothes will be more comfortable, my work will be more productive, and my stress level will drop drastically. I can pay for the car, the house, college tuition, and weddings. I’ll be set up for retirement. Problems will disappear, and nothing will shake me. I will have security.

In the poem’s next stanza, we’ll see that easy money can’t keep such promises.

This post was first published in 2012.