Proverbs 27:24 For riches are not for ever: and doth the crown endure to every generation?
Years ago I was looking up the old Rice Ranch in West Texas where my grandfather was born in 1912. That ranch is now part of a larger ranch called The Williams Ranch. The Rice Ranch did not last forever, not even close. The Williams Ranch, on the other hand, has been around since 1899 when someone in that family took a railcar from Kentucky, landed near Decatur, Texas, and eventually bought up what was then the Rice Ranch.
How many ranches do you know of that are more than a hundred years old? How many farms have been in the family more than four generations? Not too far from my home in Tennessee is a little valley called Crystal Valley. I had a friend who was a farmer in that area whose family had been there since the 1860s. It is extraordinary for any business, farm, or endeavor that is manmade to endure long. In fact, none of them endure forever.
It is sobering to think about all the institutions we think of as perennial, being around year to year, and then to realize how many we have forgotten because they just gradually faded. I happened to be in a town in North Carolina this week and saw a department store that I haven’t seen for years. In fact, I had forgotten all about it. I thought, “That used to be a very familiar name to me, and now it has almost disappeared.”
When you start to think about life, you begin to realize that no manmade resource or institution that you value is eternal. Proverbs 27:23 says, “Be thou diligent to know the state of thy flocks, and look well to thy herds. For riches are not for ever: and doth the crown endure to every generation?” Though the things are not eternal, there is no reason that the things you value cannot outlive you if you will steward and cultivate them today.
Now just because something is inevitable does not mean it is imminent. For instance, everyone ever born eventually died. That doesn’t mean I need to live dangerously today. No, it means I need to steward what I have well. Just because nothing made by man lasts forever does not mean it has to end on your watch. Even though something important to you will not endure to every generation, you are not absolved from your responsibility to be a good steward now.
In Proverbs 28:2 the Bible says, “For the transgression of the land many are the princes thereof: but by a man of understanding and knowledge the state thereof shall be prolonged.” The land is not going to last forever but that doesn’t mean it can’t last longer. It can be “prolonged.”
Proverbs 28:16 says “The prince that wanteth understanding is also a great oppressor: but he that hateth covetousness shall prolong his days.” There is no reason that a wise steward, a prince in this case, cannot prolong both his life and the kingdom that he stewards. We are not kings or princes, but we all have things that we steward, whether it is a life, a farm, or our kids. There is no reason that just because something is not going to be eternal that it cannot outlive you.
There are three things I would challenge you with this morning: ownership, awareness, and effort. The first is ownership. “Be thou diligent to know the state of thy flocks.” How would a guy not know how his flocks are doing when he owns them? He hires a shepherd. That is fine, but they are still his sheep so there ought to be some ownership. You ought to have ownership about the things that matter in your life, whether it is your family, your home, or your work.
Second, there should be awareness. “Know the state of thy flocks.” Look well. Pay attention. Know what is going on. Do you know how your kids are trending? Do you know how the things that matter to you are trending? Nothing is static and few things die immediately. Most things just fizzle out, whether it is a body or an institution.
Third, there should be effort. Put effort into what matters. Riches don’t last forever, neither does the “crown endure to every generation,” but that does not mean it cannot be prolonged. It is prolonged by wisdom, caring, and effort. No resource or manmade institution is eternal, but there is no reason these cannot outlive you if you will steward and cultivate them today.