What? Yes…the Bible teaches that some are wise and some are foolish. We find the Old Testament full of all the economic principles important to the Jewish culture. But the book of Proverbs is especially clear on the fundamentals of Jewish thought. Wisdom is valued and makes a difference.

The wise inherit honor, but fools get only shame. Proverbs 3:35

The Bible puts a high value on wisdom calling it more valuable than gold. Let me explain…so if my neighbor and I have each been farming for 5 years and at the end of that time I have 5 cows and my neighbor has 10 cows perhaps I should take a look at what my neighbor is doing differently from me and learn from him. Maybe they have more wisdom in the area of farming than I do? So instead of being filled with envy that my neighbor has more cows and plotting to get them I should be sitting at their feet to learn from them.

Misguided governments with socialist tendencies feed in to this envy. Such shortsighted governments take cows from the one who has 10 and give them to the one who has 5 in the name of “fairness” or “justice”. Not only does this feed the temptation to envy, but it short circuits God’s plan for the foolish to learn from the wise and sadly locks them in to a lifetime of foolishness and dependency. Of course we respect all humanity as created in the image of God, but the reality is some people are wise, some people are foolish and a lot are in between the two. God has a plan to make us wise. It is called learning and we find it in Proverbs.

Let the wise listen and add to their learning, and let the discerning get guidance. Proverbs 1:5

Instruct the wise and they will be wiser still; teach the righteous and they will add to their learning.   Proverbs 9:9

When foolish people will not learn it is unjust to expect the wise to carry all the responsibility. This is why socialism does not work and bring people into prosperity. It is unjust in that it rewards the foolish man and punishes the wise man. Socialism does not recognize human nature. God’s plan for the Hebrews and for the Christian today is built on the truth of human nature. It recognizes people’s individuality and justly rewards those who have gained and learn to use wisdom.