Proverbs 13:9 (ESV)
The light of the righteous rejoices,
but the lamp of the wicked will be put out.
The light of the righteous rejoices ... or shines brighter. In this first line of the proverb we read that those who God declares righteous will shine bright ... and, according to the second line, it is brighter than the light of the wicked. When the righteous and the wicked are compared with each other it will not be tough to see who is who. The wicked will be in the dark. The righteous will light the room. This is all of God's work in our life, however. We don't shine bright because we have some internal glow. We shine bright because God is shining in us. If God is shining in us we have no worries to be seen for what we are. God does what He does in us for the purposed of shinning His light. He shines His light in us so that man will see that light and glorify Him. We don't have the responsibility in shinning the light. We have the responsibility for being the vessel He has chosen for the light. We need only be the willing vessel for Him to use as He would. We simply are the portal for the chosen light.
The light of the righteous also, according to this proverb, has two aspects that the light of the wicked does not:
1. The light of the righteous rejoices. That means it celebrates eternal glories, not temporal. The light of the wicked can certainly rejoice. But they are limited in that they only have this earth’s pleasures. In one sense we ought to want them to have some joy here, because they cannot rejoice in things about life hereafter. But, as they enjoy here, they forget about there. The righteous rejoice because they have eternal treasures.
2. The light of the righteous burns on. The light of the wicked burns out. This, again, is the eternal vs the temporal aspects of their lives. The wicked ONLY has this time here on earth to find “life.” The righteous rejoice because their light burns FOREVER. That is a reason to rejoice.
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