Walking with the Wise #143: Shunning Status

“One pretends to be rich, yet has nothing;
 

another pretends to be poor, yet has great wealth.”
—Proverbs 13:7

Canon once ran an ad campaign with the slogan, “Image is everything.” And most people believe it. To them image is everything. And they will do anything to promote their image. Today’s proverb addresses our image problem. Solomon writes, “One pretends to be rich, yet has nothing”—which is his way of saying, one tries to pretend that he is something—important, successful, talented, etc. The reality is far different from the image they are trying to convey. They may pretend to be rich, or in fact have achieved great wealth, but they have nothing to show for it. They are no more loved than they were before. All of their work to gain status in the eyes of men comes to a painful end.

Solomon addresses those who seek status and then he turns his gaze to the one who pretends to be poor, but in fact, has great wealth. He is not pretending to be poor as a means to deceive others, but rather chooses not to flash or exhibit his wealth. It is this man whom Scripture would have us follow—being content with what we have and trying not to make ourselves seem better than we really are.

Our wearisome pursuit of status is rooted in simple pride. C.S. Lewis wrote about the danger of pride,

“I pointed out a moment ago that the more pride one had, the more one disliked pride in others. In fact, if you want to find out how proud you are the easiest way is to ask yourself, 'How much do I dislike it when other people snub me, or refuse to take any notice of me, or shove their oar in, or patronise me, or show off?' The point is that each person's pride is in competition with every one else's pride. It is because I wanted to be the big noise at the party that I am so annoyed at someone else being the big noise. Two of a trade never agree. Now what you want to get clear is that Pride is essentially competitive - is competitive by its very nature - while the other vices are competitive only, so to speak, by accident. Pride gets no pleasure out of having something, only out of having more of it than the next man. We say that people are proud of being rich, or clever, or good-looking, but they are not. They are proud of being richer, or cleverer, or better-looking than others. If everyone else became equally rich, or clever, or good-looking there would be nothing to be proud about. It is the comparison that makes you proud: the pleasure of being above the rest. Once the element of competition has gone, pride has gone”—C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity.

Abandon your sinful pursuit of status, be content with what God gives you, and live in the knowledge that God loves you so much that He sent His Son, our Lord Jesus, to die for you. He is the one who gives us the status we so desperately seek. It is only in Him that we are something, and our duty is to find out who we are in Him for His glory and our joy. Amen.