Danny Fourie

Better a little with the fear of the Lord than great wealth with turmoil. Better a small serving of vegetables with love than a fattened calf with hatred.  Proverbs 15:16-17

When one looks around, it surprises one how many families there are who have great wealth as Solomon describes it. They do not know poverty. They have everything to eat and drink, clothes, comfort, relaxation and many more other treasures in abundance. Young people can choose what they want to study. Such families have it good – recession or not – especially if you compare it to how it was before.

If you have to ask whether such families truly experience prosperity, then you have to say that Solomon typifies our time well. Many families do have great treasure but there is unrest in their midst. Unrest is one of the characteristics of our time. People seem to find it difficult to come to rest, they feel threatened and cannot rest.

You could easily blame the unrest on the fall of man and explain it that way. Then we say that since the fall of man, we have lost our true rest with thorns and thistles growing in our way. We have to earn our bread in the ‘sweat of our brow’. It is true, we all experience the results of the fall of the man.

But even so, we cannot merely do away with this unrest. In many families the unrest has grown – there is talk of an epidemic.

The idea was that the prosperity had to take away the unrest, but it only served to increase it. How many live as if everything depends on their achievements? How many live with the chronic anxiety that they may lose their possessions?

How does it happen that so many people have this feeling of unrest? It happens because the fear of the Lord is missing in their lives. The powers of unbelief separate many people from God. Without God life is some kind of slavery. This is the need of many people in our time. St Augustine said that our heart stays restless until it finds rest in God.

Prayer: Lord, we are in need of rest. Yet we allow ourselves to be driven by anxiety. Help us to trust in you and live on your grace and to give up our own efforts. Amen.