The True Calculus of Contentment Text: Proverbs 15:16
Introduction: The World's Rigged Scales
We live in an age that is drowning in prosperity and yet is utterly miserable. We have more stuff, more technology, more entertainment, and more opportunities for comfort than any generation in human history. And yet, we are consumed by anxiety, envy, and a gnawing discontentment. We are rich, and we are in turmoil. Our culture's scales are rigged. They can measure the size of a man's bank account, but they cannot measure the state of his soul. They can weigh his portfolio, but they cannot weigh his peace. The world tells you that more is always better, that the man with the most toys wins. But the world is a liar, and its father is the father of lies.
The book of Proverbs is God's inspired wisdom for practical living. It is not a collection of quaint, moralistic fortune cookies. It is a sword for dissecting reality. It cuts through the fog of human opinion and lays bare the way things actually are, under the sun, before the face of God. And in our text today, the Holy Spirit gives us a piece of divine calculus, a spiritual equation that, if truly understood and believed, would revolutionize our lives, our families, our churches, and our nation. It is a direct assault on the spirit of our age, the spirit of mammon. It forces us to answer a fundamental question: what is the good life? Is it a life of great treasure? Or is it a life lived in the fear of Yahweh?
Solomon, a man who knew a thing or two about "great treasure," sets before us a stark contrast. This is not a suggestion; it is a declaration of fact. It is a statement about the nature of reality as determined by the God who created it. To ignore this proverb is to insist on learning the hard way. It is to choose the path of turmoil, the path of vexation of spirit, the path that ends in the bitter discovery that you have gained the whole world and forfeited your own soul.
The Text
Better is a little with the fear of Yahweh
Than great treasure and turmoil with it.
(Proverbs 15:16 LSB)
The Better Portion: A Little with the Fear of Yahweh
Let us first consider the better portion. The Spirit says it is "a little with the fear of Yahweh."
Now, the word "little" here is a relative term. This is not a command to be destitute, nor is it a blanket condemnation of wealth. Abraham was rich. Job was rich. Scripture is clear that riches can be a blessing from God (Proverbs 10:22). The point here is not the amount, but the accompaniment. The key ingredient is not the "little," but the "fear of Yahweh." This is the essential, non-negotiable element for a blessed life.
What is this "fear of Yahweh?" We must be careful not to misunderstand this. This is not the cowering dread of a slave before a capricious tyrant. This is not the servile terror that drives a man to hide from God. That is the fear of the pagan, and the fear of the unregenerate. The fear of Yahweh is the reverent, worshipful, submissive awe of a son before his good and glorious Father. It is the beginning of wisdom (Proverbs 9:10). It is to hate evil (Proverbs 8:13). It is to live all of life Coram Deo, before the face of God, acknowledging His sovereignty, His goodness, and His all-seeing eye.
The man who fears Yahweh understands the Creator/creature distinction. He knows he is not his own. He knows that every good gift, whether it be a crust of bread or a kingdom, is from above. This fear orients his entire existence. It governs how he makes his little, how he manages his little, and how he enjoys his little. His little is received with thanksgiving. His little is sanctified by the Word of God and prayer. Because he fears God, he does not need to fear men, or markets, or circumstances. His security is not in his 401(k); his security is in the Lord of Hosts.
This fear produces contentment, which is great gain (1 Timothy 6:6). The man with a little, who fears God, can eat his bread with joy and drink his wine with a merry heart, because he knows God has accepted his works (Ecclesiastes 9:7). He is not striving, not grasping, not consumed with the envy that eats the soul like a cancer. He has peace. His "little" is therefore not little at all; it is magnified and multiplied by the presence and blessing of God.
The Worse Bargain: Great Treasure and Turmoil
Now consider the alternative, which the world presents as the ultimate prize: "great treasure and turmoil with it."
