The Tent of the Upright Will Flourish

"The house of the wicked will be overthrown,

but the tent of the upright will flourish."

(Proverbs 14:11 NKJV)

    If we, for a moment, block from our view the two resulting ends: 'will be overthrown' and 'will flourish,' it would appear as though the wicked are prospering! They are in a house, whereas the upright are only in a tent, so the wicked must be thriving, right? And if anyone is going to be overthrown, surely it would be the one who dwells in the feeble structure - consider the plight of the three little pigs - the weaker domicile surely indicates lack of strength and power to withstand, doesn't it?

    But God, through this proverb, has given us the big picture, we can see the end result!

    The house of the wicked did not/does not save them. Their house, like they themselves, will be overthrown and destroyed. Why? Because their imagined power, contrived by earthly wisdom (James 3:14-16), rests only in their own bodily strength and their accumulated earthly possessions, both of which will eventually fail and come to nothing (Ecclesiastes 12:7, Matthew 6:19-21). But more than that, their eternal destination will be death and destruction (2 Thessalonians 1:8-9, Philippians 3:18-19) because they refuse to know God nor submit to His way.

    We know that this earth is not our home (consider Hebrews 11:13-16); we journey through this realm preparing ourselves to one day enter our heavenly home (Colossians 3:1-10). We do not build up palaces here (Matthew 6:19-21), we content ourselves with what we have (Psalm 37:16-17, 1 Timothy 6:6-8), and even that is shared with others so that none go without (2 Corinthians 9:7-12, 1 Timothy 6:17-19). We know that all good things come from God (Acts 17:25, James 1:17; 3:17)! Our strength and hope rests wholly in God, in the power of His might (Ephesians 6:10-11, Hebrews 6:17-19)! We know that our 'tent' (our earthly body) will one day be laid aside and left behind when we go on to our reward (2 Corinthians 5:1-8), our eternal home with God (Revelation 14:13, 1 John 3:1-3)! 

    So, do not envy the wicked and their perceived riches, wealth, and power - all those earthly things will be destroyed (Proverbs 23:17, and please take time this week to read and think on Psalm 37 and Psalm 73). Joy in the tent of the upright! God provides all we need to flourish (Psalm 84:11) and we can and will flourish when we continue to faithfully follow His way!!  

"A little that a righteous man has

is better than the riches of many wicked.

For the arms of the wicked shall be broken,

but the LORD upholds the righteous."

(Psalm 37:16-17 NKJV)