Proverb 10:15

“The rich man’s wealth is his strong city;
The destruction of the poor is their poverty.”

Wise people store up knowledge
but the mouth of the foolish is near destruction

A rich man builds up his wealth like the strong walls of a city. These walls form a hedge of protection around him, keep intruders out of the city limits and ensure his power. He stores up the wealth, much like a wise man stores up his knowledge. I think a contrast is supposed to be made here with an outlying assumption that one will be reign, the other will fall like the empires they are. Wisdom or wealth.

Same with the poor and their poverty. They are destroyed by a lack, much like the foolish are destroyed by their mouth in verse 14. But there seems to be an underlying 

choice in the matter. That is your poverty can only destroy you if you allow it to. Just like the mouth destroys the foolish upon their choice to be content with mere information and forego the search for knowledge. 

I supposed to fully understand this verse, we will have to assess what follows. There may be more telling information, or more contrasts to be made. But for the time being, in and of itself, this verse is revealing an internal problem with mankind. We treasure things that don’t last. For both the poor and the wealthy alike, money can be harmful. 

When one’s wealth becomes their strong city, they putting their faith in it. Money becomes his end-all. And it becomes his all, his god. Without it, he is powerless; he has no security. But just as empires rise and fall, wealth comes and goes.

Similar to the rich man, the poor can view money as an end-all. And if they do, their poverty will destroy them from the inside out. Because they see no hope without it. Both of these men, though are operating out of the mere information that money has value. To understand the value of money in the grand scheme of things, though, adds a little perspective. 

Wisdom has far greater value than money. It builds up a lasting empire that will not fall. This is the Kingdom our eyes are in search of; not the walls of wealth they land on in the search. And if we understand this truth, money becomes relative wealth. Hardly worth anything at all. 

So for the rich man, he may still acquire with it, but he isn’t consumed with it. And for the poor—though he doesn’t have it— is content with what he does have. He lives a life of abundance—not of things—but of joy and peace and gratitude, because Wisdom enriches his life with innumerable fruits.