Spiritual growth: The wealth of the unjust will dry up like a river, and crash like a loud clap of thunder in a storm. Ben Sira 40:13

The sapiential books, and in particular the Book of Ben Sira, teach about the insecurity of riches. It is true that money is a shield and protection in many situations, but greed, which is the desire for riches, exposes men to countless dangers. Wealth, and money in particular, are not goals in themselves but a consequence of wisdom, this is the correct reasoning.
Whoever builds on injustice and sin is, in reality, beyond any success, building on mud, because anyone can be sure of avoiding, beyond any calculation, an unforeseen destructive event. The Bible, for example, relates that Sennacherib, tyrant of the Assyrian empire and famous for his cruelty, after destroying the Kingdom of Israel and deporting all its inhabitants, failed in the siege of Jerusalem, and after arriving in the capital of his empire, his sons treacherously took his life.
King Solomon, on the other hand, who many years before the rise of the Assyrian empire, ruled the Middle East with great wisdom, which was given to him by God himself, built his kingdom on good foundations. His empire and its inhabitants enjoyed peace and prosperity for many years, and even today, two thousand years later, his example continues to inspire people. In the life of this famous king, a saying came true: "The blessing of the LORD brings wealth, without painful toil for it" Proverbs 10:22.
This is why the Book of Ben Sira, in its countless reflections of wisdom, teaches a beautiful phrase for spiritual growth: "The wealth of the unjust will dry up like a river, and crash like a loud clap of thunder in a storm" Ben Sira 40:13. Anyone with common sense can understand that no man, can put his life in the hands of his wealth, because wealth can leave just as easily as it comes. The statement of the master Ben Sira compares the problem of possessing wealth to meteorological phenomena, and this makes sense. In a world where everyone develops concealment strategies, and the behavior of others is unpredictable, you never know where the blow that changes the status quo might come from. Wisdom then reveals herself as the only science that can lead man to that well-earned wealth, and that teaches that wealth is a consequence, a reward, and not an end in itself.

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