The Financial Wisdom Found In Proverbs

We’re awash in knowledge in 2023, but do you think our general level of understanding is greater? Do you think we’re wiser?

I’m not so sure, so when I was challenged to re-read through one of the great collections of ancient wisdom last month, the book of Proverbs, it was an easy Yes.

Indeed, I found wisdom a plenty, but what was most surprising was the proliferation of financial wisdom, in particular.

And I mean, a lot. In fact, in only 31 chapters, I found more than 130 references to things financial: money, riches, wealth, prosperity, poverty, and fulfillment beyond the material. That inspired me to catalog the financial references into what appeared to be several common themes and share them with you here.

First, a little context:

The book of Proverbs resides within the Hebrew Bible and the Old Testament and is attributed predominantly to Solomon, the King of Israel, from roughly 970 to 931 BC. Historically, it appears to be more of a compendium of “wisdom literature,” compiled well after Solomon’s demise, whose authorship could be varied but which features many sayings of Solomon, reputed to be a man of great wisdom, passed down over generations.

Considering that it is at least a couple thousand years old, you’ll probably find some content that might be labeled as “old fashioned” and more than a touch paternalistic. Yet, perhaps we shouldn’t be too surprised, if we bear in mind that it tends to read as letters on life from a father to his sons. But what is more surprising to me is how much of it seems valid and applicable here in the present.

So, let’s examine what I see as the most prominent themes and deduce what they might have to tell us for today:

Prosperity and Poverty

Of the more than 130 individual Proverbs I found that related to personal finance, roughly 40% of them fell into two categories that I collapsed into one: right actions that are pledged to lead to prosperity and wrong actions that lead to poverty.

I chose to collapse them because most of these promises and prohibitions appear to be written in a dualistic format. For example (and all quotes are taken from the New International Version translation of the Bible):

• 21:5 The plans of the diligent lead to profit as surely as haste leads to poverty.
• 14:23 All hard work brings a profit, but mere talk leads only to poverty.
• 28:22 The stingy are eager to get rich and are unaware that poverty awaits them.
• 13:8 Whoever disregards discipline comes to poverty and shame, but whoever heeds correction is honored.
• 13:11 Dishonest money dwindles away, but whoever gathers money little by little makes it grow.

Furthermore, the practical challenges inherent in poverty and the benefits of wealth are noted:

• 19:4 Wealth attracts many friends, but even the closest friend of the poor person deserts them.
• 13:8 The rich may be able to ransom their lives, but the poor cannot respond to threatening rebukes.

Now, I think it’s important to remember a couple of things here. First, proverbs generally read like promises, but in many interpretations, they are more like probabilities. This is generally considered as part of the style of wisdom literature. Of course, there are those who have prospered despite what many would consider laziness, and those who are seen as hard workers who have struggled to amass wealth.

The Call to Generosity

From here, however, I think the precepts begin to follow a less linear path. For example, one of the suggested actions to lead to prosperity is somewhat counterintuitive—because it can be interpreted as depleting one’s assets through the act of generosity:

• 22:9 The generous will themselves be blessed, for they share their food with the poor.
• 11:25 A generous person will prosper; whoever refreshes others will be refreshed.

Or one of my personal favorites:

• 11:24 One person gives freely, yet gains even more; another withholds unduly, but comes to poverty.

And I’ve seen how true this seeming conundrum can be in my work with people of means over the past 25 years. Those who cling tightly to their material possessions may often find them slipping through their fingers at some point, while those who open their hands freely to give may often open themselves to receiving more.

Compassion for the Poor

Then, even as the author(s) appear to counsel us toward prosperity and away from poverty, we seem to be implored to recognize the plight of the poor and have compassion on them. In my reading, I found at least 15 different Proverbs that warned readers of what might befall us if we do not:

• 17:5 Whoever mocks the poor shows contempt for their Maker
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  ; whoever gloats over disaster will not go unpunished.
• 19:17 Whoever is kind to the poor lends to the LORD, and he will reward them for what they have done.
• 22:16 One who oppresses the poor to increase his wealth and one who gives gifts to the rich—both come to poverty.

The Pitfalls of Ill-Gotten Gains, Borrowing, and Lending

We are similarly warned of the dangers of “ill-gotten gains” and the potential problems that can arise from borrowing and lending in multiple Proverbs:

• 1:19 Such are the paths of all who go after ill-gotten gain; it takes away the life of those who get it.
• 22:7 The rich rule over the poor, and the borrower is slave to the lender.
• 22:26-27 Do not be one who shakes hands in pledge or puts up security for debts; if you lack the means to pay, your very bed will be snatched from under you.

Money Is Not the Ultimate End

Yet, as much as the financial wisdom in Proverbs feels to me like grandfatherly cause-and-effect admonitions designed to lead toward prosperity and away from poverty, I found significant space—at least 25 Proverbs— that also seem to me to be dedicated to deeper, more nuanced guidance suggesting that money and riches are not the ultimate end:

• 22:1 A good name is more desirable than great riches; to be esteemed is better than silver or gold.
• 23:4-5 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.

And what is prized above all in the text? Wisdom, itself, which is often personified:

• 8:10-11 Choose my instruction instead of silver, knowledge rather than choice gold, for wisdom is more precious than rubies, and nothing you desire can compare with her.
• 16:16 How much better to get wisdom than gold, to get insight rather than silver!
• 19:8 The one who gets wisdom loves life; the one who cherishes understanding will soon prosper.

The Benefits of Advice

Lastly, however opportunistic it may seem coming from a financial advisor, at least four Proverbs appear to be dedicated to the benefits to derived from seeking advice:

• 15:22 Plans fail for lack of counsel, but with many advisers they succeed.
• 20:18 Plans are established by seeking advice.

In Ecclesiastes, another book attributed to Solomon, he writes, “What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun.”

Indeed, I believe that, while there have been and will continue to be many advancements in the field of personal finance and wealth management, so much of what we learn has already been revealed, even thousands of years ago