Reading: Proverbs 16-18, Psalm 3
I once heard the book of Proverbs referred to a handbook for successful living. I’m not sure that this is all that far off, though of course I believe it only works in the context of the whole story of Scripture. But given that caveat, who doesn’t want a handbook for successful living? I’ll take it. The question then becomes, what does it look like to succeed according to our handbook?
I have heard (and given) many a tirade against our materialistic society and our constant pursuit of More. I grew up in the 1980s and 90s in the United States, which makes me a product of one of the most materialistic eras in the history of human culture. As the vacuity of acquisition became obvious, the obsession with possessions and power became the subject of biting social commentary, which I think reached it’s peak in 2004 with the movie Super Size Me. It was not until our obsession with more was literally killing us that we made a change. If we even really did then.
In the last few years, I have started to see more and more people, especially young people, get on the bandwagon of minimalism. Get rid of material possessions, keeping only the essentials. Disconnect from your possessions and embrace a fuller picture of life. This has serious appeal to someone raised in an intense materialistic time. I recently heard a media report about how people who own 4000 square foot, 5 bedroom houses are worried they won’t be able to sell them to younger people. They blamed student loans. I wonder if maybe young people just aren’t interested in owning something so large, even if they can afford it. The pendulum swings.
Very recently I have begun following some members of the #vanlife movement. One young couple who had always dreamed of a life of adventure got their chance when the guy got laid off. They bought an old short bus, converted it into a custom RV, and took off across the world with nothing but what fit in the bus, putting their lives on YouTube and Instagram. There are dozens of such series on social media. One of the consistent topics that comes up on these video series is how little the adventurers are able to live on. While some don’t try to be extremely frugal, one can see a kind of competitive spirit among the vanlifers: who can get away with the least money, the least space, the least negative impact on the world.
I don’t think of myself as that old, but I have seen definitions of success radically diverge, fracture, and transform during my life. From McMansions to Vanlife. But in the end, even the Vanlife movement becomes a kind of rat race, a competition for viewers, for status, for notoriety. It is, in the end, another way of pursuing independence. The materialist seeks independence through things, the minimalist seeks it through the lack of them. It’s the same song, played on different instruments.
In one of the other Biblical books credited to Solomon, the book of Ecclesiastes, the king goes really deep on this topic. But he doesn’t ignore it in his Proverbs.
The plans of the heart belong to man, but the answer of the tongue is from the Lord.
All the ways of a man are pure in his own eyes, but the Lord weighs the spirit
It is better to be of a lowly spirit with the poor, than to divide the spoil with the proud
Solomon recognizes the desire of humans to make their own plans. To control. To live our own lives. He is letting us know that it is all foolishness. The reality is, all the plans laid by humans are at the whim of our creator. Pride in our plans and accomplishments is worthless. It would be better to be poor with humility than wealthy with pride. Note that he is not saying make no plans, but to make loose plans:
Commit your work to the Lord, and your plans will be established
The Lord has made everything for a purpose , even the wicked for the day of trouble.
Solomon advises the reader to define their success in terms of obedience to God’s will and God’s word. As we will see in a few days in Ecclesiastes, he has run the experiment himself, and found that this is the only way that does not finally disappoint.