Luxury (Proverbs 21:17)

There are those who love to live luxuriously; riches will elude them for the rest of their lives.

"He who loves pleasure will be a poor man; he who loves wine and oil will not be rich." Proverbs 21:17, Amplified

In our society, there are those who are living luxuriously and loving it. So is this a contradiction? Is the Bible wrong? No. We have to look at this with new and fresh eyes. we can ask ourselves the question, "What happens when the money runs out?" Just look at Lindsey Lohan. She is a party girl who loves to live the party lifestyle. Now there is no money left for her to cover legal fees to fight the latest charges after she failed her last sobriety test.

There are also those who are living the luxurious lifestyle on the outside, but truly they are just trying to keep up with the payments. If we live outside of our means then we will never be set or be able to leave am inheritance for our children.

Luxury of the Fool (Proverbs 19:10)

There are certain things in this life that are reserved for certain persons. And when we see others partaking in these things, they seem to be out of place.

"Luxury is not fitting for a [self-confident] fool, much less for a slave to rule over princes." Proverbs 19:10, Amplified

In the original King James, the word luxury is actually "delight". What this verse is doing is taking something that is possible in society (at the time) and comparing it with something that was not possible.

So, in essence, just as it is not correct for a servant to rule over a prince, so a fool should not live in luxury. In his commentary on the Old Testament, Unger writes, concerning this verse, "Luxurious living turns wise men to fools, but it turns fools to self-destroying idiots." This is not to say that a fool cannot live luxuriously. What the verse is laying out is how ridiculous it is just as if a slave should rule over a prince. Could it happen? Sure. The Bible is not discounting the possibility, rather it is stating the impracticality of these two situations. A fool is not suited for luxury just as a slave is not suited to rule. Each one has his place.

Pray for wisdom.