“The wicked desire the plunder of evil men, but the root of the righteous flourishes.” ~ Proverbs 12:12 NIV
By Ryan Marks
Wicked men will desire the wealth that others have and they are even willing to steal to get it. Their stealing may take the form of hidden fees, heavy taxation, class-discriminated taxation, murder, fraud, pick pocketing, lawsuits, and more because history has recorded that they do. Evil men have a record of ranting and raving for wealth inside themselves—indeed it consumes many of them completely. Because the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil (1 Tim. 6:10) no wonder the thieves, the murders, and the false witnesses that are among us started out greedy for plunder.
On the other hand, there are the righteous. God keeps these people from having to beg by providing for them from His own immeasurable riches, but this is not so for the wicked. The righteous are righteous to their very roots. The roots of their lives bring forth the fruit of their faithfulness over time: a loving, caring marriage; kindness and compassion for the poor and hurting; personal wisdom, purity, fruitfulness from the Lord; and a close, intimate relationship with the Lord. The righteous even effect others at their very roots! It is here, at the roots, that the righteous man plants his seed and fertilizes it by the divine grace contained in the spiritual gift(s) that have been given to him by the Holy Spirit into the heart of another. The righteous man waters the wicked roots with the life-giving water of Jesus’ Spirit, the Holy Spirit. It is here that the righteous man rebukes, exhorts and teaches the wicked, he fertilizes the wicked root with transforming nutrients from God’s Word. And it is here that the righteous brings the Messiah, who is contained in himself, and shines the SONLIGHT needed for the growth of the wicked’s tree, for the process of spiritual photosynthesis. It is here at the roots that the righteous’ overflows his own reservoirs of sap, the sap of the Holy Spirit that is in his veins, the water of the living Word of God and the light which is the Son of God living in Him! And what to say of the Salt that he is to the wicked? Perhaps it will taste bitter to the wicked man at first, but with instruction and faithful administration it can become the flavoring of his life! That is, if the wicked will accept it.
The righteous man stands firm when storms arise because of his deep roots, but the wicked topples over: plundering whatever he can from others and being destroyed, left hopeless and stranded in the process of trying to obtain his greed’s fulfillment.
Remember Proverbs 12:12 and be righteous by abiding in the vine of Christ (Jn. 15:5)!