Notice the package deal. The treasure and the turmoil come together. The Hebrew word for turmoil, mehumah, means confusion, vexation, trouble, disquiet. It is the opposite of shalom. It is the internal chaos that accompanies godless gain. Why does great treasure, apart from the fear of God, inevitably bring turmoil?
First, it brings the turmoil of anxiety. The more you have, the more you have to lose. The rich man who trusts in his riches cannot sleep, for he is constantly worried about thieves, market crashes, inflation, and lawsuits (Ecclesiastes 5:12). His wealth owns him; he does not own it. His life is a frantic effort to guard a pile of stuff that is rusting, decaying, and ultimately temporary.
Second, it brings the turmoil of envy and strife. Great wealth attracts flatterers, leeches, and false friends. It often creates rivalries within families. Think of the bitter inheritance disputes that tear families apart. The stalled ox in the next verse is mentioned in the context of hatred (Proverbs 15:17). The pursuit of wealth apart from God is a cutthroat business. It is driven by greed, and greed is a fire that is never satisfied.
Third, and most importantly, it brings the turmoil of a guilty conscience and a barren soul. To get great treasure without the fear of God almost always involves cutting ethical corners. It means you have to treat people as commodities. It means you have to lie, or cheat, or oppress. And even if the wealth was obtained legally, if it is not held with the fear of God, it becomes an idol. And all idolatry hollows out the soul. The man trusts in his riches, and so he does not trust in God. He has no ultimate hope, no transcendent meaning. His life is a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying a whole lot of nothing. He is, as Jesus said of the rich fool, a man who has laid up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God (Luke 12:21).
Making the Right Calculation
This proverb is a divine balance sheet. It is teaching us how to properly value our assets. A quiet home, a clear conscience, a family that loves you, and the blessing of God on your simple meal is an incalculable treasure. A mansion full of strife, a portfolio built on sharp dealing, and a soul empty of God is the definition of spiritual bankruptcy. It is a fool's bargain.
This is why Agur prayed, "Give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with the food that is needful for me, lest I be full and deny you and say, 'Who is the LORD?' or lest I be poor and steal and profane the name of my God" (Proverbs 30:8-9). He understood that the ultimate goal was not a certain level of wealth, but a certain kind of relationship with God. The great danger of riches is that they tempt us to forget our dependence on the Giver. The great danger of poverty is that it tempts us to doubt the Giver's goodness.
The fear of the Lord is the safe ground in the middle. It is the only thing that can keep a poor man from bitterness and a rich man from arrogance. It is the only true foundation for contentment, regardless of your circumstances.
The Gospel Equation
Ultimately, this proverb points us to the gospel of Jesus Christ. For in the gospel, we see this divine calculation played out in its most extreme form.
Jesus Christ, who possessed the "great treasure" of heaven, of perfect, eternal fellowship with the Father, willingly set it aside. He emptied Himself, taking on the form of a servant. He embraced having "a little." He had no place to lay His head. He did this all out of a perfect "fear of Yahweh," a perfect, loving obedience to His Father's will.
And what did He purchase for us? He took our turmoil upon Himself. He bore the ultimate mehumah, the chaos and confusion of our sin, the terror of divine wrath on the cross. He who knew no sin became sin for us. He experienced the ultimate poverty, separation from the Father, so that we, through His poverty, might become rich (2 Corinthians 8:9).
The gospel does not promise us great earthly treasure. It promises us something infinitely better. It promises us the forgiveness of sins and the gift of the Holy Spirit. It promises us the true treasure, which is Christ Himself. It gives us the fear of the Lord as a gift of grace, writing His law upon our hearts. It frees us from the turmoil of guilt and the anxiety of striving. It teaches us, as it taught the apostle Paul, in whatever state we are, to be content (Philippians 4:11).
So the choice is before you. You can have the world's great treasure, with all the headaches, heartaches, and ultimate damnation that comes with it. Or you can have a little, a humble portion, seasoned with the fear of God, the love of Christ, and the peace that passes all understanding. One is a fool's bargain. The other is the calculus of eternal wisdom.