Wisdom's Results and Folly's Redundancy Text: Proverbs 14:24
Introduction: Two Economies
The book of Proverbs is intensely practical. It is not a collection of abstract platitudes for needlepoint pillows. It is a divine field manual for navigating God's world God's way. And because we live in a material world, created by a good God, this book has a great deal to say about material things, like money, wealth, and riches. Our secular age, along with a good number of pietistic Christians, wants to spiritualize everything into a fine mist, leaving the material world to the devil. But God created stuff, and He has laws for how that stuff works.
This proverb sets before us two competing economies, the economy of wisdom and the economy of folly. These are not just two different approaches to financial planning. They are two antithetical ways of life, flowing from two different hearts, worshipping two different gods. One system is productive, generative, and results in a crown. The other is a closed loop, a sterile feedback system, that results in nothing more than what it started with. Folly is as folly does, and folly is all it does.
We must understand that in the Old Testament economy, all other things being equal, righteousness and wisdom tended toward blessing, and that blessing was often tangible. This was not the crass health and wealth gospel you see on television, which is just covetousness with a thin Christian veneer. Rather, it was a recognition that covenant faithfulness has consequences in history. God's world is built a certain way. If you plant corn according to the instructions, you tend to get corn. If you plant thistle seeds, you get thistles. This proverb is about the harvest that comes from a particular kind of planting.
The Text
The crown of the wise is their riches,
But the folly of fools is folly.
(Proverbs 14:24 LSB)
Wisdom's Coronation (v. 24a)
The first clause gives us the result of applied wisdom.
"The crown of the wise is their riches..." (Proverbs 14:24a)
Now, we must be careful here. This is a proverb, a generalization, not a mathematical formula that says every wise man will be a millionaire and every poor man is a fool. The Bible is full of examples of righteous men who were poor, like Lazarus, and even our Lord, who had nowhere to lay His head. But the general principle, the grain of the universe, is that wisdom produces. It is fruitful. A wise man fears God, works diligently, plans prudently, avoids scams, and saves for the future. Over a lifetime, that kind of living generally leads to an accumulation of substance. When it does, those riches are a "crown."
What does it mean that riches are a crown? A crown is a public adornment. It is a visible sign of honor and authority. When a wise man prospers, his wealth adorns his wisdom. It makes his wisdom more visible and gives it a broader platform. The wisdom of a poor man is often despised, as Ecclesiastes tells us (Eccl. 9:16). But when a man of character and wisdom has resources, those resources amplify his ability to do good. He can provide for his family, support the church, fund gospel enterprises, and help the needy. His riches become a tool in his hand for the exercise of further wisdom and righteousness. The wealth does not make him wise, but it does make his wisdom more influential.
This is not a command to seek wealth for its own sake. The Bible warns sternly against that. "The love of money is a root of all kinds of evil" (1 Tim. 6:10). The command is to seek wisdom first. "How much better to get wisdom than gold!" (Prov. 16:16). But when a man seeks wisdom, rooted in the fear of the Lord, riches are often a byproduct. And when they come as a result of godly wisdom, they are a blessing from the Lord, and He adds no sorrow to it (Prov. 10:22). They are an external confirmation of the internal reality. The crown on the head matches the character in the heart.
Folly's Dead End (v. 24b)
The second clause is a masterpiece of inspired, logical precision. It is almost a tautology, but it is a tautology with a sharp edge.
"...But the folly of fools is folly." (Proverbs 14:24b LSB)
Notice the contrast. The wise produce riches, which are something external to their wisdom, a fruit of it. But what do fools produce? What is the fruit of their folly? The answer is simply more folly. It is a closed system. It is sterile. It produces nothing outside of itself.
Think of it this way. A wise man takes seed (wisdom) and plants it in the field of the world, and it yields a harvest (riches). A fool takes his seed (folly) and eats it. Or he throws it on the pavement. All he is left with at the end of the day is his original folly. His foolishness is not a tool; it is a trap. It is not productive; it is consumptive. It is a snake eating its own tail.
This is why giving a fool riches does not cure his folly; it amplifies it. A fool with a hundred dollars is a fool. A fool with a million dollars is a very loud, influential, and dangerous fool. His wealth does not become a crown; it becomes a megaphone for his foolishness. He uses it to buy more opportunities to be foolish. Rehoboam's folly was on full display because he was a king. Nabal's folly was magnified by his great wealth. The rich fool in the parable used his bumper crop to build bigger barns for his own soul, which was required of him that very night.
The folly of fools is just folly. It doesn't transform into anything else. It doesn't produce wisdom. It doesn't produce lasting good. It doesn't build anything. It only reproduces itself. It is a spiritual black hole, consuming everything and producing nothing but more darkness. The end of wisdom is a crown of glory. The end of folly is just the shame of being a fool, forever.
Conclusion: The Ultimate Investment
This proverb forces a question on every one of us. In which economy are you invested? Are you investing in a life of wisdom, which begins with the fear of the Lord and submission to His Christ? Or are you invested in the economy of folly, which begins with the proud declaration, "I am the captain of my soul"?
The wise man understands that he is a steward, not an owner. Everything he has, from his intellect to his income, is a gift from God, to be managed for God's glory. His wisdom is applied skill in godly living, and the riches that may result are simply more tools for more stewardship. This is the path of life, and it leads to a crown that will not fade.
The fool, on the other hand, believes he is an owner. He lives for himself. His folly is his refusal to submit to his Creator. And so, everything he does is ultimately sterile. He may gain the whole world, but he will forfeit his soul. The sum total of his life will be a zero. The folly of fools is folly.
Therefore, seek wisdom. Pursue it like silver and search for it as for hidden treasures. For in Jesus Christ "are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge" (Col. 2:3). He is the ultimate wisdom of God. To have Him is to have true riches, durable riches. To reject Him is the pinnacle of all folly, and the only result of that choice is more of the same, forever.