Proverbs 16:19 reveals the heart of God for his children. God cares about whom we spend our time with and especially about the way our “company” reflects on our character and witness.

King Solomon had more wealth than almost any other human being has ever accumulated in a lifetime. Yet, he wisely wrote, “It is better to be of a lowly spirit with the poor than to divide the spoil with the proud.” In other words, it is better to be oppressed than to become a person who oppresses another. It is better to have nothing than to have the spoils obtained by wrong behaviors. It is better to be proud of ourselves than to be proud of our possessions.

We can be proud of our priorities if they reflect God’s wisdom and character at work in our lives.

This area of our faith stands most counterintuitive to the teaching of our culture. This is an area of our faith that, for most of us, will require a great deal of effort. We probably won’t think or live the wisdom of this proverb apart from the power of God. It isn’t natural to choose oppression instead of pride.

Solomon wasn’t saying that we shouldn’t be proud of ourselves. He was saying that we should be proud of ourselves for the same reasons we make God proud of who we are. Later, Solomon would say that, in the end, all that matters is that we “fear God and keep his commandments” (Ecclesiastes 12:13).

God’s priorities are wisdom. We can be proud of our priorities when they reflect the priorities of God.