Real Treasure That Never Fades (Proverbs 21:6)
Listen Here:
Proverbs 21:6
The getting of treasures by a lying tongue
is a fleeting vapor and a snare of death.
As we close this week in Proverbs, I find this verse to be a fitting conclusion to the theme of honesty and generosity threaded all throughout these chapters.
Solomon is saying here: to pursue wealth by deceit is to pursue death.
And he paints that picture vividly: dishonest treasure is nothing but vapor—it glimmers for a moment, then vanishes; it is also a snare—a trap that promises life but springs shut with death.
Think about the morning mist. I’ve been getting that a lot recently, and the evidence has been the layer that rests on my windshield every morning. That mist looks thick, like you could scoop it up in your hands. But the moment you reach for it, it slips right through your fingers. That’s the irony of dishonest gain: it looks solid until you try to hold it.
Now, someone might push back here and say: “Wait a minute—dishonest people do get rich, and sometimes they stay rich.” And that’s true, at least on the surface. But Proverbs isn’t naïve.
The point is this: even if deception fattens your wallet, it shrinks your soul.
You gain comfort, but you lose peace. You get control, but you can’t escape the trap of guilt, fear, and distrust. Dishonest gain is like fog—it fills the air for a moment, but when the sun rises, there’s nothing there.
And isn’t that always the way with sin? It over-promises and under-delivers. It tells you, “this will finally secure you,” but instead it empties you. Judas thought thirty pieces of silver was treasure—until it crushed his soul. Ananias and Sapphira thought lying about their gift was clever—until it cost them their lives. Every time, deceit leads to dust in your hands and chains on your feet.
But where dishonest treasure is fleeting vapor, the treasure Christ offers is solid and lasting. Peter says our inheritance in Him is “imperishable, undefiled, and unfading.” Jesus doesn’t trick us with bait and switch. He doesn’t promise security while handing us chains. Instead, He gives what no money can buy—His forgiveness, His presence, His eternal life. And how do we get it? Not by grabbing, not by scheming, but by receiving. He gave up His riches—even His very life—so that we could share in His eternal treasure.
So here’s the takeaway as we wrap up this week: don’t chase the fog of dishonest gain. Don’t bite at the bait of deceit. Instead, open your hands to the treasure Jesus freely gives—His forgiveness, His presence, His eternal life. That’s the kind of wealth that won’t vanish in the morning sun.
Let’s take a moment now to pray.
