He who loves wisdom makes his father glad, but a companion of prostitutes squanders his wealth. By justice a king builds up the land, but he who exacts gifts tears it down. — Proverbs 29:3-4

These two sentences form a parallel. They talk about two men, a son and a ruler. One man is younger, and one is older, and it compares them. In both cases, these men waste something. They waste the same thing — wealth. But they waste wealth because there is something inherently wrong with their character. But it's how they use their wealth that exposes their character and their lust and greed.

But as we know, lust and greed in these mature forms don't just show up overnight. They start small. And when lust and greed are small, it's usually not that much of an issue because the impact isn't that great. We might even dismiss it if we see it. We think it's just a little lust here or a little greed there. But the problem is that over time we get comfortable with these longings, and they train us. They train us to think and behave in an ungodly way. And they are never satisfied. Thus our lust and greed must take from others, and they become victims of our ungodly character.

To undo this corrupt cycle, we must be retrained. We have to be retrained by learning to love two things. In the text, it's wisdom and justice. Wisdom, which retrains our character. Justice, which is wisdom applied.

So today, a first step might be assessing your lust and greed in how you spend money. Open your accounts and look at them for a while. Consider the waste you see and what it's declaring about your lust and greed. And then make a cut — a cut for the purpose of your character. I promise the benefits are great. They make a father proud. And they build up the land.

He who loves wisdom makes his father glad, but a companion of prostitutes squanders his wealth. By justice a king builds up the land,
but he who exacts gifts tears it down. — Proverbs 29:3-4

ASK THIS: What do your accounts say about your greed?

DO THIS: Make a cut and address your lust and greed.

PRAY THIS: God, I need strength and courage to address my lust and greed. Show me today where I can address these small sins before they become bigger.

PLAY THIS: Phil Wickham - Battle Belongs.

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