Proverbs 28:25
Greed produces strife, but trusting the Lord produces stability and blessing.
25 One who is greedy stirs up strife; but one who trusts in Yahweh will prosper.
Greed produces strife, but trusting the Lord produces stability and blessing.
To contrast the destructive effects of greed with the stabilizing blessing that comes from trusting the Lord.
Proverbs 28:25 follows Proverbs 28:24, where the one who robs father or mother and says it is not wrong is partner with destruction. Verse 25 exposes the heart beneath such destructive household sin: greed. The greedy person stirs up conflict because grasping desire cannot honor parents, neighbors, leaders, or the LORD. This verse also continues the money-and-heart cluster in Proverbs 28:20-24: the one eager to get rich will not go unpunished; partiality can be bought for a piece of bread; the stingy hasten after riches; self-justified family theft partners with destruction. Proverbs 28:25 then gives the alternative heart posture: trust in the LORD. The contrast is not merely greed versus generosity, but self-trust versus LORD-trust.
In ancient Israel, greed could create conflict over land, inheritance, wages, debt, trade, taxes, bribes, and family resources. A person with an enlarged appetite for gain could disturb households, courts, villages, and leadership structures. Proverbs 28:25 contrasts this strife-producing greed with trust in the LORD, the covenant posture that frees a person from grasping self-reliance.
Righteous Boldness, Law-Keeping, Confession, Justice for the Poor, and the Fear of the LORD
Wisdom walks boldly in righteousness, keeps instruction, confesses sin, fears the LORD, rejects greed and oppression, cares for the poor, and trusts the LORD rather than self, wealth, or corrupt power.