Our culture has said that our Christian message is arrogant, narrow, and intolerant. People have pointed out the harm our faith has caused rather than accepting that a lack of faith is the source of the greatest harm. I’ve often said, “Our message requires us to live as the proof that God’s ways are best.”

Proverbs 22:4 says, “The reward for humility and fear of the Lᴏʀᴅ is riches and honor and life.” God cannot reward an arrogant faith because that isn’t a faith that will convince others that God is our King. When we “fear” God, holding him up in our lives with reverent awe, we exalt him and reveal him to those around us. 

The “riches and honor and life” God wants for us may be partially received here on earth but will be fully enjoyed in heaven. We can know this: whatever rewards we might receive on earth are a part of his perfect blessing upon our lives. Some of the finest Christians I know are wealthy because of their blessings, not their incomes. Some of the most effective and influential Christians I know have used their blessings to further God’s message. The common denominator in both the rich and the poor is that their rewards are the result of their humility and fear of the Lord.

You can please God with your life whether you have little or a lot. You can live a life of humility because you understand your existence is because of God. His abundance is our wealth, his love is our security, and his priorities are our purpose. 

Wisdom is pleasing God, and we are working to study and understand that wisdom matters. On this last day of August, at the end of another summer, will you examine your spiritual growth in the area of wisdom? Are you living with the rewards that come from a life of humility and fear of the Lord? 

Wisdom matters, and knowing how to please God provides his wisdom for each day.