Proverbs 10:2
“…ill-gotten gains do not profit anyone…but righteousness rescues from death.”
This verse of scripture deals with the results of certain actions and perceptions that concern our well-being, as it is related to personal character and quality of life. Here in this verse, God’s word starts off by drawing a contrast between two different foci of life. There are always in every single situation two paths upon which to walk…a wrong one and a right one. There may be several of each…however, all of them can be categorized by two.
First are the “ill-gotten”, or shall we say, dishonest gains of life. There are those that obtain many things, but not in a way that is going to profit them in the end. I have never seen a happy adulterer. He may have gained temporary pleasure, but usually in the end he loses his family, his money, and his happiness. I know a man who is so overwhelmed with making money that he somehow feels that God gives the spoils to the biggest and strongest dog on the block regardless of the methods used. He has time and time again deceived even his best friends, and in the end justifies it by saying, “That’s just business. It’s nothing personal.” His wife left him for another man, his children despise him, and even his employees secretly loathe the ground that he walks upon. There is a difference between good business practices and bad, and I also promise you there is a difference between having a profitable life…and having a profitable business.
Secondly, there is the path of righteousness. This comparison between righteousness and wealth is a comparison that must be expounded. Righteousness is an asset that is far greater than wealth, because it is an element of life than can only come from God. Righteousness simply means doing things the right way, a good path. He says here that “righteousness rescues”. It preserves life, marriages, children, happiness, and health. These are all important treasures that God can give us that wealth simply cannot. With wisdom you can, as the old saying goes, “have the cake and eat it to”.
According to what I have experienced there is only one path of righteousness, one way that preserves life. That path is the path that leads to a friendship with God through the loving sacrifice of His Son, Jesus Christ. As humans we have no real righteousness within ourselves. We only appear to be that way because we have been given the coat of righteousness from another, even Jesus Christ. It is not because of our good works, but rather through His that we can be what we are. And what are we? We are simply lives that are continually being changed, and lives that are continually being forgiven. It is through this that we are spared the death, that others experience, who do not have this relationship with a loving Heavenly Father.