by Bruce Billington

Weekly Devotional 5th of June, 2026

In this session, we will continue to look at Proverbs Chapter 11. 

Proverbs 11:28-31 – “He who trusts in his riches will fall, but the righteous will flourish like the green leaf. 29 He who troubles his own house will inherit wind, and the foolish will be servant to the wise-hearted. 30 The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life, and he who is wise wins souls. 31 If the righteous will be rewarded in the earth, how much more the wicked and the sinner!”

Verse 28 - Wise people understand that it is ultimately God’s blessing that makes or breaks a person. Therefore, they do not hoard their finances but generously give to help others. They know they cannot trust their riches to sustain them, and that God’s blessing is far more valuable than all they could possess. Ultimately, they grasp this crucial spiritual law: living righteously and being generous will cause them to flourish like a green leaf in the springtime. But selfishly keeping their riches for themselves will, in the end, not receive God’s blessing. 

In summary, those who hold on tightly to all that they gain receive nothing else. But those with generous spirits tap into God's unlimited resources. Walking in the way of the Lord and being generous to others makes the difference.

Verse 29 – Ungodly behaviour not only brings disgrace to our own house but also causes trouble for us by bringing us into servanthood of the wise. The wise (chakam) in this verse refers to people who are skilled and responsible in their work and who are fair and just in their dealings with others. 

This proverb states both a general principle and a fact of society in Bible times. People who were unwise or irresponsible in their work practices and made foolish financial decisions ended up serving those who prospered in business. They either worked for their creditors to pay off their debts or were sold into slavery, with the price paid for them given to those they owed. There was no blessing for them. 

Verse 30 – A wise person is a model of a meaningful life. Like a tree attracts people to its shade, a wise person’s sense of purpose attracts others who want to know how they, too, can find meaning. 

Of course, before we can lead others this way, we must have discovered how we can gain and grow in wisdom in our own lives. 

One of the keys to doing this is to maintain regular contact with the Holy Spirit through prayer, reading God’s word, and seeking to walk in the Lord’s ways in every aspect of our lives. 

All who do this will become trees of life, bearing fruit of righteousness, holy living, integrity, and wisdom. As a result, their testimony to God and His kingdom will produce fruit in whatever community they are in and will touch many lives. 

Verse 31 - Here is the conclusion to this series of proverbs and to this chapter: the righteous have an eternal reward for their godliness, and God justly compensates them in this life as well. Godliness is profitable now, not just in eternity (1 Timothy 4:8).

This is even truer for the wicked. “The wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23)—eternal separation from God in eternity — but sin also produces bitter, corrupt fruit that must be eaten during a person’s time on earth. The pain produced by sin far outweighs the pleasure.

God bless.