The Currency of Character Text: Proverbs 28:6
Introduction: God's Accounting
We live in an age that is functionally illiterate when it comes to basic spiritual accounting. Our culture knows the price of everything and the value of nothing. It can calculate stock market gains to the tenth of a decimal point but cannot begin to compute the worth of a clean conscience. It measures a man by the size of his bank account, the square footage of his house, and the make of his car. But God's measurements are entirely different. He does not use our crooked scales. The book of Proverbs is a divine course in heavenly economics, and it consistently, relentlessly, drives home one central point: character is capital. Righteousness is true wealth. And integrity is an asset that will outlast every earthly currency.
Our proverb today sets up a stark contrast, a balance sheet that places two men side by side for our evaluation. On one side, you have a poor man. He doesn't have much. His cupboards may be thin, his clothes may be worn, and his name will never appear on any list of the world's most influential people. But he has one thing of immense value: he walks in his integrity. On the other side, you have a rich man. He has everything the world esteems. He has the money, the influence, the security. But his accounts are cooked. His ways are crooked. He is a man of two paths, double-dealing his way through life.
The world looks at these two men and makes an immediate judgment. The rich man is a success; the poor man is a failure. The rich man is to be emulated; the poor man is to be pitied. But the Holy Spirit, through Solomon, takes a red pen to the world's ledger and writes "Better" over the poor man's column. This is not some pious platitude designed to make poor people feel better about their lot. This is a statement of absolute, unvarnished, eternal reality. It is a declaration of what is actually, objectively better in the universe that God made and that God governs.
This verse is a direct assault on the prosperity gospel, both the flashy, televised version and the more subtle, secular version that has seeped into the thinking of so many Christians. It forces us to ask ourselves what we truly value. What are we chasing? Are we building our lives on the solid rock of godly character, or on the shifting sands of financial gain acquired through compromise? This proverb is a divine recalibration of our values.
The Text
Better is the poor who walks in his integrity
Than he who is crooked, double dealing, though he be rich.
(Proverbs 28:6)
The Upright Walker (v. 6a)
The first man presented for our consideration is the poor man:
"Better is the poor who walks in his integrity..." (Proverbs 28:6a)
The first thing to notice is that the Bible does not romanticize poverty. Poverty in itself is not a virtue. Scripture often presents poverty as a result of foolishness, laziness, or judgment (Prov. 6:11; 23:21). But here, the man's poverty is not the point of commendation. It is the backdrop against which his true wealth shines. His value is not in his lack of money, but in the presence of his integrity, despite his lack of money.
The word "integrity" here means wholeness, completeness, soundness. It is the Hebrew word 'tom'. A man of integrity is a whole number, not a fraction. He is all one piece. What you see on the outside is what you get on the inside. His public life and his private life are integrated. His words and his actions are cut from the same cloth. He is not a man of compartments, where he is a Christian on Sunday and a cutthroat businessman on Monday. He is who he is, consistently, before God and men.
And notice the verb: he "walks" in his integrity. This is not a static condition but a dynamic one. Integrity is not something you have, like a pocket watch; it is the path you are on. It is the sum total of a thousand small decisions, a thousand steps taken in the right direction. It is a way of life. This man's life is a journey, and the road he has chosen is the straight path of righteousness. He walks securely because he walks in integrity (Prov. 10:9). He may not walk in luxury, but he walks in security. He can sleep at night. He doesn't have to look over his shoulder. His conscience is clear, and his path, though perhaps difficult, is straight.
This is a profound encouragement. It means that the most valuable thing a man can possess is available to everyone, regardless of their economic station. You don't need a high income to have high character. You don't need a fat portfolio to have a fat soul. The poorest Christian, the one who has nothing in this world but a firm grasp on the gospel and a commitment to walk uprightly before his God, is, by heaven's accounting, a spiritual millionaire.
The Crooked Path (v. 6b)
Now we turn to the second man, the one the world calls a winner.
"Than he who is crooked, double dealing, though he be rich." (Proverbs 28:6b)
The contrast could not be sharper. While the first man walks a straight path, this man is "crooked." The Hebrew here literally speaks of being "perverse in two ways." This is the essence of what it means to be crooked. He is a man of two paths, a man of double-dealing. He is trying to walk on two roads at once, which is a geographical and a moral impossibility.
This is the man who wants to serve God and mammon. He wants the reputation of a godly man and the profits of a wicked one. He has one way of talking in church and another way of talking in the boardroom. He has one set of books for the tax man and another, more honest, set for himself. He presents one face to his family and another to his business associates. He is not a whole number; he is a man divided, fractured, and fundamentally dishonest. His life is a tangled mess of lies, compromises, and deceit. He is not walking; he is slithering.
The text adds the qualifier, "though he be rich." This is crucial. His riches do not excuse his crookedness; they compound it. His wealth is the very fruit of his perversity. He has gained the world and, in the process, has mangled his own soul. He has traded the permanent currency of character for the temporary currency of cash. And Solomon tells us, in no uncertain terms, that he has made a fool's bargain.
Why is this so? Because his wealth is a house built on a foundation of sand. It provides a false sense of security. The rich man's wealth is his strong city, and like a high wall in his own imagination (Prov. 18:11). But it is only in his imagination. When the storms of God's judgment come, and they will come, that wall will be revealed for what it is: a fantasy. His riches cannot buy him out of the day of wrath (Prov. 11:4). His crookedness, which he thought was the path to success, will suddenly fall (Prov. 28:18). The man of two ways will find that both of them lead to the same destination: destruction.
Conclusion: The Great Recalibration
So, what is the application? It is straightforward. God is calling us to get our values straight. He is telling us to adopt His accounting system. In a world that screams "get rich," the book of Proverbs whispers, "get righteous."
First, this means we must cultivate integrity as the central project of our lives. We must strive to be men and women who are all of one piece. This begins with repentance. A crooked man cannot straighten himself. You must come to the one who makes crooked places straight. You must confess your double-dealing, your compromises, your hypocrisy to Christ. He is the only one who can take a fractured soul and make it whole. His righteousness is the only true integrity, and it is given to us by faith.
Second, we must teach this to our children. We live in a culture that is desperate for worldly success. We are tempted to push our children toward careers that will make them rich, rather than toward callings that will make them righteous. We must model for them and teach to them that it is better to be a godly plumber than a crooked lawyer. It is better to be an honest janitor than a corrupt CEO. We must celebrate character, not cash.
Finally, we must rest in this truth. For the man walking in integrity, life can be hard. You will see the crooked prosper. You will be tempted to think that your commitment to righteousness is naive, that you are missing out. In those moments, you must preach this proverb to yourself. You are the one who is truly rich. You have a clear conscience. You have the favor of God. You have a security that no market crash can touch. The crooked man has his reward now, and it is fading. Your reward is coming, and it is eternal.
The poor man who walks in integrity is walking on a path that leads to the Celestial City, where the streets are paved with gold that will never tarnish. The rich man on his crooked path is on a wide road, paved with his fleeting profits, that leads directly to the gates of Hell. There are only two ways. Choose the better path.