What does Proverbs 3:33 mean?

Scripture is not naïve about the world. Following good wisdom is more likely to bring success, but it's not an ironclad guarantee of prosperity. This very passage warns that fear and hardship will still come (Proverbs 3:25–26). In the same way, Proverbs does not shy away from the fact that those who blatantly defy God sometimes seem to have great earthly prosperity (Proverbs 3:31).

What separates the value of those approaches is a long-term perspective, especially one that looks into eternity. In Matthew 7:24–27 Jesus described the difference between a house built on sand and one built on a rock. The house on the sand fell victim to a flood, whereas the house on the rock stood firm. The house on the sand represents a life without Jesus' words as its foundation. The house on a rock represents a life built on the foundation of Jesus' words.

In another passage of Scripture, Jesus spoke about a rich man who must have lived in a beautiful house. He lived the so-called good life. He wore expensive clothes and ate extremely well every day, but his life was not founded on the Lord, and at the end of his life he suffered the anguish of fire (Luke 16:19–24). His fate should serve as a warning to the wicked.