1 Enoch 96

1 Enoch 96

Verse 4

“Woe unto you, ye sinners, for your riches make you appear like the righteous, but your hearts convict you of being sinners, and this fact shall be a testimony against you for a memorial of your evil deeds.”

“Woe unto you, ye sinners, for your riches make you appear like the righteous”

This makes me think that the righteous are meant to be blessed…

If riches makes one appear like the righteous, this means that the righteous must seem… not only content and stable… but maybe even garnished, and embellished.  Why do people admire those who have the luxuries and jewels to radiate their countenance?  This natural admiration show that there is something undeniably beautiful about that radiance.  The reason why “embellishments” have gotten such a negative regard is because of extravagance: too many pigs with gold rings.

If riches make one appear like the righteous this means that the righteous have the appearance of one who is rich.  The righteous are content, they have a lot of potential for productivity, they have security and stability, and nothing is out their reach… these are the reasons why people want to get rich, because they think that money will get them these things.  But one does not need money to get these, and money does not necessarily get you these, though it may appear to be so.

The way to obtain these blessings is not through worldly riches (this is only how one “appears to have obtained them”).  The way to obtain these is through righteousness.

Though riches can indeed make you appear blessed, only the truly righteous are blessed with these.

Though they appear like the righteous, their “hearts convict [them] of being sinners.”

Because they do not have stability, nor security, nor productivity, nor contentment, in their hearts; but they are just as tormented by their identity like any other indigent.

If you could walk in the shoes of a rich person, you would see that they are as stressed out as anybody else; which leads them to evil deeds like any other sinner, which convicts them of their false “richness”.

June 13, 2012