The Black Hole and the Fountain Text: Proverbs 21:26
Introduction: Two Religions, Two Economies
The book of Proverbs is a book of stark contrasts. It is not a book for those who like to live in the mushy middle, blurring the lines that God has drawn with such sharp and severe clarity. We have the wise man and the fool, the diligent and the sluggard, the righteous and the wicked. And here, in this verse, we are presented with a fundamental, spiritual diagnostic. We are shown two kinds of men, living by two completely different economic and spiritual principles. One man is a black hole, a spiritual singularity of want, and the other is a fountain.
Our secular age is built on the first man's principle. Our entire advertising industry is a sophisticated, multi-billion dollar machine designed to produce and cultivate this "insatiable craving." It is a ministry of discontent. It preaches a daily sermon with one central point: you are not complete. You lack. Your car is old, your house is small, your phone is last year's model, your life is not what it could be if you only had this. This constant stoking of desire is not an economic engine; it is a spiritual disease. It is the lust of the eyes and the pride of life, packaged and sold with a monthly payment plan.
But the Bible tells us that this is the defining characteristic of the wicked man. He is a vortex of need. His life is defined by what he does not have. In sharp contrast stands the righteous man. His life is not defined by what he can get, but by what he can give. He is a conduit, not a dead end. God's grace flows to him and through him. He is a fountain, not a drain. This verse, then, is not simply a nice platitude about being generous. It is a description of two antithetical religions. It reveals the very heart of sin and the very heart of righteousness. One is the religion of grasping, and the other is the religion of grace.
The Text
All day long he is insatiably craving,
While the righteous gives and does not hold back.
(Proverbs 21:26 LSB)
The Anatomy of a Craving Soul
Let us first consider the first man described here.
"All day long he is insatiably craving..." (Proverbs 21:26a)
The description is relentless. "All day long." This is not a fleeting temptation or a momentary desire. This is a permanent state of being. From the moment he wakes until the moment he falls asleep, his mind is consumed with this gnawing hunger. The gears of his soul are always grinding on the gravel of "more."
And the craving is "insatiable." This is a crucial word. It means it cannot be satisfied. It is a thirst that cannot be slaked. He thinks that if he just gets the next thing, the promotion, the new truck, the recognition, then the craving will cease. But it is a lie from the pit. Covetousness is a black hole. It has an appetite, but no stomach. It can swallow galaxies of stuff and still be empty. Why? Because the craving is not for a thing; it is a spiritual orientation. He is craving for a created thing to do for him what only the Creator can do.
This is precisely why Paul tells us that covetousness is idolatry (Col. 3:5). The man who is insatiably craving has set up an idol in his heart. He is bowing down to a false god, whether it is Mammon, or status, or comfort, or power. He is asking a finite creature to give him the infinite satisfaction, the security, the identity, and the meaning that can only be found in the living God. And so, of course, he is perpetually disappointed. Of course, he is miserable. An idol's fundamental job is to fail. It is a god that cannot save.
This craving is the engine of envy, bitterness, and theft. It is the logic behind the adulterer's glance, the thief's calculation, and the socialist's political platform. It is the belief that what God has given me is not enough, and what God has given my neighbor is rightfully mine. It is a rebellion against the providence of God. It is to look God in the face and say, "You have not been good enough to me." This is the sin of the sluggard in the previous verse, whose hands refuse to work but whose heart never refuses to want. It is a spiritual vacuum, and it is the definition of Hell.
The Open-Handed Righteous
Now, set in the sharpest possible contrast, we have the righteous man.
"...While the righteous gives and does not hold back." (Proverbs 21:26b)
Notice the structure. The wicked man is defined by an internal state: "craving." The righteous man is defined by an external action: "gives." The first man's life is a constant intake valve. The second man's life is a constant outflow. The wicked man is a taker; the righteous man is a giver.
But where does this generosity come from? It is not the result of him pulling on his bootstraps and deciding to be a better person. It is the necessary fruit of his righteousness. And what is his righteousness? It is not his own. It is an alien righteousness, a righteousness that has been imputed to him by faith in Jesus Christ. The righteous man gives freely because he has been given everything freely. He has received the forgiveness of sins, adoption as a son, the promise of eternal life, and the gift of the Holy Spirit, all "without money and without price" (Isaiah 55:1).
Because he is secure in Christ, he is not grasping for his identity in his possessions. Because he knows his Father owns the cattle on a thousand hills, he is not terrified of lack. He understands that he is not an owner, but a steward. Everything he has is a gift, entrusted to him for a time, to be managed for the glory of the true Owner. Therefore, his hands are open. He "does not hold back." He is not stingy, calculating, or grudging. His giving reflects the character of his God, who "gives to all liberally and without reproach" (James 1:5).
This is the economy of the kingdom. "Give, and it will be given to you," the Lord says (Luke 6:38). The man who clenches his fist to hoard what he has finds that it turns to dust. The man who opens his hand to give finds that God fills it again and again. The wicked man craves all day and has nothing. The righteous man gives all day and has everything. This is the great paradox of the Christian life. You keep what you give away, and you lose what you keep.
Conclusion: The Ultimate Gift
This proverb drives us straight to the foot of the cross. For at the cross, we see this contrast in its ultimate expression.
We see the insatiable craving of wicked men. They craved power, so they handed Jesus over to the Romans. They craved the approval of the crowds, so they shouted for Barabbas. They craved their own self-righteousness, so they mocked the Son of God. They craved His garments, so they gambled for them at His feet. Their craving nailed Him to the tree.
And in the face of all that taking, all that grasping, all that wicked craving, what did Jesus do? He gave, and He did not hold back. He "did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but emptied Himself" (Philippians 2:6-7). He gave His back to the scourgers. He gave His hands and feet to the nails. He gave His side to the spear. He gave His life for His enemies. He gave His righteousness to sinners. He is the ultimate righteous man, the fountain from which all blessings flow.
Therefore, the question this proverb puts to us is this: which man are you? Is your life characterized by a constant, gnawing desire for what you do not have? Or is it characterized by a joyful, open-handed generosity, flowing from the reality that in Christ, you have already been given everything? You cannot be both. You are either a black hole or a fountain. One is a life of idolatry and misery. The other is a life of worship and freedom. The gospel is the power of God to turn takers into givers, to transform craving souls into conduits of grace, for the glory of God and the building of His kingdom.