Wednesday 24 September 2025
A good name is to be chosen rather than great riches, and favour is better than silver or gold. (v. 1)
Background
Proverbs continues to guide us in understanding what a 'good life' truly looks like, reflecting and revealing God’s wisdom through our words and deeds. Today’s scripture invites us to discern the difference between values and virtues. We find principles that undergird a good life and help us discover our true selves in God’s world.
Without a doubt, both values and virtues can enhance ethical behaviour, fostering harmony in human relationships and making the world safer for everyone. However, when we look at their meanings, ‘values’ typically include things such as wealth, health, contribution and commitment. These are admirable ideals, but they are often centred on the individual.
By contrast, 'virtues' refer to universal qualities of character that define the good for all people. They are high moral standards, broadly accepted as desirable and essential for creating the common good. In Christian teaching, true virtues are habitual and firm dispositions to do good, rooted in God’s own wisdom and not just in personal or cultural preferences.
Here today’s passage, Proverbs 22:1–9, reveals a sharp distinction between true virtues and subjective values. True virtues – including integrity, prudence, humility, temperance, discipline, contentment and generosity – equip us to be fully human and to be God’s image bearers (Genesis 1:26-27). These cannot be fully realised unless we revere the Lord and embrace God’s definition of good and evil, even when it is inconvenient or when it challenges our desires.
When anything is loved more than God, true virtues risk being reduced to mere personal values, shaped by individual preference rather than divine wisdom. May we grow in wisdom and love God with all our hearts, so that true virtues become the reality of our daily lives.
To Ponder:
- How do you try to grow in true virtues?
- Do you have a routine for reflecting on your thoughts and actions so you might grow in wisdom?
Prayer
O God of wisdom, guide me to cultivate your true virtues, that I may grow in Christ-like character and bear witness to your kingdom on earth as it is in heaven. Amen.
Bible notes author: The Revd Kan Yu
The Revd Kan Yu is a presbyter in south-west London and works with Hong Kong migrants living in London.