The Spiritual Audit: Two Houses, Two Treasuries Text: Proverbs 15:6
Introduction: The World's Crooked Balance Sheet
We live in an age that is utterly obsessed with economics, but which is spiritually bankrupt. Our culture knows the price of everything and the value of nothing. It can calculate gross domestic product to the second decimal place, but it cannot tell you what a good man is. It can build skyscrapers that scrape the heavens, but it has no idea how to build a household that pleases God. The modern world is a grand and gaudy enterprise, run by very clever men who are all, to a man, terrible accountants. They are terrible accountants because they refuse to audit the books with the Auditor.
They look at the wicked man, the one who cuts corners, who builds his fortune on deceit and sharp practice, and they see his revenue stream. They see the big house, the fast cars, the portfolio that swells with every quarterly report. And they say, "There is a man who has it figured out." They look at the righteous man, the one who tithes, who deals honestly, who refuses to cheat a customer or defraud an employee, and they see his modest home. They see his ten-year-old car and his simple budget. And they say, "There is a good man, perhaps, but a foolish one. A bit of a chump."
This is the wisdom of the world, and it is a damnable lie. It is a lie because it uses a crooked balance sheet. It measures only one kind of asset, the kind that moths can eat and rust can destroy. It completely ignores the liabilities column, where anxiety, strife, fear, and the curse of God are accruing compound interest. The book of Proverbs is given to us, in large part, to correct this catastrophic accounting error. It is God's divine audit of reality. And in our text today, Solomon gives us a sharp, concise summary of the true state of affairs. He shows us two houses, two incomes, and two ultimate destinies.
This proverb forces us to ask a fundamental question: what is wealth? What is true treasure? And where is it found? Is it in the "revenues" of the wicked, or in the "house" of the righteous? The world says the former. God says the latter. And you must decide which accounting you are going to trust.
The Text
The house of the righteous has much treasure, But in the income of the wicked there is trouble.
(Proverbs 15:6 LSB)
The Righteous Man's Treasury (v. 6a)
We begin with the first clause:
"The house of the righteous has much treasure..." (Proverbs 15:6a)
Notice first where the treasure is located. It is in the "house" of the righteous. This is significant. It is not just in his bank account, or in his portfolio. The "house" in Scripture refers to the whole enterprise of a man's life, his household, his family, his legacy. The blessing is comprehensive. It permeates everything. It is a settled, stable, and secure wealth.
Now, what is this "much treasure"? Because we are fallen creatures, our first thought is of gold bars stacked in the basement. And the Bible is not shy about saying that righteousness often leads to material prosperity. Godliness has the promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come (1 Tim. 4:8). When a man works diligently, deals honestly, and saves wisely, he will, as a general rule, prosper. This is a simple matter of cause and effect, woven into the fabric of God's world. A good man leaves an inheritance to his children's children (Prov. 13:22). So we must not spiritualize this away entirely. God's blessing often has a very tangible, physical weight to it.
But the treasure is much more than that. The treasure in the house of the righteous is, first and foremost, righteousness itself. The greatest treasure is the fear of the Lord (Prov. 15:16). It is a clear conscience before God and man. It is peace in the home, a loving wife, and children who walk in the truth. It is the palpable presence of God's favor, which is better than life itself. It is contentment. It is joy. It is security that no market crash can shake. The righteous man may have little in the world's eyes, but he possesses all things in Christ (2 Cor. 6:10). His house is built on the rock, and the treasure within it is eternal.
This treasure is not just possessed; it is enjoyed. The righteous man can sit down to a simple meal with his family and there is laughter and love. He can sleep at night because his conscience is not screaming at him. He is not eaten up with the fear of being found out, or the anxiety of losing what he has gained. His treasure is a blessing, not a burden. It is a spring of life, not a millstone around his neck.
The Wicked Man's Troubled Income (v. 6b)
Now Solomon turns his attention to the other side of the ledger.
"...But in the income of the wicked there is trouble." (Proverbs 15:6b)
The contrast is precise and devastating. Notice the shift in terms. For the righteous, the blessing is in his "house," his entire settled estate. For the wicked, the focus is on his "income," his revenue, the stream of money flowing in. The world looks at this flow and is impressed. God looks at this flow and sees that it is polluted at the source. The word for "trouble" here carries the idea of agitation, turmoil, and ruin. It is the opposite of the settled peace in the righteous man's house.
Why is there trouble in his income? First, there is trouble in the getting of it. It is often gained through oppression, deceit, or injustice (Prov. 10:2). Every dollar is tainted with sin, and that sin carries its own curse. He has to lie, to cheat, to step on others to get it. This leaves a trail of broken relationships and a heart that becomes increasingly hard and calloused.
Second, there is trouble in the keeping of it. The wicked man trusts in his riches, which is a fool's game (Prov. 11:28). He is constantly afraid of losing it. He is suspicious of everyone. His wealth doesn't bring him peace; it multiplies his anxieties. He builds bigger barns, but his soul is still empty and his life is demanded of him when he least expects it. The very thing he trusts for security becomes the source of his greatest insecurity.
Third, there is trouble in the spending of it. His wealth fuels his lusts, his pride, and his folly. It allows him to sin on a grander scale. It insulates him from the consequences of his actions for a time, but it cannot insulate him from the judgment of God. His income is a torrent that is sweeping him toward a waterfall. As one commentator put it, the wicked man's money is like saltwater to a thirsty man; the more he drinks, the thirstier he becomes, and the faster he dies.
And finally, all of this is under the curse of the Lord. "The curse of the LORD is in the house of the wicked, but He blesses the habitation of the just" (Prov. 3:33). The trouble is not just a natural consequence; it is a supernatural judgment. God Himself is actively working against the wicked man's enterprise. His entire financial statement is written in red ink in the ledgers of heaven. What looks like profit on earth is registered as a catastrophic loss.
Conclusion: Auditing Your Own House
This proverb is a diagnostic tool. It forces us to conduct an audit of our own lives. We must look at our own house, our own income, and ask the hard questions. What are we pursuing? What do we define as treasure? Are we building a house filled with the peaceable fruits of righteousness, or are we chasing a revenue stream that is churning with trouble?
The great temptation for Christians living in a prosperous, pagan society is to try to get the wicked man's income without the trouble, and the righteous man's treasure without the righteousness. We want a hybrid model. We want to serve God and Mammon. We want the big house and the clear conscience. But Jesus tells us this is impossible. You cannot have it both ways.
The ultimate treasure, the pearl of great price, is Christ Himself. To have Him is to have everything. To gain the whole world and lose Him is to have nothing but trouble. When you have Christ, you are truly rich. Your house, whether it is a mansion or a rented apartment, contains "much treasure" because the King of kings dwells there with you. His righteousness is imputed to you. His peace guards your heart. His joy is your strength. This is a treasure that cannot be devalued, cannot be stolen, and cannot be lost.
Therefore, let us pursue righteousness. Let us seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and trust that all these other things, the things the world chases after, will be added to us in God's time and in God's way. Let us build our houses on the solid foundation of God's Word, filling them with the true treasures of faith, hope, and love. For the income of the wicked is a rushing stream of trouble leading to destruction, but the house of the righteous is a storehouse of treasure, secure and eternal, under the blessing of Almighty God.