A Flourishing Life

"Whoever diligently seeks good seeks favor, but evil comes to him who searches for it. Whoever trusts in riches will fall, but the righteous will flourish like a green leaf" (Proverbs 11:27-28).


I believe we have all heard it said, "what goes around comes around." It seems that today's passage is teaching this very principle. It means that whatever we do to people, whether good or bad, will eventually come right back at us. This is not karma, it is common sense and it is spiritual truth.

Life is such that if we seek to do good to others, we gain their favor. "Favor" means acceptance, good will, or approval. This principle of reciprocity is repeated often in proverbs. We are told over and over that it is important how we treat people; that we are to treat people well rather than poorly since it affects how they end up treating us. If we diligently seek to do evil to others, we ourselves will end up suffering because what goes around does definitely come around.

This principle also plays out in our lives if we pursue riches rather than God. If we trust in that which is untrustworthy, we will fall flat on our faces. But if we trust in the Lord, as the righteous do, we will experience a flourishing life.

Living a life marked by goodness towards others leads to the good will of others returning to us. Trusting in God rather than riches leads to a flourishing life rather than a life lived face down in the dirt. Because of this, we are called to diligently seek good today. We are also called to trust in God today. Good things await those who answer the call. A flourishing life awaits those who diligently seek good while trusting God.