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Riches

             Do not wear yourself out to get rich; do not trust your own cleverness.  Cast but a glance at riches, and they are gone, for they will surely sprout wings and fly off to the sky like an eagle. (Proverbs 23:4-5)

          So much of our lives is like the Wizard of Oz. We go on grand quests and eventually stand in awe and wonder of something, only to discover “the man behind the curtain.” The “riches” we seek, whether money, fame, power, influence, adventure, safety, or whatever else you may list may be exciting at first, but the glitter gets all over everything. Familiarity breeds contempt, and what was enough once upon a time is old, outdated, or not enough.

          This is the problem with diminishing returns. Just as the roller coaster or horror movie you watched was exciting or scary the first time, and maybe the second or third, by the next year the amusement park needs to add a higher hill or more loops and the next horror movie has to up the ante somehow.

          Cleverness is no different. Someone else will come along who is more clever or doesn’t think your cleverness was really all that great. The point of cleverness is quickness and ego.

          Today’s passage doesn’t tell us what to seek instead, but Scripture has some ideas: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control – all of which are facets of a good character – come to mind. Wisdom and justice do as well. 

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