Offensive Defense

Read Proverbs 18

The rich think of their wealth as a strong defense; they imagine it to be a high wall of safety.

Proverbs 18:11

Over the centuries, cultures and groups have devised all sorts of defensive buildings and barricades using the materials and technology of the time. Inside, the leaders and their people feel secure and protected. But time and again, history records that the city walls are scaled, the castle doors are rammed open, the wooden fort is burned to the ground, the steel beams melted. What was thought impregnable is soon found wanting.

So it is with people’s dependence on wealth to defend them against all harm. Either the money does not last, or they find that no amount of it can protect them from the problems and losses of this life. Any one of us can be attacked by outside circumstances, disease, injury, broken relationships, or more. But the true defense is not found in anything but God who, if we trust him, will shield us from the crushing effects of life’s problems. His promise, however, is his care in the midst of problems, not freedom from them. In the words of Martin Luther’s powerful hymn, “A mighty fortress is our God, a bulwark never failing.”

A WORD FOR TODAY

Wealth offers false security.

Today, Lord, may I rest secure in the fortress of your strength and love.